Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 5

The most comfortable shoe I've worn in a while, but the ankle cushioning developed a hole after 6 months and the shoe is separating from the sole after exactly one year. I only walk in these shoes. I am very disappointed in the durability. I'm not even rough on these shoes and they have worn out. Recommend with major caveats.

I wore these hiking and some city walking and trail running. Pros: Roomy toe box, Beautiful greyish green color , (no longer offered), Nice styling, good grip, mostly comfortable fit and cushioning. Cons: Vibram lugs peeled off very early ( a common problem it seems). The arch support is off somehow, maybe a little too hard or too pronounced, and causes my feet to hurt under the arch. The shoe is well ventilated except the tongue which causes the top of the foot to get too hot in the summer heat. Laces are too short. I ordered a 1/2 size larger than what I usually wear to get a good fit. I really liked these shoes except for the cons which are a deal breaker unless Altra fixes these issues. I don't like the current color ways as much as the dusty green.

The soles are peeling off in multiple places. Both toes and the back of the right. I have gotten a fair amount of use, but not for this to happen. One 14er and one 10 mile backpack plus some daily running. When I contacted Altra that told me to go to the place of purchase. I'm writing this to help you get better as I love the brand but seems to be a theme of quality sliding.

Love the large toe box and the overall shoe design, but very disappointed with liner durability for the 4 shoes I've purchased. As a textile scientist I know of what I speak.

I have been wearing the Olympus line since at least 2022 they usually last 6 months before I wear the sole through. The inside heel area usually deteriorates also with the material wearing through and the padding coming out in pieces. This interior heel wear has never caused me a problem until the Olympus 5. I believe the interior material was changed in the 5 and the material has broken down in just over 2 weeks or just under 75 miles on the shoes. The material break down has caused pills to form on the interior shoe material and on my darn tough socks resulting in blisters on my heel. I use a heel lock lacing technique to limit my heel movement. The heel lock is also difficult to accomplish on the 5's since the laces are much shorter than the 4. Please change back to the previous interior material and provide longer laces.

Just bought men's Olympus 5, size 13. Shoes fit and feel great, but the shoe laces are too short! Customer service wasn't helpful. Replaced the 45" laces with 54" laces and problem solved.

Reached out to Alta shoe fell apart would t complete claim cause I didn't have the receipt paid almost 200$ it had been a few months who has a shoe receipt month down the road as a custodian I don't make a lot of money and am on my feet all day so was really enjoying the shoes til this happened.

19.2 mile hike vibram sole coming apart. James on the trail a year ago Altra Olympus 5 Fresh out of the box first- One time use did a 19.2-mile hike and tread is coming apart. Overall very much like the shoe have gone through several Altra Olympus 4's each lasting many trail miles over one year. First time wearing the Altra Olympus 5 and the tread is peeling off.

This is my third pair of Altra's and I have always been happy. Unfortunately, these fit at least 1/2 size too small. I love the Vibram sole.

Bought the GTX version after rupturing my plantar fascia.Tons of lateral support/sole stiffness.Bought this for indoor use.Much less supportive.Completely different despite sharing name.

These shoes are amazing, from running to hiking and everything in between. The major issue with these is the durability. The sole separated from the shoe very quickly and the upper is tearing.

They felt great to me but the tread on the front part of the shoe peeled off after 30-40 miles. It was a row of tread that didn't seem to be properly adhered. I'm hoping to give the next version a try of and when it comes out. My significant other has a pair also and had the same issue. She only uses them for walking no running. (see attached picture). I loved the feel but am going to wait and see what happens next version. I've had 10 or so pairs of Altras and bounce back and forth between them and Hoka. Right now my trail shoes are a worn out pair of Olympus 4s that still have some tread.

I received these and did my first run on December 7th, and all was good. They have pretty good traction and the cushion is amazing. I have worn Altra shoes in the past and these don't feel as wide as older pairs. Once I hit 50k the Altra logo started coming off, but even worse I started getting a horrible pain where the heel padding sits. Unfortunately a week after the pain started I am still not able to even walk in them. I think they could be a durable comfortable shoe if it wasn't for that.

I've watch Altra descend to a mainstream shoe co, with typical ignorance of customer issues. I have Olympus 4's, which I've cut to get more width, and which are otherwise perfect, because they have original footshape. I've pleaded with Altra to bring back wider widths and footshape shoes, but the people who can don't care. Great shoes, before. These Olympus 5s would almost be perfect.

