Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 5

Just picked purchased these and I am super psyched. They are light for the amount of cushion and the fit is perfect. That said, I wear a size 13 and it seems like the laces are WAY too short. I always use a runners knot and am unable to with these as the laces barely make a double knot in the standard lacing configuration. I'm hoping this is just a one-off as it seems like these laces should be on a size 8. I would love Altra to send me some laces that are longer that match. They should be 56-58" long and the ones that came with the shoe are barely 52". But...these are still awesome.

The Olympus has been a godsend for my neuropathy. It has also "moved" one of my toes back to it's original position(great thing) with the wide toe box and I was wearing a quality Clarks dress shoe before that. Hiked Zion and Camelback Mountain in the Olympus 4 and it performed like a trooper. Very impressed with the grippy sole especially on loose gravel. I felt very sure footed. The upgrade to the 5 was good. I like the pull on tab in the back and the shoe agains feels solid. Only complaint was that one of the rubber "lugs" started to peel off from the bottom of the shoe. I glued it back on and so far so good but hoping they fix this in the future!

I am using these shoes for technical trail running and rucking with 30# ruck. I like the reflective shoe laces but they are a bit short when using heel lock.

I'm a nurse & have tried a lot of shoes. I love the foot room and cushion. 3 months in, the sole had a loose lug. Contacted Altra and had a new pair in 2 days. We'll see how this pair holds up.

i had recent foot surgery and this shoe feels perfect. i had to go up a size but the support and comfort are awesome

Great shoe, so very comfortable. Only thing that would make it better is if they offered it in wide.

The shoe was comfortable. The inside was soft and had nice material The sole also had nice cushion. I didn't like the shape of the front of the shoe and it was distracting for me when walking. My foot is a bit more narrow than average so it also felt a bit wide for me.

These are very nice trail running shoes. I have yet to run in them but I have worn them on a hike. The only complaint I have is that they are very tight on the sides. This could be just that they need to be broken in more, time will tell. They have great traction and are very attractive. I will keep wearing them to see if they eventually don't feel so narrow.

These shoes have unseemly good bottom grips. They are a bit big compared to other brands and would definitely fit a wider foot better. Although I have yet to try them hiking I feel like they are incredible outdoor running and hiking shoes because of how great the grips are.

With most shows, I go with an 11.5/12, since I need a wider sized shoe. I got a size 11 in these was was very pleasantly surprised with how well the fit. I've been wearing them regularly for about a week, and the have been really comfortable. They feel solidly made, while still being light weight. My only complaint is the laces are on the shorter side, I may end up looking into replacing them for a longer pair.

Good in regular size

These shoes are very comfortable and supportive. They're good for running on any type of surface, and feel especially sturdy on trails.

I've been wearing my free pair of Altra Running Olympus 5's to review and I'm impressed! The grip it excellent, as good as any hiking boot i've ever had. The color way I got is great and the build quality seems good thus far. My foot is quite narrow, so I was concerned that these would be much too wide just from looking at the wide sole and foot base, but they actually fit quite well even with my more narrow feet. I look forward to taking them on my first casual hike and really putting them to the test!

A definite wow factor was at work when I took the Olympuses on the trail the first time. They have a marvelous cushy-firm boost under the arches that lets me stomp over roots and rocks with impunity. (At 72 I'm not going to actually run anywhere) Some reviews have criticized the comfort of the tongue and uppers and the length of the laces. I get that. These points could be better. There's also not a lot heel lift; if heel lift is what you've had in the past, using Olympuses, especially on pavement, will build your calf muscles a little bit. A week into them, I'm pleased with their comfort and performance overall. Altra's wide "Original Footshape Fit" is a great feature. I'd definitely recommend you try them on. As other reviews have noted, Olympus may run a bit short in length; I ended up buying a half-size larger than I usually wear.

