Customer Reviews Altra Olympus 6

Returned to company. Easy and quick return process. Shallow heel cup design wasn't working for me, even with the extra padding designed to secure the heel in place.

I have been using lone peaks for years and wanted a shoe with a little more cushioning for a thru hike and trail running so I went with the olympus 6. I was skeptical about the little heel pad but decided to give them a try anyway, turned out to be a mistake. I got some wicked heel blisters from the pad. Huge bummer because I really like the shoe otherwise. I ended up returning them.

Bought the 6's after hiking two long sections of the AT in 5's. The 6's feel tight and narrow, and the heel padding is annoying. First pair of Altra's that gave me blisters. How about taking a shoe we all lovethe lone peakand add some more stack?

As mentioned by another purchaser the heel became way to shallow, over 0.5" shallower, causing foot not to fit down in the shoe properly. I purchased 3 pair of correctly built Olympus 5 and then for some reason on my 4th pair the integration b/w sole and body of sneaker was changed. Not sure if it was due to manufacturing facility change but the factory id inside the old and new shoes didn't match. So I took pictures and showed depth discrepancy's, using a tape measure of the old and new Olympus 5 and sent to Altra. The photo's showed the heel depth difference along w/ the shorter reveal of the velcro gator strap on back of shoe. It was very obvious that the integration b/w sole and shoe had been changed. You can even notice when you open the velcro gator strap that it runs much deeper into sole but is stopped well short of fully opening, preventing Altra's gator from complete attachment. To Altra's credit they refunded me the purchase price. When Olympus 6 dropped I bought a pair almost immediately, in hopes the issue's had been addressed. Unfortunately they haven't. Again, to Altra's credit they refunded me again. I have bought the Lone Peak 9+ and they are on par w/ the previous 2 generations of Lone peaks I have purchased. As capable as the Lone Peak is there are some adventures the Olympus handle much better. Altra, please correct, Thanks in advance.

I use this shoe as an everyday shoe, mostly casual because it's comfortable. However, unfortunately the craftsmanship in material is clearly lacking. I ordered a pair just to wear around and the heal rubber became detached on one side just from casual wear. I literally had to apply super glue just to keep heel attached and further pealing away. Expensive as these shoes are, they should be built to last longer than a few weeks and just a day to day shoe to wear to the store.

The heel cup is terrible. For me it would give me a blister in just a couple miles. Tongue also needs improvement. The heel cup on the 4s was spectacular but the tongue was terrible. Cushion is amazing and traction as always

The new Achilles pillow is bad. There's no nicer way to put it. It leaves blisters on my Achilles tendons and that makes for an awful running experience. I really hope Altra discontinues this feature for the next version of the Olympus. When I run, I'm a midfoot to forefoot runner and the ride of the Altra Olympus 6, isn't bad. But I run 20+ miles at time. So, when I get deep into my mileage and stop to walk for a little while as I sip water or eat some gels, that's when I feel the edge of the Achilles pillow rubbing against my Achilles tendon. By the time I return to my starting point I already have blisters on my Achilles. Come on, Altra you've been around too long to still be experimenting with dumb gimmicks that don't work. I thought you would have figured out what works by now.

The predecessor, Olympus 5, was a great shoe. But Altra lowered the heel height and reduced the tongue length on these Olympus 6's, so they suffer from the typical complaint many people have made about Altra -- heel slip and discomfort. So disappointed, after waiting more than two years for the Olympus 5 to be available in my size, only to have them discontinued, then months for the new Olympus 6. Why must every Altra shoe have such a low heel and such lack of lateral support? Couldn't they just leave ONE shoe with a high heel and long tongue? For people with big feet, this is really disappointing--as the shoe gets bigger the height of the heel does not appear to get proportionally higher on this shoe, so it is like wearing one of those heel-less clog slippers. Altra has a winning idea in the natural foot shape. Now, pleas give us the old Olympus fit and comfort back!

Make these in wide. I've purchased the Olympus trail before and love them but they are still too narrow. I just purchased the new Paradigm and they fit great but the feel is lacking in cushioning.

I have been buying Altra's for a very long time. I must have bought 20 pairs over the years and gone through at least one size change from manufacturing. They used to fit great but the gen6 is too tight on the top of my foot. I wish they would stop screwing around with the sizing. Also, I wear 14's. They historically run out of big sizes right away and you have to wait months for restocking. I would think by now they would have this problem figured out. In the words of Hurcules Dissapointed!

Loved the Olympus 5 and Altras in general. These were instant blister machines out of the box. The new heel design feels insecure and was extremely irritating as soon as I put them on. Such a bummer.

I just finished the Appalachian trail. I purchased the Olympus 6 in NH and within 100 miles the tread just started falling off. I had to hike almost another 100 miles with no tread. Altra was very good with warranty, but only give online store credit, and have not had size 14 in stock since. I also purchased another pair in Monson, ME and within 50 miles the tread started falling off. I submitted another claim and have not heard anything from the company. These were my favorite pair of shoes, it is very unfortunate that there is a manufacturing issues with the tread adhesive. Hopefully they will fix the issue and get some 14s in stock. After they stiffed me on my second warranty claim, these will most likely be the last Alrras I will purchase.

