Customer Reviews Altra Torin 4.5 Plush

I am a long time Torin owner....Torin was "the shoe" that brought me to Altra. I have owned several different models of Altra. I have run in Altra, hiked in Altra, and used Altra in the gym as well as casual dress. I am a HUGE fan of Altra and their philosophy of "zero drop" and "proper foot shape". The fit of the new Torin Plush is great....okay, maybe the toe box has narrowed just a bit... The plush upper is very comfortable...but, for me it had sacrificed the stability of the shoe. Any surface that becomes "not perfectly flat" makes the shoe shift off of my foot. It seems the previous versions of material on the upper did not do this. The next problem is the foam sole seems to break down too soon. I am not going to get as many miles out of this version of Torin as I have in the previous versions. Lastly, the rubber sole that is glued to the bottom of the foam outsole continues to come loose....this is very frustrating. I continue to use rubber cement to glue it back on...but it always finds a new place to come loose... Although all of my older Torin models had a similar construction, none of them had the rubber come loose. I am frustrated because I currently own 2 pair of this new model and I am afraid my second pair will fail as soon as the first have. Altra, overall, I love your offerings. Please take note of these shortcomings and offer a better product...a product I know you can offer...because you have in the past...and I thank you for doing this!

On one foot, the shoe felt really good. Light and cushy and I felt like they'd be great for running on pavement. On the other foot, pain pain and more pain. Incredibly tight across the top of the toe box. I hoped that I could break them in by wearing them around, and I couldn't take it after a few minutes. Depending on socks, i can wear either an 8.5 or a 9 in Lone Peaks, but size 9 on these were absolutely unwearable.

I have purchased the Torins for years and after four knee surgeries and being 6'3 215, I am 100% loyal to Altra to get me through my runs without knee pain. However, with the knit upper on the 4.5, runs aren't as stable as they used to and it's like I'm wearing a sock. You take one wrong edge and the side of your foot is slipping to the side of the shoe pounding the pavement. Its like running in slippers. Great padding as always, but the knit style is just not the way to go. Leave the knit upper design for the escalante. Not a fan

I used to love Altra shoes, I would wear nothing else. In the last 2 years or so the size and quality of the shoes have gone way down hill. I still like the toe box, though it seems to be more narrow now. Zero drop is nice also, I like to have level footing. I used to tell everyone how great altra shoes are, but, I can't any longer. I'm considering dropping Altra shoes and finding something different as my go to shoes.

I can't understand how had the idea of changing the most comfortable shoes ever to something so tied that I had no option but return. I have at least 7 pairs of Altra in the past and I recommended them to more that 20 friends (they all loved), but if things keep going this way, I will be forced to find another brand. This new version is super uncomfortable (upper feet) and just kills you. Don't buy the 4.5 version and let's hope they will fire whoever came with this idea and bring back to version 5.0 all the things that we love about Altra

Something is amiss in this shoe... I have just crossed 100 miles in them and also just returned them. A had blisters from the first run, I tried socks, tight laces, lose laces, everything and nothing worked. Blisters on the ball of my foot behind my big toe. Now I am not an Altra Newbie have been in their shoes since the first Loan Peaks. Today I still have 2 Loan Peaks, and an Escalante all work as intended but this shoe hurts too much to run in. I found if I ran at a slower pace around 8 M/M the hot spots would diminish, but once I got to causing pace 7:20 M/M or my 5 K pace Sub 7 then the hot spots would flare up. I literally have been in blister care for weeks. Sorry Altra - something is wrong with this shoe...

I've got a high instep (high volume, average width) and the Altra Torin 4 fits me well in a size 9. But the Altra Torin 4.5 Plush in the same size is too tight across the instep to be comfortable; I had to return it. The tongue of the Torin 4.5 Plush isn't as padded as the Torin 4, which may have contributed to the lack of comfort. But it also appears that there's just less space in the shoe - my foot is bursting out across the laces. Length and width were comparable. The 4.5 Plush looks like a nice enough shoe otherwise. But it doesn't fit me, so I had to return it.

I have owned multiple Altra trail and street running shoes. The wide toe box thru the ball of your foot forward was an absolute dream to my wide feet. After years of struggling to find a shoe that fit my feet they were the answer. I find out with the Torin 4 and 4.5 that they have made the toe box a lot narrower to the point of it no longer fitting my foot! Horrible news and sad as I am no in the hunt for a new wide fitting shoe.

Being upfront I have not bought the shoe yet, but by what I see I am already concerned about the thick cushion. They DO NOT WORK . Soft, thick cushion makes the ankles, calfs and knees work hard to compensate for the softness in the shoe. The idea may appeal to marketing. Tell me what is easier: walk on soft beach sand bare foot or on a firm grass? I feel rhat walk on firm grass is easier...why? Because of the level firm support under the feet. The good intention of soft cushion the shoe makes the feet, ankle, calf and knees work hard to compensate!... just a thought and it is a proven one.

