Customer Reviews Altra Paradigm 4.5

The Paradigm 3 were the first running shoes that were PERFECT. I ran through 8 or 9 pairs of the 3s, averaging 50 miles a week / 400ish miles a pair. No issues EVER. I was pumped about the 4.5s, but something about the changes to this model started causing me inner knee and hamstring pain on one side. I thought maybe the needed to get broken in, but I have run marathon with the Paradigm 3's right out of the box no problem. After 250 miles, these were shot, I also go the ankle blister everyone was talking about. Reverted back to the 3's and after 3 days, the knee and hamstring pain was totally gone. Not sure what happened on this model, but have since stockpiled the 3's. Altra, please fix! Same thing happened to my mom with hers.

Altra has lost its way. After catering to the "wide forefoot" crowd, Altra has made everything more narrow, and now we're all paying the price for it. I'm now suffering from pain in the ball of my foot as a result of these changes.

I have worn Altra since 2013. Altra use to be great for me. Zero drop and wide toe box. First time I tried them on I thought I had found my life long shoe company. But this new ownership has kept the zero drop, but made the shoes much more narrow, especially in the toe box. They do not work for me. This is the third pair (Torin Plush, Paradigm, and Provision that I have bought and returned within the last 2 months. (I am a slow learner.) All for the same reason. They have gotten to narrow. What is wrong with these people. You are losing all the loyal customers that supported these shoes in the early days of the company. I have complained before but gotten no answer as to why the shoes are getting narrower. Thus, I am fed up and moving on. There is another company that sells a few wide toe box and zero drop. Not all of their shoes are this way, but enough to keep me running pain free. If you do a web search for zero drop, wide toe box they will appear.

These shoes came recommended by a running shop that said the guide rails and stabilipods would help with overpronation. I was better off running with shoes not even in stability class. Not having rubber on the whole sole just doesn't make sense. Too bad I am out my money for these. What a waste!

The Paradigm 3 was perfect. I went through 4 pair. The 4.5 are horrible, very stiff and floppy. I guess there is the need to continuously change, but I wish you would have left the 3's alone.

The upper is trash. It's not rigid enough to hold the foot in place. The footbed is too narrow in the forefoot and mid foot, which completely defeats the purpose of the "footshaped " shoe. The sizing is way off as well. Just an all around poor performance from altra. I expected more.

After the Paradigm 3.0 it seems the company that bought Altra decided to turn these into some kind of 'stability' shoe. The result is the paradigm is now like running with a board strapped to your foot. They are also narrower, especially just behind the toe box. I sent them back.

I bought these shoes at a running shop after I was told I pronate. I have worn them twice for short runs and they caused large blisters on both of my arches.

No longer the Altra we came to love. First off, the toe box is just square not wide anymore. This shoe is so narrow it is literally painful, not just snug. No way I could stand to break them in. As weird as it sounds, the tightness up front causes the heel to slide up and down like there's no back to the shoe. And they're at least a half to 3/4" longer than my other Altras of the same size. I thought I noticed some narrowing on my last pair of Altras, Olympias, but thought it was just a fluke. I have read other negative reviews for other models and just thought some people were just being argumentative. But I have experienced it first hand for myself. I can't begin to explain how disappointing it is. Altras were a godsend, unique and worked well for me. I truly believe they are the reason I no longer suffer from plantar fasciitis. But now I'm back to square one, looking for a suitable replacement.

Wow! I just wrote a review of the Torin Plush shoes that I tried on and was shocked at how narrow they were...now I have to do the same for the Paradigms. These shoes are not for narrow feet. Sure, the toe box is technically still roomy, in that you have plenty of room to wiggle your toes. But that is not the traditional appeal of Altras to those with wide feet. Those of us with wide feet are wide at the metatarsal heads, and that is where Altra shoes now seem to be tighter than non-Altra brands. I have duck feet, need shoes for duck feet, and don't care if they look like duck feet. For me personally, I don't need the zero drop...I actually prefer a 3-4mm drop. So I am very sad to say that after 5+ years of owning and wearing only Altras, I will be looking for a new brand of shoe.