Customer Reviews Altra Superior 5

This is a super neutral shoe with very little arch support, which is what I like. It is very minimal, so good for low impact hikes/climbs but not good for the road unless you are a barefoot enthusiast. The tread will wear fast the road or treadmill, but wears fine in the outdoors. If you like this shoe and want a road version with more padding, the Torin 5 is what you want. The Paradigm 5 has high arch support which will make it feel extremely narrow in the midfoot for you.

I own a pair of the Superior 4 shoes, and I love them. But they are getting worn out so I need a replacement. I bought a pair of the Superior 5 in the same size, and the fit is completely different. The Superior 5 shoes are not nearly as wide in the toes area. I wish these were as wide as before, or that they came in widths.

Buy these shoes for orienteering for my son. Perfect orienteering shoe from a performance standpoint: good tread, light weight, low to the ground (helps prevent ankle roll), good protection despite weight, stay wrapped to the foot on off-kilter terrain: Basically, the best all around orienteering shoe you can currently get IMO. Even better than Innov8 or Icebug because you get the added benefit of regular foot shape without the excessively snug toe-squeeze associated with those narrow shoes. As a side note, my son is on our national team, so I kind of spoil him with shoes because he sort of needs them. However, they do break down fast because they are a bit minimal overall. I wish Altra would give me a discount so I could keep him in good footwear without going so broke:). I am a bit of a fan of Altra having bought about 18 pairs of different shoes including these.

I bought the orange Superior 5s in size 10.5. Just the right size, and thank goodness these shoes have the wide toe box I need! I recently purchased some Spartan Altra trail shoes with the narrowest toe box I've seen in years; they were totally useless. I started trail running in Altra Lone Peaks, which were okay but not my favorite for Spartan races. For the past 3 years, I have run in Salomon Speedcross 10.5s (wide). Things I love about the Altra Superior 5s: Lightweight, comfortable feel, wide toe box, breathability, gussetted tongue, they perform exceptionally well on less technical terrain, and they look great! Things I don't love about the Altra Superior 5s: 1. Because they aren't a particularly aggressive shoe, they're not great on technical terrain, rocks, mud, steep climbs and steep descents. 2. You will feel rocks and roots and possibly have sore feet, even with the stone bar insert. It's not terrible, but shoes like the Speedcross are noticeably better at preventing this when running on technical terrain. 3. The traditional laces. Double-knotting the laces did the trick for me on dry trails, but traditional lace-up shoes don't work well in obstacle course races or in water or mud. I would love to see Altra add a lace option comparable to the Salomon Quicklace System. Bottom Line: I'll run in these shoes often on trails with small or moderate elevation gain or on less technical trails. They are solid, and my feet feel great in them on these types of trails. However, I'll leave them at home when I'm running on mountains or competing in Spartan races.

Great looking shoe Quality seemed good, Make sure you size up a full size.

I love this shoe. No break in period needed. Purchased these and ran a Spartan race the next day. Held up great. I like the drainage better in my King MT 2's but they still did fine.

I recently bought two pairs of superior 5 men/women. My gf hasn't worn Hera yet. So first impression was awesome, soft, comfortable light weight and cool looking. Unfortunately the second day I went out on a walk around the park the tip of my toes start hurting , the front part of the ones of the shoes it's kind of hard. They are not small, the size it's perfect. It's just the design. I think they should have put some fabric or something with cushion in that part. I think if I ever use them in a tilted road my toes are going to suffer:( I am disappointed. Unfortunately can't return them, already use them.

I have had past models of the superior, but sizing has changed with latest model.

I use these for running, hiking, working in the woods. Great for mud, rocks, even a bit of snow and ice.

I buy men's sneakers to get a wider width and these are perfect. I have been in fully barefoot shoes for many years now, but I have arthritis in my knee and am going to be walking around Disney for a week and wanted something with a little extra padding so I don't end up in pain. These fit the bill perfectly! I've been wearing them around to break them in, but they barely seem like the need it! If you are transitioning to barefeet shoes, this would be a good step toward it. Or if you need a little extra padding but still zero drop and wide toe box, this is the way to go!

For my foot shape, the Altra standard fit is spot on for me in a 10.5. When I go to their original fit, like in the lone Peak or the Olympus, are usually have to size 1/2 down. As a result, I find the Timp and the superior to be the best fit for me. I prefer the superior because of it's better outsole and integrated rock guard. The reduced stack height does not result in greater foot fatigue, on the contrary. I appreciate the feel of the trail with these shoes and they suit my preferred running distance between 10 and 50 km. Of the four styles of Altra trail running shoe, the superior is now my favorite.

