Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 6

Altra gave me the Olympus 6 for free to test. I put this shoe through the wringer. 28 mile hike/run on Mt Greylock in MA and a 40 mile trail race in West Virginia where I encountered wet, rain, mud, and extremely technical terrain with a lot of elevation change. The good: held up unlike previous versions. Grip is outstanding. Wide toe box is indeed foot shape unlike Altra's new direction deviating from their roots on other models. Toes can splay. Comfortable after breaking them in and utilizing ankle lock lacing techniques. The not so good: just a tad short in my opinion. I'm an 11 all day in every model. I would go up to an 11.5 in this model if I bought another pair. To reiterate, just a tad short. The 11 work, I'm talking a quarter inch at mostmaybe less. The pair they sent me had some stitching coming apart out of the box. Didn't cause an issue, but quality control should've flagged it before sending it out. There's some new heal cushioning pad that caused me some irritation at first, but not after breaking them in and adjusting my lacing. The heel tab/loop came folded in for some reason on one shoe (packaging I assume). This also caused irritation on my heel, but shouldn't be an issue if quality control takes a peak before sending out. Overall: I love this shoe and I hope the quality and durability are better moving forward as the last few pairs I've owned(Olympus 5, Timp 4 & 5) were not. I also hope Altra stops narrowing the toe box of other models, puts Vibram mega grip on all trail models as Max Trak is just flat out sub par, and treats their customers better when the durability fails well short of what a shoe should last at their price points.

I've been wearing these for about 3 months, and have decided to go back to the Olympus two's. They are too heavy in comparison, they don't have the padding that the Olympus two's have, and they have those tabs on the back which might be great for heel wear, but if you are doing things like Tai chi you wind up tripping over them. I would not buy these again, and do not like them.

The heel padding rubs too much and creates "warm" area, the shoe wore down in that area, as well as my heel.

The heel cup pad was about 1cm too low for my foot anatomy. The width and cushion felt fantastic otherwise. The heel structure of Olympus 5 was perfect for me. Plans to bring it back???

Great looking shoe. But hurt my feet. Seem to be small in certain places.

Don't ignore the countless reviews about these causing heel blisters like I did. Shame, everything else about this model is what I was looking for.

Gave me some pain on my left foot around the cuboid area. Blisters were quick to develop on both heals and both baby toes . Felt great upon initial wear, but quickly destroyed my feet after a couple of miles hiking. I wanted to love them, but unfortunately, they did not work for me.

The heel cup change on the 6 is very painful for my foot. Unable to break them in so im hoping Altra can help out before my race this Oct... overall very disappointed in the 6. Wish it fit like the 5

The Olympus 5 fit great. However the Olympus 6 seems to have a "grabber" inside to hold the heal more tightly. This resulted in pain like nerve compression which I would only feel after removing shoe

I've owned two 5's. Comfortable but the heel cushion/fabric wore quickly. The 6's have a modified heel best described as a blister-maker. To wear these more than two miles I must apply a blister patch.

I want to fit into the Olympus because sometimes my Lone Peak's leave me wanting more cushion. I have bony feet and ankles, though, and the heel cup in the Olympus keeps getting worse with every iteration. The heel cup has always been too stiff and shallow for me but this latest design with the heel pad and pull tab combo is absurd. It is still too shallow, and the additional padding makes it feel like my heel is actively being pushed out of the shoe. Please make the Olympus heel cup the same as the Via Olympus 2.

These shoes are comfortable and plush, but heavy in larger sizes. I wear a 12.5, and one shoe is 14.8 ounces, nearly a pound. The added weight comes from the wider outsole from the midfoot to the heel. I tried them on a treadmill, but they feel like hiking boots, so I'll return them. I recommend them for smaller sizes or those who don't mind weight, but they're too unwieldy for me. Well-built shoes that could make great hikers.

Overall satisfied with product.

Love the taupe color and the extra tongue padding. But the build out at the heel sent me back to the Olympus 5 while they still had stock. Unless the curve of your ankle exactly matches that point it pushes you forward, away from feeling your heel is settled. I had to order a half size up, which was then too big in other ways. My foot was sliding in and out with every step.

