Customer Reviews Altra King MT 2

Preface this review with I have owned close to 30 pairs of Altras, and will continue to love their shoes. I've spent 1400 miles in the King MT's . Close to 1200 miles in MT 1.5's and within the first 100 miles in the MT 2's I can tell you the King is gone. I understand that this shoe was invented and designed entirely for adventure races like Tough Mudder and Spartan. So for what it was designed for its probably a great shoe. For me they were my staple hiking shoe. On the King MT 2 they raised the strap up the foot probably to fix the mid lacing issue that the 1.5's had. But that strap is now in the crease of your foot which wears funny when smashing mud and inclines. The biggest flaw in the shoe is the drains in the bottom, which again I understand is for their Spartan and Tough Mudder events (Which the shoes was designed for.) But if I take my dog out to pee in the morning and step on the wet grass from the morning dew my foot gets wet, from the bottom up. This is amplified when trail running, my insoles and feet are caked in dirt coming up thru the bottoms. Which is really stupid. They're now my bikepacking shoes. Anyway, I think this shoe is probably amazing for what its designed purpose was, but its no longer the versatile giant that it used to be. This was my 7th pair of Kings, and most likely the end of the line. We had a good run Altra. *pun intended*

Slightly too narrow and short. I know race shoes are supposed to be tighter, but it is still too small. The real reason I'm unhappy is that my heel has way too much wiggle room. Paired with the high stack height makes it all too easy to roll my ankles in these. Also what's up with the short laces? Resolve those issues, and this would be a great shoe.

I absolutely love this shoe. I am a woman who lives in the PNW and use this as my go-to trail running shoe for when I need extra grip over wet logs, snow, and ice. HOWEVER, I absolutely HATE that there are four little holes in the bottom of the sole near the arch (you can see them in the product pictures). Why Altra would ever think putting holes in the sole of a shoe with enhanced grip was a good idea is beyond me. Every time I run through a puddle or snow patch on a trail my foot gets soaked and then really cold. This shoe has unparalleled grip but until Altra ditches the holes in the sole, I will have to find something else. Please fill in the holes and make this my all-time favorite trail running shoe. Also, keep the soft tow cap, its much better than the harder one found on the Superior series.

These are still, hard, nothing like I expected or wanted. Going to return.

Same great fit and feel as the 1.5s. However, the higher placement of the Velcro strap was no good for me. First, it makes adjusting and tying the laces a challenge. Second, it cuts across the tendon that pulls your toes up, so I have to leave the Velcro loose or it hurts, and this means the strap isn't doing anything to secure my foot the way it does on the older models. Please move the Velcro back down! And make the toe box more durable, even if it adds a little weight!

Tried on the King MT 2 today and they immediately hurt. The pain seems to be on the medial side of the base of the lacing area. To be fair, I also replaced my Escalante 4s at the same time, and the new pair is tight at the same point, but that just means those will stretch out. I am concerned that the King MT 2s wont stretch at that point, as the mesh upper is supported with some sort of plastic overlay. I'm going to wear them around the house and hopefully they will stretch, but I expect I will be returning these.

I've run in Altras for years. The Lone Peaks are my go to shoe and I have been through several generations of that shoe and still prefer it to others. I decided to try the King MT 2 and have been sorely disappointed. I just finished my first run with them and they collected so much sand in 6 miles it was unreal; like 1/4 cup in each shoe. It wasn't even that sandy of a run and I did the same route a few days ago in the same conditions with the Lone Peaks and no sand in my socks. These suck for a trail with any sand at all.

I had been running for years with King MT shoes; they were my favorite trail shoes. So when they wore out (holes all over the uppers, patched with tape and shoo goo) I decided to try the new version 2. I ordered a pair size 10, the same size I had before; they arrived and were much too tight. I couldn't even get my feet in. So I sent them back. Eventually, the refund arrived. I ordered another pair in 10.5. When they arrived, I thought no problem; but these too were too tight! I could get them on but the toes were tight and across the arch and my foot would just not fit. BAck they went; the free return feature from the Altra website is a good idea. I still have not received my second refund, three weeks later. Perhaps it will come today. If you want these, I suggest you order extra big, or check first to see what size fits, maybe at a store. The old ones were great trail shoes if you are a devotee of zero-drop shoes. I wish I had bought two more pairs-- way back then.

i have 8 pairs of altras. really like jogging in escalante racers. wanted a shoe to jog on non-technical suburban dirt trails and in winter weather. definitely not a spartan. runners world recommended king mt 2s as winter zero-drop shoes. they appealed to me because their low stack and light weight. 1) the stone guard makes them inflexible which in a 'dem bones' manner hurt my feet, then my calves/achilles, and then my knee. i thought i would get used to them, but on my third run my normally happy knee started complaining. i had to stop midway and walk back. 2) the four drainage holes midsole seem to siphon the smallest amounts of water up to my feet which then stay moist. i wish altra would make some shoes for the multitudes who jog in winter so we don't feel the need to re-purpose specialist trail shoes.

