Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 5

Tore apart lugs of the VIBRUM sole and the ankle support fabric fell apart. Disappointed my 3rd pair of altras and the same happened to my 4s wished they fixed it because they are the only zero drop shoe company for the price I was very upset with the shoe and customer service as they told me they may be able to help out with a warranty. Going to try the "mont blonc boas" as they may be more durable but still for the price I'm upset. Seems a lot have this same issue. Praying my bloncs hood up as I love altra just the quality of duability is not there

Olympus is typically a reliable trail runner but the 5 has a major design flaw. The adhesive on the bottom of the shoe comes apart. Before I hit the trail the bottom started peeling apart. I returned within 30 days for a refund and the retailer told me I was the 2nd person in a couple of weeks who returned because of the same issue.

The fit, traction, and running performance are phenomenal, but I have never owned a shoe that fell apart more quickly. I wear these shoes around the house and for ~10 miles a week of trail running. In the first month: a lug fell off, the heel strap broke, much of the upper started to fray. Now, 4 months in: the outsole and midsole are heavily worn, and the upper looks ancient and is developing holes in multiple places. At month 3, a friend commented that I should replace my "beat-up old shoes"! At this rate, the shoes basically cost $1/mile - ridiculously bad value. I am now in the market for a new pair for when these fail outright, but I can't bring myself to buy another pair of Altras until the quality of materials and testing are improved. Frankly, this seems to be a widespread issue across the whole product line at the moment - my guess is that someone made the call to use weaker materials in construction to save $$$, or someone let testing/QC slip with new designs/materials/partners. Either should result in the responsible party losing their job or significant job responsibility, and with a replacement spearheading an epic push to improve durability and salvage the brand reputation before the next generation launches.

The shoe has a nice wide base but not enough material to be comfortable. I have the Lone Peak 6 in a size 11 wide and I have all the room in the world. In the Olympus 5, I went up to an 11.5 and 12 with no luck. (The 12 is in the picture) I measured the cloth upper on the O5 and it measured roughly 6" and the LP6 came in at 6"3/4 and cinched to fit my foot, so presumably you can get more foot in there! Anyway, Altra, take the top of the Lone Peak 6 and the base of the Olympus 5 and you will have the best shoe you make! The world will rejoice and I will probably buy a couple pairs, even at the redonkulous price they sell for.

I bought 2 pairs of O5's and neither lasted 3 weeks of very mild use before the vibrams soles started ripping off. Lovely shoes if they'd not totally fall apart.

I running for a few hours and I can not continue running because irritated my skin over the anterior calf's area.

I hate that these feel so much inferior to my mostly great experiences in the 4s. I've had 5 pairs of the 4s, which get about 450 miles each before the seams in the inner sides rip, which is when I retire them. The 5s look initially to have better materials on the upper and possibly worked to address the common rips in the sides, but only time will tell. But each pair of 4s, right out of the box, has felt great on my feet with no break-in required. The 5s, however, have a different feel on my feet. I've only been on two 12-mile outings in these on the same rocky and rooty trails I'm always on. First thing I noticed were the shorter laces. I could barely tie a single knot, let alone a double knot. I first thought this might not be shorter laces, but the more padded tongue and/or different arrangement of eyelets, but I took the laces out of both and they are a good 8" shorter! Never have my 4s come untied, but twice in my first run, I found myself stopping to tie them back - incredibly annoying. And just to get the single knot, I had to pull the laces tight throughout, which made for a uncomfortable fit on the tops of my feet. In both outings, I experienced foot pain in my outer arches that was never present in my 4s. I also noticed tonight in doing this review that the 2nd and 4th row of tread under the toes are starting to peel back, which looks like is common based on some other reviews. Not sure if this is just a glue issue or what, but this never happened in my 4s, and to be happening after less than 25 miles is not great. I'm sure Altra will fix this by replacing my shoes via warranty claim, but for their price point and a lifespan of 4-500 miles (3-4 pairs a year), we should expect a better product. I'll be looking to stock up on 4s and either wait for the next model or possibly try the Mont Blancs. I absolutely LOVED the 4s and felt like I finally found my go-to trail shoe for hiking and trail running. Definitely not ready to give up on Altras by any means, but the experience so far with the 5s has been poor.

