Altra VIA Olympus 2 Evaluation

Altra VIA Olympus 2 Introduction

The Altra VIA Olympus 2 is a every day coach that gives sufficient midsole with their ALTRA EGO Max and rubber outsole for sturdiness to final you a lot miles.

The higher supplies consolation with their engineered mesh and sufficient room with its large midfoot and toes field to your toes and toes to show throughout your gait cycle.

At $165, does this stack up with the likes of different every day trainers just like the Nike Invincibles?

Altra VIA Olympus 2 First Impressions

My first impression was there was quite a lot of midsole happening. Feeling the midsole with my arms it felt actually comfortable. However as I put the sneakers on, it was a unique story.

Throughout my first run in them, regardless that the shoe had quite a lot of stack top and was very comfortable on the contact, I didn’t really feel any cushioning nor forgiveness on the journey.

And for a runner that isn’t use to a zero drop, I positive felt my calves working. I wasn’t too nervous as I do know I can adapt. The higher itself felt very nice and cozy.

Altra VIA Olympus 2 Higher

The higher makes use of a twin layer engineered mesh that may be very comfy. It suits large on my toes, and I can actually develop my toes on my touchdown attributable to it additionally offering a really large toe field.

Though the higher is taken into account large it did really feel safe on the highest of my foot and had no concern with any slippage. The tongue is non gusseted and may be very distinctive. It’s distinctive as a result of it supplies little padding, nevertheless it additionally has completely no construction to it.

It’s a really flimsy tongue however when you lace up and begin working you should have no points with it. I feel the most effective characteristic of this shoe, beside the toe field, is the heel counter.

For a shoe that’s meant for straightforward/restoration runs it supplies the correct quantity of padding and construction to make it a really comfy journey.

Not an excessive amount of padding nor too little padding. One different characteristic the higher supplies is it has a reflector on the lateral aspect in case you’re working at night time.

Altra VIA Olympus 2 Sole Unit

The midsole makes use of what Altra calls the Altra EGO Max, which to me appears like an ordinary EVA foam. I actually didn’t really feel the journey had any cushioning nor forgiveness on my toes by any means.

It took me simply over 5 miles into the shoe to really feel something close to a cushioning journey. Perhaps it’s as a result of I’ve had the fortune to journey and check out midsoles that offered far more forgiveness and cushioning such because the ZoomX from Nike or FF Blast from ASICS.

The geometry of the midsole supplies a pure foot form so you should utilize the complete anatomy of your foot in your gait cycle as a substitute of counting on greater drops to supply any help, particularly on the toe off.

As a runner that does use greater drops on their midsoles, I positive felt extra fatigued on my first few runs with the shoe. However as I ran extra constantly with the shoe, I turned extra comfy with the zero drop. The midsole does present some stability because of the wider platform.

The outsole supplies rubber that has flex grooves the place the human foot is ready to flex through the gait cycle. What I did discover with the grooves between the rubbers is that little rocks can get caught in between. Not a deal breaker however can get annoying.

The traction of the outsole is admittedly good. I’ve examined the sneakers out in grass, grime, pavement, and gravel with no points with slippage by any means.

In the case of sturdiness of the outsole, the rubber looks like it would final some time. After fifty miles, the rubber has not appeared to easy out and the traction continues to be there.

Altra VIA Olympus 2 Conclusions

My expertise with the shoe is that it’s nice restoration shoe. After testing it with pace and lengthy distances, I discovered it to be the right shoe for slower paces at round not more than ten miles with this shoe.

I felt just like the longer I used to be working with it previous ten miles the extra my toes turned fatigued.

Perhaps it’s due to the zero drop that I’m not use to? Or possibly it’s as a result of I felt the midsole wasn’t as alive as I wished it to be? Now, would I ever buy this shoe? Probably not.

There are different sneakers that I’d buy beforehand with higher midsole compounds such because the Nike Invincible with the ZoomX and even the ASICS Novablast with the FF Blast. These midsoles really feel extra comfy and extra forgiving on my toes.

Plus, the worth of the Novablast is much more inexpensive.