Love the Superiors, ended up with 1,003 miles on my first pair. They did well on road, trail & gravel. You can't even tell that you have the rock plates in. It was an easy transition from Hoka to Altra. Looking forward to what I can do with the next pair.

Ok. I had a pair of Superior 4.5's that worked quite well but without a rock plate, it was too much for longer hiking/trail running ventures. So I wanted to try the LP5 but the midsole on the LP5 was really, really frustrating to me, as it was way too narrow. So nervously, I ordered a pair of LP5 wides, AND the Superior 5. I'm happy to say that the Superior 5 fits exactly as I need it to. The LP5 are just too awkward for my foot, even in the wide sizing. I'm sure there is a foot they fit perfectly, but it seems so specific in its fit to me - it's like they just made the toe box 25% wider, and the midsole felt nearly the same as the non-wide. Anyways. I'm happy that I can wear Superior 5's, and I appreciate the lighter shoe, with the rock plate insole. I suppose I just need to buy 5 pairs so when they change the shoe this next year, I am not depressed again.

This version is easily my fav so far and is at the top of my running shoe rotation. Likes: zero drop, low stack, good proprioception, fairly responsive midsole, decent grip, wide enough toe box for toe/metatarsal splay, very good heel & midfoot lockdown, removable rock plate (my wife leaves her's in all the time & the opp is true for me), simplified upper & significantly improved aesthetics compared to previous versions (subjectively speaking, the cleaner simpler appearance looks great). This versions feels more balanced than its predecessors & is the first version that disappears into the background of a run, forgotten about it in a good way. For me, the toe box of the predecessors felt disjointed from the rest of the shoe, creating a floppy distraction on trail runs (so they've all quickly fallen out of the running shoe rotation, relegated to yard work). Dislikes: as a sockless runner, the welded 'seem' at the toe bumper occasionally catches my toe nails, a less-than-enjoyable experience. A strip of tenacious tape over the seam has helped eliminate that issue. Kudos Altra, appreciate the design efforts & incremental improvements. For reference, this is a trail running/racing shoe for me, it's not used as a casual or cross training shoe as mentioned in other reviews (the solstice is my cross training/lifting shoe).

These shoes are very comfortable, fitting my somewhat wide forefoot well, but snug with no slippage. For me, the fit is better without the removable stone guards, and trail performance is very good without them. The shoes feel light and fast. They give solid support underfoot and have good traction with no slips on mud, rocks, roots and gravel. I ran a 10K race in them today and they felt great - I ran faster than I had expected. Based on my experience so far, the Superior 5 is a truly excellent trail shoe. I also like the blue/orange color scheme!

The Superior 5's are my first trail running shoe, as I've been wearing hiking boots my whole life. Holy cow, what was I thinking! These are comfy, supportive, and breathable. Great for backpacking!

These shoes are perfect in every way for my feet except the color. The back shoes appear to have a beige color to them, when they actually have faint pink in the laces and base of the shoe.

I've been buying Altra's for a while and love them! All my foot pain is gone! The past Superiors have been great and I really love this new one except the size was off. I generally get 9.5 in regular shoes but always get a half size large for Altras. The Superior I bought came as a 10 but fit as a very tight 9.5. So sending it back and getting a half size larger.

Love the shoe but man the laced are awful. I ran 2.5 miles this morning and had to retie my shoes 5 times. Trust me I know how to tie my shoes - the laces on these are just poorly designed.

Bought online half size bigger than street shoes. Usually buy Nike full size larger but was swayed by wider box claim. Find shoe bit tight on width and big toe catching on transition seam between plastic toe cap and upper fabric.

I was really happy with this shoe for 20 miles, then the sole fell off without warning. Fortunately I was only 2 miles from a trailhead. This also allowed me to confirm that there is a lump of material under the middle of the foot (aka "arch support"), despite what Altra claims, but it is less than most of their shoes. The search for a truly flat shoe continues. It will be a while until I can trust taking these on any true mountain adventures.

The Superior 4 was my favorite running shoe. I wore them out and bought the new version to replace them. The fit is very different and I am not happy with the change.

The shoes were a bit disappointing - after a month a walking and running, I noticed a rip in the front of the shoe near the toe which eventually opened up completely.