I tried these in at my local retailer, and did not purchase them due to the 'heel pillow' being very poorly placed and implemented. It hit right it the middle back of my heel, and with the stitching and seams combined with the loose heel lock, felt like blisters waiting to happen. If they had added more padding higher around the top of the heel, specifically on both sides of my Achilles in order to lock my heel in more, they would have been great. I had to size up because they felt a little short, but otherwise really like the high stable stack and fit. Just can't believe someone thought putting heel padding with seams there was a good idea.

First impressions loved the Black/Black design, but the shoe fit was snug. Wore these shoes for a few weeks then took them on my John Muir Trail backpacking trip. Within 8 miles I was feeling the hot spots on my heels. I think the "Achilles pillow" caused my heel blisters and I never get blisters. Overall, the fit is too tight and for me the "Achilles pillows" cause Blisters. On the positive the shoe looks great and no signs of wear. I already size my Altra shoes up to a 13, do I have to size up again for the Olympus 6 to a size 14, this seems excessive...

I love the tread grip on the soles of the shoe, it grips better than just about anything I've found, including many other vibram soles. Perfect for hiking on gravel and other loose terrain if you don't want a full boot. The first issue I had though, is these are not as soft and cushioned as the prior model, which may increase durability, but really has impacted comfort and even after walking and hiking for a couple of weeks they don't feel broken in. Second issue is the additional piece of padding sewn onto the heel area. This might be great for people with small feet, but I think it needs to be moved up significantly to help lock in the heel without directly pressing on it in an uncomfortable way for people with big feet and big heels. My guess is it is not raised for larger feet, but rather remains at the same height regardless of size of the shoe. Due to these two large comfort reasons, and not being able to drive with them for longer than an hour before feeling discomfort on my heel, I can't recommend these anymore. Used to be an amazing all-around shoe, comfortable for walking, hiking, trails, and winter to prevent slipping.

Taupe color and extra tongue padding are good, but the heel pad is really weird. It pushed my foot forward which means I need a larger size which doesn't suit the rest of my foot. Then, with every step my heel slides up and down. I didn't get a blister but it was painful for the instep. If the curve of your ankle doesn't fall exactly where the pad is, you're out of luck. Happily was able to get the Olympus 5 again.

I have worn Olympus shoes for many years. This pair feels really stiff. I actually tripped and fell on my first trail hike. I have put several miles on them now and they are better. As with previous models the lip of the shoes is really low. I have to wear Altra gaiters with them to keep debris out of the shoe.

Had to try the new Olympus 6 after the tread falling off fiasco of the 5th version. I immediately noticed the redesigned inner heel pad with exposed stitching and thought well that's dumb, that's big blister waiting to happen but maybe it works to lock the heal in and what do I know? Put them on and it feels like your foot isn't going down far enough as the pad is too low on the heel and in my opinion, actually feels like your heel is going to slip out but at the same time, the overall feel of the shoe is tighter with less volume. This is definitely going to rub and cause blisters so will be returning. I loved the old heel feel and the bigger grab loop that I can actually get a finger in but the tread only lasted a few miles before delamination. Assumed the tread issue is fixed on this current version but do feel like this is one step forward and one step back.

I have been in Altra's for many years now and I have been wearing the Olympus for years on the trail as the cushioning helped me tremendously saying this the NEW Olympus 6 have done something no pair ever has and that's give me Blisters every single time I attempted to wear them on the trail. The heel padding has never been an issue until the 6. Why? Why change it so dramatically. I am not alone in this experience. I'll look to find the Olympus 5 online somewhere and this is beyond disappointing.

The front lip and sole started to detach after moderate use. I have had many Altra Olympus models and these 6s came apart within months. Didn't even do much running or working in them either.

This is a pretty good shoe, but with a significant design flaw: There is a pocket on the sides of the shoe that accumulates dirt and small rocks. Even though I wear trail gaiters 100% of the time, a significant quantity of dirt and rocks accumulate until it feels like sandpaper on the side of the shoe. Because of the contors of the rock pocket, it is very difficult to clear the build-up from the side of the shoe. This is a real problem in a shoe designed for off-road wear.

I am a walker, 14,000 miles since start of 2021, 90% in Altras, all without a blister, including 8 pairs of Olympus, with 1000 miles on each pair. This new "heal pillow" is a problem. The additional stitching in the pillow by making it an add-on has stiffened the sides of the shoe causing the upper edge of the "cuff" to dig into my ankle. I feel bad for all the people I have recommended this shoe to who might buy this version.