Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 5

First, I have to say that I love Altra shoes for their fit and traction. This is my 5th pair of Altras but I may look at other brands as the durability is very poor in all the shoes I have had. They all seem to tear at the crease where the laces start in the forefoot. The tread is starting to come off of my last pair of Olympus 5s after only 200 miles of hiking. My current pair of Olympus 5s have the rubber on the toe peeling off after wearing only about 10 times in town. Wish Altra would make a more durable shoe because they are expensive to start breaking down after only a few times wearing.

I agree with a lot of the commentary here that the Olympus 5 is much narrower than the Olympus 4, and I ordered a size up from my standard size. Have to return and hope for another discount.

I have worn Olympus for 5+ yrs and have worn them from style #2 on. Each time they were redesigned it felt like an upgrade, but the 5 feels a full size too small, is narrow, and feels less zero drop.

First of all, I love this shoe. Super great ride and stability when I run... but I can't get past the sharp edge on the tongue. I have to wear tall socks or put tape on my ankles to avoid it from rubbing and giving me a blister on runs of any length. It's made for an interesting sock tan this season. I wish the Olympus had the tongue edge of the Lone Peak and then this would be an amazing shoe :)

Picked this because it says "plushiest" but it was too hard for me. Good stability but the cushion around my ankle pushed my toes forward. I exchanged it with my 6th Lone Peak purchase.

Well this is my fourth pair of Altras and this last pair are cheaper in quality. Very light weight and wears down faster and the bottom grips are coming unglued. I have been superglueing them down because I had just bought them and didn't want to return them and not have any shoes to wear. The past shows I've bought seemed heavier and over all better quality.

Have used for Hiking and backpacking, maybe 100-110 miles in five weeks. These are the most comfortable shoes I have worn in years. They have great grip and very stable. I use with a Superfeet Trail Insole. The uppers were pretty beat up after 6 days and only 52 miles of backpacking. I've had these shoes about 5-6 weeks and cannot believe how the uppers are worn and torn. Worst Durability I have ever seen. I wear with a gaiter so have no idea why these are falling apart. I needed to purchase longer laces in order to use the lace lock at top of shoe. At this price I would hope laces would be long enough. I purchased a size 11 which is too short and I cannot find a size 11.5 in this model. Mixed feelings about recommending. This shoe has great potential.

Bummed I didn't read reviews before buying. Have had several pairs of Olympus's so I bought the same size I always buy but the 5's are definitely smaller.

After 3 trails runs (26mi total) lugs began peeling off. Additionally, I prefer the heel lock but laces are too short to tie a secure single knot (I usually always tie double knots - not an option with short length). This is the first pair of altras where laces have come undone during run. Lastly the fit does feel more narrow than previous model. Overall I do like the shoe as it provides the extra cushion I am looking for on days when I am not wearing LP.

The 5 is significantly smaller than the 4. Also, the inside of this shoe wears by the ankle.

I have worn nothing but Altras for 8 years because of the wide toe box and great cushioning. The Olympus has been my best one with the Vibram sole for traction. Now the Olympus 5 has a narrower toe box and is overall shorter than my usual size in it. As someone else recently said, why change the best parts about your brand???

Product feels nice. Sizing runs small though. I am a 9.5 so I purchased a 10. Went on a hike and my toe hit the front so bad had to wait a few days before I could hike again. Bought an 11 which felt a lot better. After having these for a couple months wearing them maybe once or twice a week I noticed the tread was starting to peel away from the shoe on both shoes. So disappointing. Called the company and they are aware of the problem and hopefully have it fixed. Very good customer service. Hopefully will be receiving a replacement pair soon

Love alta shoes but the woman's Olympus 5 is already tearing on the top. I use these for walking 3 miles a day and have only had them for about a month. At the price I shouldn't have any issues. I have others that are a year old with no wear other than tread.

i have bought 2 pairs of olympus 5, the first one is about 550km, the lug is off with sole, and i use adhesive to repair it. the second one is 100km, and the lug is disappeared when trekking, really annoying if you would go for technical trail, do not choose o5, the lug issue is really serious. besides this, everything with o5 is great.