I had high expectations for this latest version, anticipating that it would address some issues present in its predecessor. Overall, the shoe delivers a comfortable feel; however, I encountered a significant concern with the added heel support, which appears to be an afterthought in the design as the stitching and extra material looks to be the problem. Like some other users, I experienced hot spots on both heels due to this modification. I initially wore the shoes for several short walks to break them in without issue, but during a recent 14-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail, I began to develop hot spots approximately five miles in. I had hoped these would be my go-to shoes for next year's thru-hike.

I am on my third round of Olympus. The Olympus 4 and 5, game changers for me when I section hike the AT, 15-20 miles a day with a pack. The Olympus 6- wish I loved them, but I don't. Fit true to size, but the new heel padding is problematic. Found several hot spot areas in the shoe, heel and ball of foot, that I've never experienced before. Think I'm going to return these and see if I can still snag some Olympus 5's somewhere.

My shoes were delivered on August 6, 2024. Today is September 5, 2024. The shoes have only been used for light road running and treadmill running, less than 100 miles on them so far and the tongue is already delaminating with inner foam exposed. The shoes are comfortable, which is the only reason I didn't give them 1 star. But for nearly $200 after taxes and shipping, you'd think the quality would be good enough to last more than a month before beginning to fall apart. I was already planning on buying a second pair until I saw the tongue falling apart today. Incredibly disappointing and makes me extremely hesitant to invest in more altra shoes in the future.

Awesome fit with wider toe box ! Maybe best ever for my feet. Also Awesome grip. Again, aside from spikes, maybe best ever . Unfortunately, Vibram treads came unglued and Altra was very slow so help. (so far over 2 weeks to get a resolution after sending pictures etc etc.). Also, ankle collar is very comfortable but is design like a funnel to capture all sorts of trail debris and hold it until it falls into the shoe. You basically need to buy the gaitors to keep stuff out of the shoes....

I adore altra, I run exclusively in them, and put around 750 miles in my Olympus 5's, with which I had none of the durability issues! However, after 2 runs in the 6's, the heel counter stitching has failed, I don't know if this is design, or bad luck, but I have ended up with a shoe that is barely usable after 10km, and unreturnable as I didn't purchase them directly from altra. The 5's are simply better, even without this issue, will be grabbing another pair of them!

Inside heel wore out on two sets of shoes in under three months. Whether to issue is design, construction, or quality these are a downgrade compared to the outgoing model. The shoes are lightweight and grippy; though they tend to squeak a lot. Also glad come in black, not sure why shoe companies think a white sole is desirable.

Had concerns on the extra heel padding. Did a few runs without issues - super stable and comfy. But once I got onto the steeps, it only took 2 miles for major blister to form unlike any altra shoe ive owned.

Which engineer thought the giant padded rib in the heel was a good idea? Ive never had so much rubbing or heel pain before. They are going back to the store tomorrow. I love all my altra shoes but this design is terrible just walking, i couldn't imagine running in these. Everything else about the shoe is perfect. Super bummed because i love my lone peaks and just needed more cushion for the ultra distance

I have several pairs of Altras because I need a large toe box. The first time I hiked with the Olympus 6 was a steep but relatively short. I noticed my right heel slipping up and down. Taking the same hike few days later, I moved the laces to the higher eyelets and all was good. Yesterday, I did a 2.8 mile, basically flat hike and half way through I began to get a blister on my right heel. The shoe has a weird edge of material on the heel area that seemed to be the problem.

The 4 and 5 version of this shoe was my favorite. I bought multiple pairs every year. But I couldn't walk 1/2 a mile in the new Olympus 6 due to the thin horizontal pad the put in the heel. Why? I ended up having to cut it out and it still was painful afterward. Sorry, Altra. You lost me. Moving on to Hoka.

The heel pads are poorly designed and bump out too much and cause serious chafing and blisters. Don't buy these shoes your heel will regret it. I've run a few thousands miles in the last couple years and gone through many pairs of shoes, I've never had one give me heel blisters on a 5 mile run until I bought these shoes. I tried running in these shoes in two separate five mile runs, both of them left my heels feeling raw. In the second one I tried thicker socks and it didn't help at all. As other reviews have mentioned, the heel geometry and padding is terribly designed and gives many people blisters like they did me. I regret this purchase.

Loved the old version of these shoes, ran lots of races in them and wanted to love these. The new heal cup design is terrible and causes blisters. The added cushions absorb sweat/moisture then rub.

I developed new blisters after purchasing two pairs of shoes: Men's Timp 5 GTX and Men's Olympus 6. Both pairs appear to be defective. Prior to these purchases, I bought four pairs of your shoes and had no issues. I am requesting a refund for the Men's Olympus 6. The refund for the Men's Timp 5 GTX has already been received.