Customer Reviews Altra Escalante 2

By far this is the best update I have ever experienced in a shoe...any shoe...ever. I have been with the Escalante since the 1.0 and have grown quite fond of the line. After reading the many reviews across multiple sites and with careful consideration, I decided to keep with the line and get the 2.0. It has been the greatest shoe decision I could ever have made! The changes are drastically different, but revolutionary. I really enjoy how it gives you the best of both worlds.....a firm push upon fast tempos, but a softer ride at slower paces. The weight change, to me, is not noticeable. This shoe has, by far, the best fit out of the line. (I have what I consider as runner's feet, which are narrow.). So I dost protest the issue regarding the shoe being too narrow. I think the upper redesign is amazing...preventing the foot from sliding at all...which is something that not even the 1.5 had accomplished in all of its glory. Finally, I am in an Escalante that completely supports my foot at every angle....which includes the ankle. I would recommend this shoe as a daily trainer.

I love the Escalante! I have a pair of Brooks, UAs, Nike's, and ASICS, that I guess I need to give away. I've only been running consistently for a couple years, but fighting injury all the way. The Zero drop and more minimalist design of Altra has helped me go injury free. The wide toe box isn't something I knew I needed, but I can't go back. Zero drop takes some time for your calf muscles to adjust to, I think the Escalante is the perfect shoe for the transition. It has the right amount of cushion to help ease in to running zero drop. Durability seems good, I have over 200 miles on them and they still seem like new. My only complaint would be the shoe laces are too long, but that's easily solved my tucking them.

This shoe is so much better than the pillowy predecessors. I liked the original Escalante, but the heel was a puffy cushion that cause achilles pain when running a lot of uphills and caused power loss from the excessive cushion of the sole. This version does a much better job of locking down the foot and giving the right amount of cushion. I really hope this version is the future of what Escalante will continue to be, and Altra is not pressured into "Going back" to the old Escalante.

The upper holds up a lot better than the knit in the 1.5. My only complaint is that the outsole slips a little in the rain.

Immediately after trying these on for the first time, my thoughts were: Uh oh. Some people might be mad at this new version... This version, as other reviews are saying, is not quite as bouncy or cushion-y as the 1s or the 1.5s. I've run in all the Escalante versions, but I mainly use them as my everyday comfort shoe. For running, I switch between the Kayenta and Solstice. This version is perfect for me, as I don't need much cushion or bounce, but I still like the little extra support now and then. They've joined the running rotation for me. This version fixes my only gripe with the 1 and 1.5 version: the side-to-side foot sliding that happened any time you're not running on flat pavement. With the old versions, i was bound to the pavement and anytime I went on the trail, i was sliding all over, unable to handle the tilted terrain. These versions give a much more stable upper while still retaining the flexible comfort of a knit. I loved the old versions and thought they were nearly perfect. I love the new version and think it's nearly perfect. But in pretty different ways.

Feels like a mixture between the Escalante 1.0 and racer. I love this shoe

I have this shoe and the Racer '19 and I like this shoe better. Has more padding and a comfortable ride without extra weight. Buy them.

The 1.5 had the worst heel slip of any shoe I've ever worn. They were also too unstable with harder turns. It ruined it for me. Altra fixed these well. These are the perfect higher cadence running shoes with the stability you need. Why anyone would complain about a shoe being too unstable is beyond me. Great improvement.

my biggest beef with the escalante 1 was a lack of structure and too soft a midsole. problem solved in the 2. i like it a lot. job well done with the updates and the color choices. i walk to work in these so i need some conservative options. thank you very much. i did go down 1/2 size. Feels more like a solstice with Ego Midsole.

I just bought this shoe to replace a pair of Escalante 1.5's. These are much improved. The upper is more firm/supportive to prevent the "slop" that was in the 1.5's. I was ready to switch to another brand after the 1.5's but it appears that Altra has fixed the issues I had with the shoe.

Used as my daily trainers. After 80 MPW on mostly combed dirt roads, they feel faster than the predecessors. I had heel slippage issues with the first two, and they got a bit sloppy, but I still liked them. I like more responsive shoes so obviously I would prefer these. Collegiate XC/TF runner here, so if you use them for other purposes, ex: working on your feet all day, I could definitely understand the negative comments. I also work at a restaurant and I still wear my 1.0's at work. Happy running everyone!

I love this shoe! Now that i have the Altra running sizing figured out i ordered this pair and they where perfect out of the box ! Very comfortable , not rubbing or blistering!

Same midsole with an updates sock-like upper

I recently changed my foot strike from the traditional heel to toe strike to a mid foot strike and was looking for a shoe with a lower heel to drop and found these. All I can say is that have reinvigorate my passion for running and I will not wear any other shoe.

I've spent way too much time looking at reviews for shoes. It's important to remember that everyone is different and has different opinions. These shoes are good. If you consider yourself a no-frills runner and don't care to get obsessively wrapped around technicalities and intricacies, don't hesitate to buy these shoes. Now get outside and log some miles or do something else you love and stop wasting time reading shoe reviews!

Fit and feel is wonderful! Slightly more lateral stability for cornering than the original Escalante, which was desperately needed. Much better fit around the ankle!!! The ride is still great... responsive with a little cushion, a little energy return, and a little flexibility. Only negative will be if the upper continues to stretch over time like the original did and like the Paradigm 4 and the Torin 4 Plush did. The upper on all of those shoes stretched through the midfoot until until you had the laces cinched to the max. Hoping that doesn't happen with these, but early signs are looking that way. Greatly reduce the stretch of the upper in the midfoot so that it will secure the midfoot similar to the Escalante Racer and this shoe is 5 stars.

In my current road shoe rotation, I have the Escalante 2, Hoka Clifton 4, Nike Free RN Distance, and Nike Zoom Fly 3 Premium. Of the other shoe, I would say the feel most closely resembles the Free RN, but with an overall better shape and fit. This shoe deserves better reviews, and I think the negativity mostly comes from people who loved the 1 or 1.5 and didn't like the changes made to this iteration. As someone who jumped straight into the 2, I cannot make the comparison, but what I can say is that this had been an excellent daily trainer for me. The width of the shoe allows room for my wide feet, and is one of the only shoes that hasn't given me a blister on the inner backside of the ball of my foot.. Now here is my one and only big complaint and the reason I docked a star.. the heel cup points in toward the Achilles, and rubbed my Achilles raw the first several runs in these, even with thick long socks on. After 50 or so miles this did eventually stop as the broke in, but this may be something to address in the 2.5 or 3.