Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 4

I use the product for hiking and just bought my second pair for my day to day activities. My only critique is I had to tie my laces open in the tongue with a runners loop. After putting my custom insoles in which are (foot levelers) they are very low, there wasn't enough room from sole of shoe to the top where laces are. Maybe with new model there can be more room in this space . Other than that I love these shoes !!!

I have a right foot which is bigger than my left by about a half size. So normally when a shoe folds in the wrong spot it is my left (shorter foot) that suffers. For some odd reason this folds in the wrong spot for my right foot. I have tried taking the shoe laces out of the eyelets near the toes and tying it tighter at the top, using the secondary top holes. This helps as it should shorten my right foot a bit. It seems to be a function of how wide they made the rubber/vinyl type accents around the laces on the toe side. It is forcing the shoe to flex oddly. As a result of this it rubs the top of my toes and pinches them while walking.

I've been hiking and running in the Olympus and lonepeak for several years. The new Olympus 4.0 fit amazing but something is severely different with the stack height and cushion. This is the first pair of Altras that really hurt my feet. A planter fasciitis causing shoe. Also was very disappointed to discover that they went away from the 4 point gaiter system back to the 2 point. I was lucky at a clearance sale a year ago and found a pair of the red and grey Olympus 2.5. These are the best shoes I have ever had. The saying, don't fix it if it isn't broke applies to the 2.5. I try not to u see e this legendary pair if not necessary but I can run forever in them. I'm currently training for a 50 mile trail race in 2021 and will have to run it in the 3.5. Altra please merge the top of the 4.0 with the bottom of the 2.5 and add the 4 point gaiter and then leave it alone!

Very comfortable out of the box. Here is my update on the Olympus 4 in black: after about 200 miles, noticed the front half of the shoe compressed rapidly, leading to massive toe blisters. People looking at them commented the front looked visibly compressed. That's pretty bad. Out of desperation, switched back to the 3.5s in green (after trying about 25 pair of 3.5s, I've concluded the green ones seem to be the best cushioned of the 3.5s, seriously better than the grey color for longevity), which I scoured from various stores. No such sudden collapse problem with those 3.5. While they do wear, they do so linearly and gracefully. Sadly, they're a rare find these days. Altra, please release a 4.5 soon to address the longevity and loss of longevity and collapse of forefoot cushioning. Also, has anyone tested the various colors of Olympus 4 to note if the other colors wear as fast? Normally, I would think the colors are cosmetic differences only but, given my experience with the 3.5s, I wonder if each color is made on a different assembly line.

Only complaint is they leave my toes hurting so bad. Very uncomfortable in toe area,definitely order half or one size up.

I run on lots of trails, rocky logging roads, beaches, creeks, rivers and around the occasional volcano. As others have mentioned these shoes do seem to pancake, quickly, adding a certain clown-shoe aspect to an already big shoe. I also saw someone mention the large section of foam treads on the bottom and how quickly they wear away... Yes, I can attest the treads only seem to serve an aesthetic purpose and wear away fast. The 3s seemed less bulky and the sole seemed tougher and able to hold up longer. Despite the issues I still like the shoes and I've recommended them to others.

To give some background, I've been trail running in Salomons for the last 10 years. My last 4 pairs of shoes have been S-Lab Ultra 2s. I was curious about Altras given the deluge of reviews I'd seen surrounding the Olympus 4, so I figured I'd give them a go. I do most of my trail running in the coastal range of Orange County, the San Gabriels, & Eastern Sierras. The zero-drop mechanics are fantastic. My stride & gate easily adjusted and I really like how my feet land. The large stack height and extra cushioning are awesome. The shoe overall seems very well made and after 150+ miles, seems to show no signs of damage, even after slamming some pretty rugged terrain. I know the wide toe box is Altra's thing, but if they intended this for people with standard width feet, they've gone overboard. It'd be nice if Altra made a version of this shoe with a tighter upper. When I first used this shoe, I didn't like it, but I found with cinching down the laces, I got a solid fit around my forefoot. Still, I do find there's a little too much lateral slide on technical terrain. I recently bought a pair of Timp 2s and the upper fits my foot much better; it's more akin to my Salomons The tread pattern doesn't make sense to me. The grip is solid on dry terrain, but the soles slip on granite, especially when it's wet. So overall, traction isn't great. Whether it's the tread pattern or sole material, my Salomons have vastly better grip. All said, this shoe works better for me than my Salomons, but Altra is just a few steps away from something truly epic.

