Customer Reviews Altra Paradigm

I find many tennis shoes are too fitted in the toe box; these are not. They are shaped like your foot and splay a bit. They are not the best looking shoes, but they provide good support and cushioning and the ball of my foot hurts much less than before I bought these. Also, FYI, the color in the photo is not as NEON as these actually are.

My husband and I both were recommended by our foot doctor for the Altra Paradigm. He has plantar fasciitis; I have tendinitis. Love them! Other colors to choose from would be great! He even wears his with his suit on Sunday, his feet hurt so bad when he doesn't have these on! I work out on treadmill and any heavy walking I wear them! Paradigm Altra has helped us tremendously! Order 1/2 size larger than your other Asics and favorite tennis shoe! My only gripe is color - would like light brown no white trim and light blue/gray no white trim! Paradigm are a must for bad knees, arthritis too! My friend has flat feet and tendinitis and she loves them too (except the color).

Recommended by my foot doctor. Toe is rounded and better fit than any other sneaker I have worn. Although not a runner, found this sneaker extremely comfortable.

LOVE these shoes. I teach ZUMBA Fitness, Aqua ZUMBA, and weight training classes these work great for all of them. They do not stick when doing turns and sleepy leg Cumbias, yet give traction when I need it. I have flat feet and bad knees and these give great support and comfort and are so comfy and bouncy while jumping. They felt funny when I first put them on but shortly after my feet and legs began to love them. The wide toe box is great because I am dancing on my toes a lot and tend to have problems with my toes going numb and causing stinging pains in my feet. I literally teach tons of hours and abuse my feet, legs and knees. I have tried tons of shoes and these are my favorites! LOVE THEM!

I've worn other max cushioned shoes, but the Paradigm is different in that it is firm, but cushioned, with all of the space your forefoot needs to function properly. In another brand, I felt the EVA deteriorate over time to where it felt like I was running on cocoa-soaked marshmallows. Over 400 miles in these shoes, the incorporated A-Bound with the EVA has made for shoe that is still responsive. This pair has seen equal roads and trails. The soft upper makes it comfortable and flexible, while still durable enough for light trail use. (They are not specifically reinforced or designed for technical trails, but I've stubbornly taken them on them, anyway.) I can't recall ever getting a blister in them, even on ultra-length trail runs. I would highly recommend the Paradigm over any other max cushioned shoe.

Finally, the best running shoe for comfort, road protection and good fit! These feel so good you don't want to take 'em off after running! At first, I thought the taper at the toes would feel weird, but once you run, or walk, in them it feels totally natural and you don't even notice it. I have wide feet, and usually order C-D in other shoes (Asic, Saucony), but this Altra is plenty wide in the M.

I absolutely love these shoes! They have a comfortable extra roomy toe box and yet inches very tight around the midfoot/arch. The cushioning is superb, and they run well on both road and off road. The zero drop is very nice. My one and only issue is it is only available in two colors. Otherwise I would give them five stars in every attribute.

These sneankers are very comfortable. Thick cushion outer soles. The width and shape of the sneaker is true to your foot's width and shape. You won't be rushing home to take these off.

I love these shoes. I had been wearing the Brooks zero gravity shoe. This shoe has a wider toe box and is well cushioned. It has helped decrease my knee pain and jogger's toe. You wear 1/2 size larger in this shoe or at least I did. It is worth the money in my opinion! It is not a very attractive shoe but comfort won over style.

Like the Hoka One One Bondi, these are very cushioned, "maximalist" running shoes (I don't run) that are great for plantar fasciitis and arthritic knees. The Altra have a wider and roomier toe box. I replaced the laces because they weren't quite long enough for a "butterfly" to make the heel snug enough (narrow heels). I usually wear green Superfeet in my trainers, but haven't had to add them to these (or the Bondis). I'm trying another style in the Altra, but if those don't work, I'll be ordering another pair of these -- no pain in knees or feet, even after wearing all day.

These are the most beautiful, comfortable sneakers I have ever purchased. They are extremely cushioned without looking like marshmallows. They seemed to run short though. Unfortunately, I have a neuroma in between a few toes and even these shoes do not alleviate the pain. Not optimistic that any shoe will.

Got mine in the fall and have been running on them for several months. Love the fit -- especially the wide toebox. The cushioning is great but sometimes I wish they were a bit less stiff.

I'm new to the zero drop running craze. I've run in these a handful of times and am a fan thus far. They are really cushion-y and the way they are constructed definitely encourages a mid-foot run strike. I especially like them on the downhills as the cushioning makes it easy on my joints. I'm hoping these will work well to keep me pain free as I increase my mileage. Can't give them 5 starts yet...will wait and see. As far as sizing, I wear a 7.5 in most running shoes and that's what I got in these. They fit well although the toe box is super roomy (by design) so they look huge. If you have narrow feet, you'll have to cinch them down quite a bit.

These are way narrower than the intuitions I was replacing them with. If you have wide feet or bunions they will be tight.

Returned these shoes. I bought them for the wide toe box. While they fit well and felt comfortable, the main problem I had w them is that the soles were very thick, almost like rocker-bottom style sneakers, and it just wasn't the feel I was looking for. (That said, I have used mostly minimalist sneakers the past couple of years. It just felt like I was too far from the ground.) True to size in 11 and the sulphur-grape color was just as it appeared on my monitor.

I was in the Torin's for the past year and thought I'd see what max-cushioning would be like in these. I hated it. I kicked the Paradigm's off after 15 minutes on the treadmill and put my old, flat Torins back on. Here's the good on the Paradigm - it looks a little more normal than the Torin 1.5 because the toe box is slightly narrower. I would say the toe box is comparable to Mizuno's. The colors were pretty fun too. But my compliments end there. The sole is so tall that I felt clumsy and awkward while running, and my knees/feet/calves/quads/hips all started hurting in just 15 minutes of jogging in the Paradigm. I'm already a zero-drop runner, so I didn't need the break in time. I felt like my easy jog pace was way too fast, and even just walking on the 'mill felt strange. The shoes are just too much cushion. The toe box creases uncomfortably at the flex point, and the heel cup is rather wide and tall for a women's specific shoe. This shoe might work for heavier/taller runners who could benefit from this much cushion, but I still question if Altra got a good women's specific design in this shoe. Back to the Torin's for me.