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 vast midfoot and toes field in 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 loads of midsole happening. Feeling the midsole with my palms it felt actually gentle. However as I put the sneakers on, it was a special story.
Throughout my first run in them, despite the fact that the shoe had loads of stack peak and was very gentle on the contact, I didn’t really feel any cushioning nor forgiveness on the trip.
And for a runner that isn’t use to a zero drop, I positive 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 suits vast on my toes, and I can actually increase my toes on my touchdown as a consequence of it additionally offering a really vast toe field.
Though the higher is taken into account vast 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, nevertheless 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 straightforward/restoration runs it gives the correct amount of padding and construction to make it a really comfy trip.
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 might be operating at evening.
Altra VIA Olympus 2 Sole Unit
The midsole makes use of what Altra calls the Altra EGO Max, which to me seems like a typical EVA foam. I actually didn’t really feel the trip had any cushioning nor forgiveness on my toes by any means.
It took me simply over 5 miles into the shoe to really feel something close to a cushioning trip. Perhaps it’s as a result of I’ve had the fortune to trip 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 should use the total anatomy of your foot in your gait cycle as a substitute of counting on greater drops to supply any help, particularly on the toe off.
As a runner that does use greater drops on their midsoles, I positive felt extra fatigued on my first few runs with the shoe. However as I ran extra persistently with the shoe, I grew to become 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 throughout 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 absolutely good. I’ve examined the sneakers out in grass, dust, pavement, and gravel with no points with slippage by any means.
In relation to sturdiness of the outsole, the rubber looks like it’s going to final some time. After fifty miles, the rubber has not appeared to clean 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 right 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 grew to become fatigued.
Perhaps it’s due to the zero drop that I’m not use to? Or perhaps 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 sneakers that I might 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.