Great feel and cushion...My favorite Altra so far Thnx.

This shoes seems like a very nice shoe, just not for me. I used to run in Timp 1.0, then the first releases of the Timp 1.5. For some reason later releases of the 1.5s were tight across the top as if the volume of the upper was reduced. With the reviews, I didn't want to attempt the 2.0s. So, I tried the Olympus 4.0. Overall, they seem like nice shoes. Plenty of cushion. Uppers appear to be well made. My only issue is the width/upper volume. It's just a little small for me. They are tight across the ball of my foot. I never thought that I had a wide foot, but here we are. I'm running in an old pair of Timp 1.0s and scrambling to find a replacement. I would recommend them, but as with any shoe, they have to fit properly. I'm beginning to think that Altra running shoes are no longer for me.

The heel slips out

Really wanted to love this shoe but the fit was just too loose at the heel and mid foot - even after trying 2 different sizes my foot was sliding around. I have a wide foot at the toes so the wide toe box is perfect, but my feet are very low volume at the mid foot and heel. No matter how hard I ratcheted the laces I could not get a secure fit. The lone peaks fit much better for my foot shape. If there was a more versatile upper design, it may be able to accommodate a wider variety of foot shapes.

I'm 6'-1" 220 and use these Altras to climb mountains and long ultra hikes. I love the shoe but I'm only going to get about 300 miles on them. The rugged vibram sole only covers about 50% of the bottom and the other cheap soft foam gets chewed up by rocks very quickly. Also, the 33m foam is now compressed down to about 20mm in the heel area. The laces are aweful and need to be canned, they don't let you synch the laces easily. Otherwise, I love altras and also use the Paradigm 6 for running. But I'll be looking for a new trail shoe this spring but wont go with these again if they don't fix these issues.

5th Altra shoe. Timp cushioning collapsed on the Camino after 200 miles, so I thought Olympus would be more durable. Really like the fit, cushioning and toe box, but the tongue is too short and slips beneath the knot in the laces. Laces are a bit too short as well. Not sure how the short tongue made it through product design, but really hinders the shoe overall. Remarkably, I still would choose Altra over the competition.

I'm 6'0" and about 200 lbs. Great tread design. The width is perfectly what I need, but my "index" toe now slams the front and bruises. Shoe needs to be more rigid all around with better mid-shoe flex. Needs better cushioning. It feels like it will have a short life span, too lightly made, with consequences for my feet. Would buy again if improvements are made, but otherwise have gone back to Hokas.

I purchased 2 pairs of different brand shoes a liked the other ones better.

I returned these shoes, about a week to week plus ago! My left heel would pop right out! Haven't heard anything about them being received yet. At this point, I'll reorder, another style !

These shoes are great and I use them for all kinds of stuff. Hiking, biking, walking etc. I do have a concern about the quality of this shoe as the toe area around the big toe doesn't last very long. Every pair I have owned my big toe rubs a hole through the top of the fabric after about 300 miles. So I have to discard them as that hole is a doorway for rocks to enter. I would love to see that little toe wrap that Altra has on this shoe spread to about halfway aver the top of the toe box. That would keep my big toe from coming through the top. It would also help protect the toe box in rough terrain.

ive had the Olympus for a while now and tested them in a lot of different conditions. first the good, the soles are great! nice and grippy. they seem to be holding up well too. the toe box is really wide. Unfortunately the downsides outweigh the pros for me though. the heel and midfoot are very wide and despite trying everything my feet always end up slipping over long runs, especially with some vertical. i just cannot get a good fit in these shoes. So unless your feet are wide at the back id skip these shoes.