I loved the Olympus 4 and how well they fit and are so comfortable after 12 hour shift but do not care for the Olympus 5, they hurt my toe, that I have Hallux limitus in!

The shoes were wonderful feeling and fit but I had to return due to the tongue of the shoe. It is a vinyl that rubs sores on my foot. I tried wearing different socks but it still rubbed a sore spot.

I wore out my Olympus 4 and need a new pair. The Olympus 5 arrived today and I already have them back in the box to return. The tongue comes up much higher and because of the stiff material, cuts into my ankle to the point that, with extended wear, I would be worried about it breaking skin or causing a severe blister. They also feel a bit more narrow, but that could be because my 4s are so broken in. Otherwise, they seem like a great shoe. Bummer that the tongue is a deal breaker because Altras w/ the original foot shape are the only athletic shoes that work for my feet. Fingers crossed that the 6s will resolve the issue.

I wanted to love these as I have been searching for a great pair of running shoes with a wide toe box. Although these look wide, they don't feel like it. I felt like my toes were not given enough room. I got these in a half size larger but I needed a whole size up. I like that they are light weight and they were comfortable everywhere but the toes. The laces are not good deal for running shoes. If you are going to produce a high end athletic shoe you shouldn't put cheap laces in them. They don't stay tied.

When I first put these shoes on, it was like walking on a cloud. Very comfortable! Lots of room inside, I run in 1/2 size up from my normal size and they fit great. I usually run in tabbed ankle socks and I gotta say, the worst part of these shoes is the front of the tongue, it is not soft, it's straight and flat and doesn't really conform to the ankle but instead dug into the front of my ankle and gave me red sores. It still bothered me wearing higher socks a bit but wasn't as bad. I loved the extra room in these shoes and the grip is awesome. I run on a lot of shady paved trails on the east coast so at times it can get mossy and slippery, these performed great on all surfaces. I think I'll keep them for walking/hiking shoes, but for running they just didn't work for me with the tongue unfortunately.

Ok, these are some of the most comfortable running shoes I've ever tried! However, they are odd, the feel great but feel cheapish for the price. Also, A bit odd feeling after a while of wearing them, unbalanced in posture if you will. I am not 100% sure just yet about these.

This is my 6th pair of Altras and my 4th pair of Olympus. I have 3 pairs of the Olympus 4 and replace them about every 6-8 months. I wear them every day. I am on my feet at work 8 hours a day, either walking or standing, on concrete, and the Olympus 4 has never caused me any pain. I have only had this pair of Olympus 5 for 2 weeks and my feet, especially my heels, are in so much pain that I had to resort to wearing my older pair. I don't know what was changed in the new version of the Olympus, but it wasn't for the good. I am now having to hunt for another pair of the Olympus 4 in my size before nobody has them anymore. Altra, please quit changing your shoes! There was absolutely nothing wrong with the last version. So frustrating!!

I was so excited to get these shoes because they are SOOOO comfortable and I'm stoked about the vibram sole but the bottoms are falling apart and I've worn them 3 times! Literally disintegrating. I'm disappointed that this shoe with high potential has such a soft, easily destructible material. I will sadly not buy these shoes again.

I love these shoes. Comfortable and light. Only negative is the tred has come unattached after 20 miles. I returned and got a new pair and it happened again. When you pay for these shoes they just need to not come apart. Otherwise love them.

I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in July and my hiking boots ($300+ at REI) hurt my feet, even though I'd been breaking them in for months. I brought these shoes as a back up pair and ended up wearing them nearly the entire trek. They were incredibly comfortable, but after a week of hiking about six miles per day, the rubber on the sole began to shred. Maybe they weren't made for such rigorous hiking, but they are advertised as a trail shoe! Comfort-wise, these shoes got me up the mountain so I gave them three stars, but the quality was disappointing.