I have owned every version of King MT since they were on the market. Due to durability issues early on, I went through 2 pairs per year, hoping that an updated version eventually would fix the issues from the previous. As with this review, I left similar for each version. Lone Peaks and Superiors were let downs for me over the years, so the King MT was my go-to trail shoe, and I was hoping for the best, mainly because of the grippy Vibram soles. As one reviewer mentioned, this shoe seems more geared towards short distance obstacle race runners that have to run and crawl through water throughout the course. I don't ever recall it being branded this way, but since they seem to be catering to that demographic of runners, this shoe is not ideal for me with those stupid drainage vents in the sole. TERRIBLE design and idea. For the average trail runner that doesn't always cross knee high streams on a daily run, the problem is small puddles. Old King MT shoes would drain just fine for me on these crossings, no drainage vents on the bottom necessary. However, now I go through a very shallow puddle and water enters my shoes and my feet are soaked. Sure, I can modify them by sealing up the vents, but the vents should not be there in the first place, especially not with the list price on Alta's website for the shoes. Two simple things to make the shoe perfect: 1. Eliminate the drainage vents obviously. Let obstacle runners poke holes in their shoes like I have to modify mine by filling in the holes that were designed by the company. 2. Remove the velcro strap completely. You can lock your heel with the proper lacing system. The velcro strap was fine much lower down, but now its current location is very inconvenient. Since no one seems to be satisfied, it's unnecessary to the function of the shoe and best left off. Once I wear out my current pair, I hope that these issues are addressed or else this is my last Altra trail shoe.

Have owned multiple pairs of King MTs. Loved them. That's why I bought a new pair. Took them out of the box and put them on. Felt great, as usual. Went on a 12 mile run or road and gravel road mix. Mile 3 started feeling like the Velcro strap was too tight. Then toes started feeling cramped. Mile 9 feeling heat of the top of my toes. Got home, took shoes off to discover the front top of my socks were dirt covered. Took socks off and noticed the fine dirt covering my toes and under my toe nails, the grit was causing abrasion and pain. Very odd. Never had this issue before on running this route. I have done Ultras, were my socks and feet were like that. I waited a day, covered my feet in rungoo and did the same route. The goo helped but the dirt still got in, again, not usual. Looking closer, the shell around the toes has perforations which were not present n past editions of this shoe, I think that's where the fine grit is getting through. Not happy, will return them.

I bought this shoe because it matched what I was looking for in an OCR shoe and I know that it is a popular OCR shoe. I was away last week and the place I was staying had some trails so I was excited try out my new shoes. After the 2nd run (at this point I have about 10 miles on the shoe), the velcro strap completely split at the end. I was expecting a little more durability from this shoe considering it is supposed to handle rugged terrain yet falls apart after two short trail runs.

I Love Altras. These did not work well for me. They did not heal lock very well and the strap just hurt. I will be returning these to Vendor.

These are my fifth pair of Altra's, and they are too narrow in the toe box and laces are silly short. The original Altra shoes were roomy, comfortable and awesome. I've been watching the reviews (stars) shrink over time and was hoping these would fit like the others I've owned. They don't. At the bottom of the laces, they re very tight across my foot. I can't run in them more than a couple miles without pain. When I'm walking they are tight but don't hurt. Looks like I'm going to have to find a new brand. Hope the Altra product managers are paid by the star rating and will fix the ever narrowing line.....please. Oh, and what's with the short laces? I have to skip a row just to tie the shoes? Hello?

I generally love the Altra products, especially because of the wide toe box and zero lift, but these shoes were way too difficult to get on. I had to find an old shoe horn to get them on, and what is not apparent is the necessity of having to use the tab at the top of the shoes to finish putting on the shoes. (You have to zoom in on the on-line pic to see this tab.) And the shoelaces are too short, so you really need that silly tab. I tried to return the shoes, but have still not received any credit.