Happy owner of 2 pairs of Olympus 4's, but Altra made changes to the 5 that deminished the shoe. I found the new version to be a 1/4 to 1/2 size smaller. It's narrower in the toe box (the last place Altra should narrow a shoe). It also has a huge heel tab that is built into the shoe. I usually cut those off. It's probably a good shoe, but I don't understand why Altra keeps changing really good shoes.

The toebox of the Olympus 5 is 1/4" narrower then the Olympus 4. I used a pair of calipers to verify this difference. Both are 12 Wide sizes. The Wide is now just Regular so if you want to stick with these shoes order a 1/2" larger to get that great fit of the 4's. Also the length of the shoe laces are shorter by 3"....cutting corners but consumers do notice.

I am writing this review because I want Altra to know that they have some huge potential here for an amazing trail shoe. I put two big 15mile + days on this scrambling and trailrunning some peaks in the PNW and was amazed by how supported and injury free my feet felt at the end of the day. That said, after those 30 some odd miles on rocky terrain the outsole of my shoes were already completely destroyed. First of all, the oddest part about the shoe is that the midsole material actually makes up most of the bottom (there is barely any true outsole)- You can see this in the photos if you look. The Vibram strips that are far more durable seem to be weakly glued on as I had a few of the strips start to rip off after only two outings. The midsole material wears away super quick and is not grippy at all. It has since turned to round nubs after only a few more outings. I am quickly noticing that amazing grip vanish. On top of that, the mesh around the sides and front of the fore foot rip and wear pretty easily when rubbed against any sort of terrain making them not the best for scrambles. I bought these giving Altra the benefit of the doubt after reading reviews. Unfortunately everyone hit the nail on the head. It is an incredibly comfortable and performance focused shoe but the durability for the price is just not there. Again, I would love to purchase a reiteration of this shoe. But I only will if they spend some money on improving the outsole - (extending durable Vibram or other material instead of trying to disguise the soft plushy midsole material as the outsole). Please take this comments into consideration. You all are on to something! In the meantime I'll probably send to warranty and trade out for something different.

I'm a long time Altra wearer. I thru hiked the PCT last year and only wore Altras because I'm used to them and they work for my feet. However this product is really expensive for what you get. I understand that very few pieces of gear especially footwear can hold up to somthing as demanding as thru hiking but the tread of the soles started to come apart after a week of hiking. The price of these shoes doesn't match the durability. They either need to come down on price or really commit to making them more durable and last longer.

274 miles & already broken! Vibram sole already peals out as well! In Olympus 3 & 3.5 reached 600 miles, Olympus 4 up to 500 miles! I don't know what's happening with the new version???

My last two pairs of Altra Olympus shoes failed in the eyelet area. I have purchased the Olympus shoe for years and the earlier versions (i.e. 2) are manufactured very different than my last two pairs. The last two (or more) pairs' eyelets are manufactured with a rubber-type material and each pair has failed. Not a good design!

I'm a huge fans of my LP4 That's the reason I wanna try other model after it worn out But like what others said It seems the brand go to the wrong direction Much narrow now Not comfortable

I had previously purchased some Olympus 5 trail shoes with great toe room to help resolve neuroma issues in ball of my foot. New pair, same size and width lost this roominess. Need to wear thin socks to accommodate.

I tried this for the first time mainly for the higher stack. I run in the LP7 and figured for a 100 miler, I would need the extra 8mm. That said, this shoe felt stiff in the midsole and more unstable to me (compared to LP7). Also, there is padding behind the heal that seems oddly placed as it pushed the foot forward and also creates a gap for trail debris to fly into the shoe (which forces you to wear gators to prevent that). In the end, I returned the shoe as I would rather the better fit of the LP7 and lower stack than adjust to the above. And, I ran the 100 miler just fine in the LP. I just bought a 1/2 size bigger than my regular LPs to give enough room for foot expansion.

I really wanted to like this shoe, I love everything about it, the look the wide fit, the color selection, tread, thickness. It is a great everyday wear shoe. A great " go on walks shoe" and very possibly an even better hiking shoe. However an ultra distance running shoe it is not. You know in your first few miles if you are going to love your shoes on your run. In The first few miles of my 10 mile XC trail run I knew this shoe wasn't the one. Somewhat heart broken I really wanted them to work and they are moderately pricey. The thick foam sole feels just like that, a big thick foam clunky sole with no reactive property's. In fact it was somewhat painful with limited give. These would probably increase run times not decrease. I am going to give them a few more miles and not give up on them because I really like them. The stability they provide is superior. All in all I will keep them and still wear them. Most likely for hikes but not for running. It is highly Recommended not to use these for running.