Had last years model and loved them, but needed to replace those as they had nearly 900 miles... This year's are noticeably small. Had to go a size up from last year! Really don't understand the sizing issues at Altra??? I had put nearly 40 miles in the shoes before running BigFoot200 where I spend around 130 miles in these. I took care of my feet during the race constantly cleaning and changing socks, so no blisters, but tons of hot spots, including the Achilles/heel which is new for me. There's a lot to like but I wonder if they are good for these distances... I'll be using them again for Moab240, but perhaps more shared time with other pairs.

This review is specific to comparing the Olympus 5 to the Olympus 4, which I owned 3 pairs of. The 4 was not true to size for me, kinda in between sizes, and the heel lockdown was lacking. Very loose heel counter area, even sized down half a size and using a runners knot, to the degree I had to stop wearing the shoe altogether as much as I liked it. The 5 has fixed both issues. True to size and the heel counter is beefed up and has zero heel slippage for me. I don't even have to use a runners knot. Tie and go. I have no idea how people can say this model has heel slippage. IMO, it has one of the best heel counters in the game now and is much better than the Speedgoat 5 which I own 2 pairs of. If you liked the 4 except for the fit, I'd give the 5 a try. I was reluctant after being burned by Altras so many times but I'm glad I did.

I wish Altra would put a thicker more comfortable tongue. Cause's tendinitis when tied tight while hiking.

i've been wearing altras for the last 6 years for long distance backpacking. lone peaks were my go to until last year when i made the switch to the olympus. i'll never go back. can't beat the tread and cushion. my feet thank me every day. loving the new 5's. but those colorswhy??

The Olympus 5's are amazing! I had to try on a brand new pair of 4s for comparison the other day to see how different and improved the 5's are. The cushion is the 5 is much like a memory foam mattress but with a great amount of energy return and better arch support without feeling like a stability shoe. The 4s kind of left me handing for the additional kick and energy return and the cushion wasn't there. Plus the heel lock in the 4s is really challenging. Despite the attempts with various lacing techniques my heels always had a slip to them. The 5s have a drastically different lock and do a much better job holding the heel in place. However, I've found the heel to be too tall and caused chaffing right away. I've tried taller socks and it helps but there continues to be friction. I don't believe the really cool adventurous heel tab is causing the chaffing but the extra height at the very top of heel that connect to pull tab. The 4s didn't cause any chaffing problems around the top of the heel of the shoe. Lastly, the laces are pretty short and it would be challenging to use the 2nd eyehole if needed and have extra lacing room to get a proper tie down. Overall, the shoes are much better than the 4s but the chaffing and shorter laces are the reason for the 4 star review.

Narrow fit; needed 1 size up (I don't wear wide). Good traction/support, but tight midsole even w/o insole. Laces too short. After 100 miles, peeling swoosh & worn meshpoor durability for the price.

These have been my standard trail shoes for yrs and I love them. However I'm now on my 3rd pair and the sole on the forefoot has peeled away from each pair. I've returned them & replaced them and it is not a fluke.

It's a great shoe no doubt..but the left one has developed this annoyingly loud squeaking noise every step I take. Would I buy another pair? Definitely. The comfort of the shoes while running is great. Other than the annoying squeaking noise awesome shoes

I've had two pairs of Olympus shoes. Love the high cushion and the grip of the vibram soles. Last pair fell apart too fast. Altra took care of me but now I can't get another pair of size 15 to replace them. It has been at least 3 months with none in stock. Had to buy some Topo shoes instead. Sorry Altra.

I bought my first pair of olympus 5 about a year ago and I had to get them replaced with a new pair because the outsole broke. I'm now stuck with the new pair that has the same problem as the last one

I was disappointed by the fit and comfort of this model. The shoe feels too narrow and lacking in volume and the upper very rigid and constraining. The tongue is also very thin and lacking in cushion so quite uncomfortable. I'm addition the shoe laces are to short. I barely had enough length too tie them. At least, I liked the pattern and grippiness of the sole... When compared to its road equivalent, the via Olympus which I quite like, the trail version feels small, narrow and uncomfortable. In the end, I returned them and stored instead for a pair of Topos.