Altra  Escalante 5 Road-Running Shoes - Men's

Where have these shoes been all my life? I have spent the last year and a half looking for good shoes that work with my feet. I am a tall, somewhat flat footed person. These shoes have the perfect amount of support. If I could afford it I’d buy 10 of them for backups and just wear these the rest of my life.

I’m happy that I purchased this shoe, comfortable and fits true to size!

I've been running in the Escalante line since the very first version and have loved this shoe for years. The Escalante 1. 5 is still my favorite, I even ran a marathon in that model, and it remains one of the best running shoes I've owned. The Escalante 4 was the closest Altra has come to recreating the feel of the 1. 5. It fit well, was comfortable, and felt great on runs. My biggest complaint was durability. The outsole wore down much faster than I expected, and I was really hoping Altra would address that with the Escalante 5. Unfortunately, after wearing the Escalante 5 for a few days, I'm disappointed. The toe box is still wide and true to Altra's signature foot shaped design, which I appreciate. However, the midfoot feels noticeably tighter than previous versions. The extra snugness through the middle of the shoe makes it less comfortable and takes away from the natural, unrestricted feel that made me fall in love with the Escalante line. I'm hoping the upper loosens up over time, but my first impression is that this is a step backward in fit. If Altra could combine the fit and comfort of the Escalante 4 (or even better, the 1. 5) with a more durable outsole, it would be an outstanding shoe. As someone who has been buying Escalantes since the beginning, I really wanted to love the 5. Sadly, it hasn't lived up to my expectations so far.