Altra  Escalante 5 Road-Running Shoes - Men's

First off, these shoes look great. I got the white with yellow and orange and they look sharp. Right out of the box they fit perfect. I walked around the house a few minutes then took them on a two mile walk through the forest. They are so comfortable I literally forgot I had shoes one. They feel like what I have been looking for from zero drop shoes. I have worn Merrell and Xero and these are definitely the most comfortable zero drop shoes I have worn. I highly recommend them. And they are stylish enough to wear out, jogging, running or walking.

This shoe began falling apart after only a few workouts. The upper has way too much play in it. Save you money and stop spending money on Altra the company has clearly lost the plot.

Bought these shoes after realizing how much issues I was having from buying shoes that were heavily cushioned, and with too much heel to toe drop. I still love running but I wanted something that was just simpler, and I found that with the altra escalante 5. They provide me tons of space in the toe box for my natural toe splay while running and the stretch of the fabric gives me room to move. I would've given a 5 star but I find the tongue slides from side to side and laces come untied from time to time unless double knotted. Great shoe overall minus those two issues.

These shoes feel great and while the toe box may be more narrow than previous models it is not an issue for me. However the soles, where my heel hits are showing visible wear after ONLY 20 miles of running on asphalt. I have other Altras and Topos with far more miles with less wear; disappointing.

Why are all these shoe companies obsessed with having us cram our foot into a narrow shoe? Switched to Altra because of the “original” footshape. One of the only shoes on the market that actually fits my foot. The last three pairs I’ve ordered are considerably narrower than the ones I already own and have grown to love even though they are all advertised as “original” footshape. I’ve seen other similar comments. I thought I finally found my shoe brand, but its time to keep hunting I guess.

I've run one 10K, two 5Ks, and five 1.5-mile runs in my new size 12.5 Escalante 5s prior to writing this review. I've worn through multiple Altra Ones and Escalante 2s in road running. I wear Lone Peaks daily. I'm a BIG proponent of the toe-box, zero-drop, and breathability. So, I'm a bit disappointed that these have a noticeably narrower toe box that jams in my little toe. I waited this long to review because I wasn't sure if the upper is just "stiff" by comparison to the Escalante 2 and needs to be broken in, but I'm not sure that the stiffness is the issue. It seems like they shaved a few millimeters off the new generation's width. I'll continue to wear them in hopes that they break in, but if I wear through my Injinji socks or feel major discomfort, I just may have to look elsewhere.

This is the best running shoe I've ever tried. I've put in a little over 100 miles on them so far. I mostly run trail and wear Lone Peak 9s, so I wanted something for flat gravel and road. The Escalante is great! I know they are marketed for short distance and sprint, but they feel like a perfect minimalist shoe. I want to feel the ground, and they provide the ground feel I was looking for. They also breathe much better than the Lone Peaks. They truly feel like an extension of my foot.

This was my first try at Altra shoes and might be my last unless they offer another shoe model that doesn’t have super tight tops. Everything else about the shoe feels nice, but as soon as I put them on, from the tongue down to the last adjustable lace is just TIGHT. It only feels sort of fine without any socks on but I know this is going to be a comfort issue long term so I’m returning them, shame since the toe box is nice and wide but the top design is horrible and tight.

I could not tell until I wore them all day out and about, and now I can not return them. This is where an actual store that carries all models is helpful. I actually have a narrow foot, but I always wear a mens 10 regular. I don’t know what would fix this as the issue is across the top of the foot where the tongue is attached. I presume a properly engineered shoe is the only fix. The material also traps heat, top and bottom. To think I wasted my money on this gimmick brand.

Very bad heel durability - heel padding started to disintegrate within a month of use.