Customer Reviews Altra Escalante 2.5

A former runner thats now a walker, I'm really impressed with the fit of this shoe. These fit with plenty of room up front, and yet are flexible in the shoe body so that I can lace them tight enough for foot support and yet the shoe flexes with my stride. Great job on these!

Headline says it all. These are actually better than the 1.5's, which are some of the best sneakers around. A little background: I fell in love with the 1.5's. I returned the 2.0's because they were terribly uncomfortable, mostly due to the shallow and narrow toe box. My feet are very wide at the balls and I have morton's neuroma. Usually new shoes take a while to break in and fit comfortably (including my 1.5's), but these were the most comfortable shoes I've put on my feet straight from the box. Now with the 2.5's Altra fixed the toe box (literally a perfect fit), the cushion is awesome (consistent with the 1.5's), the sock like upper is heaven on my feet, and the shoe overall is VERY flexible (in a great way). Would like to mention, this is the first review I have ever written anywhere. That is how happy I was with these shoes and wanted to make sure Altra knew. Please dont ever change this shoe...just keep selling this model forever :)

Excellent shoe!! I loved the Escalante 1.5's and absolutely did NOT like the 2.0's. The 2.5's to me are what the 2.0's should have been. The upper is extremely comfortable and flexible. The shoe has the perfect amount of stability and comfort. I have just over 100 miles on them and I could not be happier. I believe if you were a fan of the 1.5's you will be very happy with these shoes. Good job Altra!!!!

I walk for exercise and this shoe is a great piece of footwear. Its hard to believe that a shoe without much in terms of arch support has actually been a far better answer to foot and leg pain. Its durable and well made when compare to other similar priced brands I've tried.

Great adjust

I do have feet on wider side. Past shoes though felt a little boxier.

I bought these to replace a pair of Escalante Racers that were worn out. These are what I should have bought in the first place. Much more energy return than the racers. Very fast and low profile.

These are comfortable shoes. Not as good as version 1 I think. There is a little too much cushion. They are still good though. I got the racers and those were really just right. I like escalantes. They are still better than majority of shoes out there. Thanks and God bless.

I use these shoes for work life - chiropractor, on my feet walking around most of the day. The sole is both comfortable and very responsive. Only drawback is the mesh upper, toward the nose of the shoe. Foot shape toe box is supposed to allow my toes to splay - horizontally and vertically. The mesh upper seems to be too constrictive on the top of the foot, towards the nose of the shoe, and it feels like the toes are forever fighting with the mesh . I don't know if there is a fix. Maybe its because I bought actual size, not 1/2 size bigger like I have always done for my running shoes. Its not a deal breaker, but it is something that I am conscious of. Lateral motion of the toes is not restricted at all. I do love the shoes.... also wish they had an ALL black option, including sole.

After using the Escalante Racer for fairly fast walking for a few months, I decided to get the 2.5 to have a little additional cushion for a morton's neuroma. The cushion is there but the sizing is different from the Racer. To get a tight fit on the 2.5, I have to tighten the laces down to the point where the sides are about touching each other. Even with my narrow feet, the Racer had plenty of space when tightened to where they were comfortable. Apart from that they're fine but I ordered them thinking the only difference between the two was a little extra cushion in the 2.5. The two shoes are very much different and I've ordered another pair of the Racer.

This is my third Escalante 2.5, and has noticeable differences in design features from previous two. Pros: Redesigned heel and laces secures foot much better, less of a slipper feel. Neutral: Sole feels noticeably firmer and more responsive. Arguably better for short and mid-distance fast runs, but potentially less versatile for long distances. Cons: Footbox appears unchanged from previous models. For me it is too narrow on the outside / pinky toe and too wide on the inside / big toe. Beta testing what should have been named an entirely new Escalante model given the differences. Conclusion: This will likely remain my general purpose daily trainer, but I don't think I will stretch it out past 10 miles as I have with previous versions.

Have these as my every day trainers. Use from interval training to long distance and my only grief is the upper. If I get on any road that has a left or right slope, feel like my foot is sliding off the shoe. If the upper had more support would be my favorite shoe.

The shoe began to separate from the sole after about 400 miles of running. It's important to note, I run in the rain and snow as necessary. The sneakers have come home soaking wet and sometimes covered in road salt. Overall, I thought they held up well and I am currently looking into buying another pair.

I ran in the 1s, went through 3 pairs of 1.5s (my favorites), skipped the 2s after trying on in a store, and now have my second pair of 2.5s. Out of the box the 2.5s were really close to the 1.5s. By the time I got to the the end of the mid-sole's life on my 1st pair, the upper had grown to at least a half size. The eyelets were touching in order to get proper retention. I tried a half size under, but it's a no go. In the end, I'm satisfied with the product and it's life span.

Absolutely comfortable considering how little cushioning it has and how low the stack is. I love wearing the shoe at work and enjoy running in it. It's not the best for agility/lateral movements, but it's an overall great surprise and great shoe

I have run about 50 miles with my new escalante 2.5. I used to run in escalante 2.0. I run on a mix of park trail (SF golden gate park) and road. I think the 2.5 has a better padding (it feels bouncier). But I'm curious how it will feel at the 100miles mark. There is something odd about the lace. While the size is right, when I tighten my lace, it basically looks like the shoe is too big for my feet. It doesn't bother me, but it doesn't look right haha. If you're here for the wide toe box and/or you've enjoyed escalante 2.0, I think you won't regret this.

This is the first shoe I have ever put on where the upper caught my attention before the midsole. I absolutely adore the upper of this shoe. The toe box could use some work for me though, I wish the toe box on these was more like your Torin shoe line.

This is the closest altra has come to making the shoes they uses to make. I was a big fan of the One 2.5s and got to the point that I could not find them anymore. So I head to go back and find a new shoe. This is the closest they have corn to matching that shoe. It's still a not as flexible and it slightly heavier. But it's close enough to where it's a decent shoe with the same style cushion.

Love this shoe.....just wish there was a little more protection in the toe area.

Pros: Zero-Drop while offering a good balance of cushion Comfortable Sock-like feel Versatile Shoe Cons: No Extra Shoelace hole for Heel lock Color and Design could be better Feet can feel loose in the shoe sometimes PSA: It's important to try this shoe a half size down. I ordered a 10 initially because that's the shoe size I get normally and I thought it fit well when I tried it on. Over the months it progressively became looser even after trying to tie my laces as tight as possible. I even created an extra lace hole but still felt loose. I realized that it just was too big on me and ordered a 9.5 and it fits much better. Make sure that there's only a little bit of space between your toes on the tip of the shoes when you have your heels against the bottom of the shoes.

This shoe feels absolutely flawless 99% of the time, and is perfect for my usual road running. The toe box is (intentionally) a little wide so every once in a while, on uneven terrain, I feel like my foot has a tad too much room to move within the shoe. Overall, though, the shoe has the perfect ratio of comfort and padding to light, quick minimalism.

I had worn the Escalante 2 and bought he same size in the 2.5 and the fit was a little tighter. Still a very comfortable shoe but will have to try on next time there is a style change.