This shoe is my primary backcountry hiker, I love it. HOWEVER, there are actually two big design flaws that forced me to modify the shoe in two ways before I was ok with it. First, there are two flaps of rubber sole on the back of the heel that *constantly* flip sand/rocks up into your shoes, so I had to cut those off. Second, the laces tighten up very easily near the ankle but are impossible to tighten down near the toes - this is because there are actually two flaps underneath the lace holes that compress the laces part way up on either side, and the compression worsens the more you pull on the laces. This compression creates enough friction that the laces can't pull through and tighten down by the toes. So I also cut off those two flaps, and voila, the laces suddenly tighten up evenly. I probably would not buy this shoe again unless they fixed those issues.

Altra, I love you - but why do you hurt me like this? I've owned and run extensively in Lone Peaks from the 1.5 to 4, Timp 1 and 1.5, and Olympus 2 to now 4. I've ridden the storm through changes between full model numbers before and I'll echo many of the sentiment of others: Olympus 4 lost the smooth, max cushion/cloud feeling of the 3 and 3.5. IMO it feels more like the Timp underfoot now The Lone Peak iterations have had ups/downs causing me to "stock up" on the good ones. Unfortunately this Olympus update was a downer and I'm out of luck for finding any remaining 3.5s. Hopefully Altra is able to correct course with the 4.5, 5, or maybe a new more cushioned "Son of Olympus" model. I really believe in and have come to rely on Altra's foot shaped toe box. It's what shifted me off of Hokas, and I don't really want to go back to get the max cushion feel.

I loved the 3.5's so much I tried the 4's but it seems they took a ton of cushioning out of the heel and really hardened it up. Now they are super irritating on the achilles. Would love to see the heel back to a looser fit with more cushion. Still a great shoe though for anyone that doesn't have any heel issues.

I want to kk e this show. I loved the model before and wish I would have purchased more of them. This new show just feels off. Had to replace it after sue loop ripped after 2 time wearing it.

I have three fairly major issues with this shoe: 1) It's very difficult to cinch up the laces evenly. If you pull on the loose ends of the laces, you only end up tightening the top of the lace at the top of the tongue. If you grab the laces part way down the tongue and attempt to tighten there, as soon as you let go the laces relax again. As a result, the shoe always feels somewhat loose. I realize that most shoes exhibit this to at least some degree, but it's pretty egregious with these shoes. 2) The rear of the tread has two big flat pieces that stick out awkwardly and CONSTANTLY flip sand/dirt up into the shoe at the heel. I might cut the pieces off of mine. 3) The rim of the shoe around the ankle feels too low, like my heel is going to pop out frequently. It does not, but it feels like it's coming close, which is not a great feeling when hiking. I kind of wish I could return these for a different model Altra, but it's too late now.

This shoethe black and white with red sole and highlightslooks fantastic. I was pretty excited to find a great deal on the last pair in my size. Then they arrived at my door, I looked at the sole, and put them back in the box to return them. At least a third of the shoe bottom has no outsole. It's exposed midsole, complete with fake lugs. Pushing on it is like pushing on a marshmallow. No way that holds up. And God forbid you step on a thorn. It will go right into your foot. Maybe if this was a road shoe I could understand the logic. As a trail shoe it is a no go. Altra has a reputation for making comfortable shoes that don't hold up to wear. The Olympus 4 seems as though it was designed by someone who heard a critic say that Altra couldn't make a shoe that held up any worse than their previous model and he said, "Hold my beer."

The first Olympus from Altra was remarkable to me. They help cure my plantar fasciitis, and were a great walking/work/play shoe that wouldn't die. Then the Olympus became just another running shoe.