Altra VIA Olympus 2 Introduction
The Altra VIA Olympus 2 is a every day coach that gives sufficient midsole with their ALTRA EGO Max and rubber outsole for sturdiness to final you a lot miles.
The higher gives consolation with their engineered mesh and sufficient room with its huge midfoot and toes field on your toes and toes to show throughout your gait cycle.
At $165, does this stack up with the likes of different every day trainers just like the Nike Invincibles?
Altra VIA Olympus 2 First Impressions
My first impression was there was quite a lot of midsole happening. Feeling the midsole with my palms it felt actually delicate. However as I put the footwear on, it was a distinct story.
Throughout my first run in them, although the shoe had quite a lot of stack peak and was very delicate on the contact, I didn’t really feel any cushioning nor forgiveness on the journey.
And for a runner that isn’t use to a zero drop, I certain felt my calves working. I wasn’t too apprehensive as I do know I can adapt. The higher itself felt very nice and comfy.
Altra VIA Olympus 2 Higher
The higher makes use of a twin layer engineered mesh that may be very comfy. It matches huge on my toes, and I can actually develop my toes on my touchdown as a result of it additionally offering a really huge toe field.
Though the higher is taken into account huge it did really feel safe on the highest of my foot and had no difficulty with any slippage. The tongue is non gusseted and may be very distinctive. It’s distinctive as a result of it gives little padding, however it additionally has completely no construction to it.
It’s a really flimsy tongue however when you lace up and begin operating you’ll have no points with it. I believe one of the best function of this shoe, beside the toe field, is the heel counter.
For a shoe that’s meant for simple/restoration runs it gives the correct quantity of padding and construction to make it a really comfy journey.
Not an excessive amount of padding nor too little padding. One different function the higher gives is it has a reflector on the lateral aspect in case you’re operating at night time.
Altra VIA Olympus 2 Sole Unit
The midsole makes use of what Altra calls the Altra EGO Max, which to me appears like a typical EVA foam. I actually didn’t really feel the journey had any cushioning nor forgiveness on my toes in any way.
It took me simply over 5 miles into the shoe to really feel something close to a cushioning journey. Perhaps it’s as a result of I’ve had the fortune to journey and check out midsoles that offered far more forgiveness and cushioning such because the ZoomX from Nike or FF Blast from ASICS.
The geometry of the midsole gives a pure foot form so you need to use the total anatomy of your foot in your gait cycle as a substitute of counting on larger drops to supply any help, particularly on the toe off.
As a runner that does use larger drops on their midsoles, I certain felt extra fatigued on my first few runs with the shoe. However as I ran extra constantly with the shoe, I turned extra comfy with the zero drop. The midsole does present some stability as a result of wider platform.
The outsole gives rubber that has flex grooves the place the human foot is ready to flex through the gait cycle. What I did discover with the grooves between the rubbers is that little rocks can get caught in between. Not a deal breaker however can get annoying.
The traction of the outsole is admittedly good. I’ve examined the footwear out in grass, dust, pavement, and gravel with no points with slippage in any way.
With regards to sturdiness of the outsole, the rubber looks as if it can final some time. After fifty miles, the rubber has not appeared to easy out and the traction continues to be there.
Altra VIA Olympus 2 Conclusions
My expertise with the shoe is that it’s nice restoration shoe. After testing it with velocity and lengthy distances, I discovered it to be the proper shoe for slower paces at round not more than ten miles with this shoe.
I felt just like the longer I used to be operating with it previous ten miles the extra my toes turned fatigued.
Perhaps it’s due to the zero drop that I’m not use to? Or possibly it’s as a result of I felt the midsole wasn’t as alive as I needed it to be? Now, would I ever buy this shoe? Presumably not.
There are different footwear that I’d buy beforehand with higher midsole compounds such because the Nike Invincible with the ZoomX and even the ASICS Novablast with the FF Blast. These midsoles really feel extra comfy and extra forgiving on my toes.
Plus, the worth of the Novablast is much more inexpensive.