I have about 65 miles on the shoes and wanted to share some feedback. First the good stuff. The material on the inside of the shoe's collar appears to be more durable than the previous version and the heel lockdown is also better than the previous version. Unfortunately, that's all I have for positive features as I have run into a number of issues with version 5. First, the shoe has smaller volume than the previous version. Not sure if this is a sizing issue or if the shoe is truly narrower or shallower than the previous version. Going up a half size might help that. The midsole feels much less plush than version 4. At 65 miles the midsole feels like the previous version did at around 400 miles. The super tall heel pull tab requires the wearer to use only tall socks with the shoe otherwise the heel pull tab creates friction against the Achillies tendon. Finally the shoe ships with laces that are so short that they cannot be tied if using the last set of eyelets. I had to pull the laces off of my old Olympus 4's to use with these shoes. Hard to understand how a $200 shoe does not include functional laces. I tried to exchange them for a half size larger from the retailer I purchased them from. Because I was outside the 30 day purchase period they would not help me and advised me to contact Altra. I contacted Altra and the advised me to contact the retailer I purchased them from. Looks like I am stuck. Very disappointed in these quality control issues for such a premium shoe. I liked version 4 but will definitely think twice before shelling out this kind of cash on another Altra.

The Olympus 4 was/is my go-to hiking and walking shoe. The Altra toe box and flexibility make them comfortable, even after neuroma surgery, The new heel section on the Olympus 5 ruins the shoe. The tab on the back is so long (high) that it rubs on the back of your ankle. This is very annoying. I will talk with Altra about what else I can try or I will buy a few pairs of Olympus 4's before they are out of stock.

Feels like Olympus should comfort and size wise, but has a major issue. The sections that are glued onto the bottom of the shoe started to come off on the second day I ever wore them, and the other shoe lasted until the third day. I'm continuously applying gorilla glue to different sections that start to pop up so I didn't just waste all that money. Thankfully the gorilla glue lasts multiple times longer than whatever they put on there initially. Other than that, good shoe.

I only wear them while trail running or hiking. Liked the fit and style but these shoes didn't hold up for more than a few runs. Very noticeable wear after the first run (~20 miles), rips in the outsoles and peeling sole after the 2nd and 3rd runs (~35 miles). Now after the 4th time out they look about 3 years old! Bummed to have paid $180 dollars for these shoes to only get a few runs out of them before they fell apart. This was my first experience with Altra's and I really wanted to like them.

After only 5 hikes the tread began to peel off the sole of the shoe. This is more than a major flaw but otherwise the shoes were great. I have filed a warranty claim and am waiting to hear back from the company.

This is my 6th pair. 1st with new version. I do not care for the color choices. I wear these shoes for many occasions. Glow in the dark orange is a no for me. I spoke to rep when the 4's were about to come out and I said " I hope there are better color choices" she said that it was the main feedback from customers. And they came out with great colors. Now going backwards with awful color combos. Why Altra Why?

I run long distances. Bought half size larger and these run small so overall fit is ok. Laces were way too short, can't even tie the shoe. Build quality is below average. It sounds like I am pumping up an air mattress with one shoe constantly when running on dirt road after any water crossing. Tread is coming off. Maybe have 350 miles on them. 1 star due to disappointment in overall performance. That being said I will buy another pair when they discontinue them and they are on sale.

What happened to all the size 14s? There have been no size 14s in months. Please get size 14s.

When are you going to make bigger sizes such as 13 in the black colors?

I used to hike lots of miles in either the Lone Peaks or these. I recently purchased and returned a new pair of Olympus. They were not lush. They were not cushioned. I could feel every millimeter of every lug from the Vibram soles. Felt like a piece of the shoe box was all the separated the heavy duty Vibram Soles from my foot. Ive been buying Altra's since 2011. This last new pair were the worst shoes I've ever walked in. Absolutely terrible. I see they finally have some size 14 Lone Peaks in stock. I want them but after this recent experience, I'm hesitant. I used to love this company.

Why can't you guys produce shoes that fit consistently within a line? Currently have a pair of Lone Peak 7 in Size 12 which fit great. I tried the Olympus 5 and the run 1/2 smaller and there is NO heel pocket whatsoever? The rear heel collar seems to be 1/2-1" lower compared to the Lone Peak resulting in ZERO heel hold or lock. Also ran into similar sizing issue when trying the Timp 5, runs 1/2 size smaller comparatively to the Lone Peak 7. Still trying to find an Altra trail shoe with more cushion/stack that complements the Lone Peak, but it appears each one of your shoes is different in size and fit??? The consistency within the trail line SUCKS

Low colar but decent heal fit. But sizing is small and the laces are completely the wrong size

Shoe came apart in less than 6 months from purchase date despite not being worn daily. Altra refused to honor the 1-year warranty citing it was not a defect although the mesh on the toe came apart. These shoes were only worn inside a school teaching phys ed. For a shoe at this price, better quality would be expected. Very disappointed that they do not stand behind the quality of their product and honor the warranty that they advertise. Will not be purchasing this brand in the future and will no longer recommend the brand to others.

I LOVE this shoe but they are NEVER available in any color in size 14. Wake up, Altra! The fact that they sell out should inform your production volume! I reached out on Instagram but was ignored. Come on, guys!