Really surprised by this. I have the Escalante Racer and in those, I have acres of space, so I wasn't too concerned about the "Altra getting narrower" stories I'd been hearing. After hearing about the weight drop I bought these with the goal of replacing some Wide Clifton 6 I have. I wanted to ditch the small 5mm drop and head back to my roots of zero drop running. These are shockingly narrow for an Altra and 'short' in the midfoot. The Wide Clifton 6 is slightly wider in the toe box! The killer for me is the 'short' height of the foot, the shoe presses down on the bone on top of my forefoot even. I've worn various brands and this has never been a concern! I can only presume this is because some people found the other shoes 'loose' but the lockdown has gone completely in the opposite direction. I can't quite get my head around the fact that I can get a more roomy fit in Nike or Hoka... What sucks is being based in Japan a return is typically out of the question.

Torin 4 was roomy and had a perfect fit for my wide feet. I wonder if this update will actually accommodate more people, but for me they were much too narrow. My feet also went numb during my run so unfortunately i am going to have to return them : ( Now if you will excuse me, I gotta go find some torin 4 plushes in stock!

I am returning these! I was so excited as I loved my last pair of Altra;s, but these are a huge disappointment. I found it ran small to size, my left foot went numb from walking in them. The tongue of the shoe is flimsy, flat and thin.

The classic foot shape and "straight last" is lost. The Torin was the best model Altra had left for truly wide, flat feet...just look at how the shoe has gotten narrower with each model over the last 2 generations.

I have had 2 previous Torins (3 and 4 Mesh). Both were great. This one doesn't have the same cushioning as the previous ones. My toes hurt while and after I run. Definitely the company is going away from what it made it great.

I have to say I am very disappointing in Altra for quality and service. My Torin 4.5 was the second shoe in a row that failed to live up to standards. The first sign was a Duo 2.0 that was 1.5 cm narrower than my prior one's and was to narrow to run in. I can not understading how quality control missed such and error as I have my prior shoe to compare against. Then came my Torin 4.5 and the upper separated from the lower after 400 miles. I filed a claim because they said they have warranty between 300 and 500 miles and I was in the warranty period. I had the shoes for just over 4 months. In the past uppers have lasted over 1500 miles. What really made me upset is they unwillingness to honor the warranty saying the separation was due to normal ware and tear because the sole had wear on it. What do the expect after 300 - 500 no wear on the sole? I would be nice if they made soles that did not wear. But I was not claiming the sole wear, I was claiming the fact that the upper separated from the sole. I am very disappointed and I recommend you look at other brands prior to purchasing any Altra shoe because I have found quality issues in multiple shoes at different times over the past year. Sorry Altra, you are just not the shoe you use to be.

This shoes has been redesigned and triggered my neuroma. I used to purchase Altra because it had a wide toe box. No more. If you are looking for a replacement for the Torin 4, look elsewhere.

I bought a pair of Torin 4.5 last weekend because I wanted a road shoe that felt as good as my Lone Peaks. The shoes feel great when trying them on; I really wanted them to work. After walking one mile, I began feeling numbness in my toes. I stopped and loosened the laces as much as they would open. After a few minutes, lost feeling in toes again. The upper material on top of foot, specifically above ball of foot was too restrictive and did not stretch. I returned to REI the next day and tried the next size up. Same issue.

I am going to leave a 5 star review on the Torin 4.5 Plush as a pure walking shoe, or getting around town running errands shoe. It's great. As a running shoe, it's a 1 star. Lack of a heel in the shoe really hurts my feet as I run. I have many years of running experience and have always run in New Balances, and I am a heal/toe runner. In just one run, both feet hurt and my knees and lower back were in severe pain. I honestly can't believe people can actually run in this shoe. I would recommend to anyone who wanted a walking shoe, but stay away of you want to run in these. Since Altra is selling this as a "running shoe", I have to leave the 1 star review.

What is the deal with not having the light grey color option w/out the current light grey color w/red altra logo...??? That ALL light grey color is THE BEST looking shoe color combo! BringItBack

Loved my Torin's for years but these are awful. Toe box is too shallow and too tight. Will have to find another shoe. Why did they ruin a good thing?

TLDR: These are socks, not shoes. Unless you have the perfect strike / form you're going to blow through these like I did. I put about 250-300 miles on my shoes. I (mildly) supinate when I run. The upper material is essentially a flimsy sock and separated from the midsole. Now there is a 5 inch hole on the outside of both shoes where the side of my foot and small toes stick out. For my next pair of shoes I'm sticking with Altras. However, every pare of road "shoes" they offer is now a glorified sock with no horizontal stability support. If you pronate or supinate at all I highly recommend a different shoe. Before wasting more money, I went to my local store and tried on the Rivera hoping for a change / more horizontal support. Same flimsy sock material on the upper as all the other road shoes. I'm now running trail and road in my lone peaks / superiors and I guess that's how its going to be until they ruin those shoes. Altra, bring back ANY road shoe with horizontal support, do away with the sock material as the entire upper, and make a pair of shoes that runs well instead of one that just feels good in the store.

I just picked these up and took them out for an 8 mile run. The upper fits great and the midsole was very plush for the first few miles. Unfortunately, after about three miles I developed pain in the balls of my feet near the base of my toes. It feels like like the midsole was compressing significantly under the balls of my feet and the edge of the depression was putting pressure at the base of my toes. After my run I felt inside the shoe and could feel the depression from the ball of my foot. I was hoping these would be a nice plush option for long runs, but it looks like they'll only be used for short easy runs... or be given away. Definitely not worth the price.