Customer Reviews Altra Kayenta

I like these a lot. I love the original Escalante's, but the oversized forefoot always looked like clown shoes to me. The Kayenta provides plenty of room without the clown-shoe effect. The bootie liner is a bit snug. Sometimes my feet swell if I'm retaining water and the liner can pinch a bit. With other shoes, you can just lace looser but can't do that with the bootie. The pull tab on the heel is stupid; it's much too small to stick your finger in or get a decent grip, so I can't imagine what the designers were thinking. Maybe it's there to carry extra toothpicks??

I haven't run for a bit due to an injury. I've been looking for a shoe that would help me improve my form so I can prevent future injury. Most other shoes with a roomy toebox and zero drop don't have enough cushion for running on roads. These have just enough cushion to run on roads, while keeping enough flexibility to allow my foot to bend and react to the surface. And that inner liner allows me to custom lace the shoe to prevent heel slippage. I have very wide, flat feet, and was prone to twisting my ankle in other shoes. These fit so well and allow me to move so freely that they make my run feel very sure-footed and almost effortless. The only reason I didn't give this shoe 5 stars is the ghastly colors for women. I couldn't find one I liked, settled for the blinding blue, and they feel so great I'll just have to try to not look at them. I might have to dye them black.

I always read reviews before I purchase. Good thing I did because someone wrote that there were tiny holes on bottom of this shoe to let trapped water out. Plus it has an inner liner. I needed a water shoe with a wide toe box (I have big toe joint arthritis) since I am an aquatic instructor and I didn't see online any shoe company that sells water shoes with a larger toe box. The cushioning is very comfortable on the hard deck. Thank you Altra for making this shoe that works for my job. Please consider making a line of water shoes. Only gave 4 stars because sole is a little slippery on deck but nothing too terrible. Inner liner is a bit too snug in the top stitching which resulted in getting a blister on Achilles but a bandaid fixed the rubbing on the Achilles.

Love the color (Blue) and fit. I wear without socks and they fit great. Only issue is blistering on the inner arch... looking into new insoles.

I have worn and love the Escalantes and looked forward to seeing what Altra had new to offer. First reaction to the Kayentas is they are quite minimal, extremely lightweight and very flexible with a socklike fit...... all good things in my opinion. However When trying them outside I felt they were a wee bit too minimal and I felt everyrhing. However, running on the dreadmill I find them to be extremely comfy and plan to purchase another pair. I will stick with the Escalantes for outdoor running.

I own Altra Lone Peak for winter walking. I love them. I wanted a summer shoe. This tight fit liner is too snug. I ordered 1/2 size bigger. Length is perfect. I have large ankles. The sock part feels very tight. I fear it will not loosen up. Otherwise feels good. I am deciding to keep or return. Trying them in the house. There are holes in the bottom. Weird. They are difficult to pull on over thin socks.

This shoe fits great and is super comfy - except for ONE thing... I am not a fan of the "glove-like" one-piece interior and the fact that there's no adjustability as you would have with a traditional tongue. I have thick ankles, which makes the fit around them uncomfortably tight - to the point where I almost want to cut slits in the fabric to make it more comfortable. I can get a little relief by folding the top over and tying the laces on top of it, but I'm hoping after a couple weeks the fabric will stretch a bit, but if not I will probably be returning them because of this. Which sucks because I love these shoes otherwise. I'm sure they fit any other person perfectly fine, but if you have thick ankles, it's not the most comfortable pick.

Too tight, needed to return.

I am an occasional runner, with hopes of increasing to running 3 times a week. I have long toes, and I hate the way other shoes squish my big toe into an unnatural position. I've had over 8 pairs of altras to date. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations were great. Something happened after that and the shoes changed significantly. I used to be able to get 300+ miles from a pair. Two of my recent pairs have felt they needed to be replaced after 100 miles. I am 5'6" and 125-130lbs, and when lately average maybe a 10:30 mile. I don't understand why these shoes wear so quickly. I have had other running shoes in the past that have lasted over 500 miles. I feel addicted to the brand. I long for the old styles, colors, makes... I will inevitably buy more and continue to be unhappy until the shoe can stand up to at least 200 miles, but preferably 400.

So far this is my favorite road shoe from Altra. Love the fitted upper and tongue. They feel a bit short compared to my other Altras, but the real issue is that the sole doesn't hold up. I typically get 400-500 miles to a pair of road shoes before any support/cushion is trashed. Then I wear them for everyday sneakers. However, the soles on my Kayentas are worn completely smooth after approximately 350 miles of dirt/asphalt marathon training. For the price I was hoping to get another hundred miles out of them.

I bought these as ROAD running shoes- as they were advertised. I like the wider toe box, but especially like the sock like liner and cuff. Makes the shoe feel secure. I have also used these on easy trails and really liked them The cuff works like an inner gator and helps to keep debris out of the shoe. Traction was good but the bottoms are rather smooth, so might not be as good on more technical trails or ones that are slippery or have loose dirt. I would have given them 5 stars, but there are a couple of issues. The first is that they are hard to put on because of the tight liner. There is a loop on the back to help you pull them on, but not on the tongue. Sadly the loop on the back is rather useless since it is so small you can hardly grab it and defiantly cant get your fingers in there to pull. The other reason is something that confused me. There are literally "holes" in the bottoms of the soles. I am guessing they were intended to help the shoe drain if it were to get wet in a puddle or creek. But these were marketed as ROAD shoes. I shouldn't be getting into water on the road. Here is the issue with the holes being on the BOTTOM of the shoe, I ran in the rain today, and by less then 1/4 mile I am trying to figure out why the bottom of my feet are getting we. I stop and look and am thinking to my self WTH? I am from WASHINGTON. I need to be able to run in the rain and not have the bottoms of my feet getting wet because water is coming in from HOLES IN THE SOLE of my shoes. This makes no sense at all!!! I will be keeping the shoes because they fit well, but I will be plugging the holes ASAP. Hopefully they read this and work to correct it on the next model.

I had no idea from the photos on the website that this shoe is designed with an interior sock-like mesh layer. It's very difficult to get my feet into the shoes! The liner compresses my feet in a way that is uncomfortable. The shoe is very attractive and well-made, but it's just not comfortable for me. I am hoping to return them for a refund.

I have had over 5 pairs of Intuition and have loved them since they have much less cushion than the Torin and are very durable. I tried out t he Kayenta and was happy for the first ~100 miles. However, the soft material on the sole has worn through past the tread. These would be great shoes for everyday wear, but are definitely not holding up as trainers for road running. I can see these being a great racing flat though.

I was really hoping to like this shoe, and I do like most everything about it. However, it was too narrow through the midfoot for me to wear comfortably, and I had to return it. I've been having this problem with more and more Altra shoe models I've been trying recently, which is disappointing and frustrating. Some people prefer wide shoes all around, not just in the toe box.

Not impressed. This shoe offers very little arch or heel support or cushion. Hard to get on. My shoe makes noise with every step. Not the quality as before. Why keep messing with a good shoe and design. Will not recommend and won't buy Altra again.

I love Altra because I have wide feet. When I received these, I was super excited to try them. The length in my usual size is fine but the width... holy cow guys, it feels like you've cut it in half! The toe box is ok (still narrower than previous lines) but everything back of that is super narrow, like the rise of the arch support in the middle of my foot narrow. Very disappointing, I've worn nothing else for years but if they're going to cave to looks and fashion over function I guess I'll have to go looking again. Majorly bummed.