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80 DAY RETURNS (Includes Sale Items!)
Altra was started in 2011 by two runners in Utah who were grinding the heels off shoes in the back of a running store to make them sit flat. Two things separate an Altra from anything else on the wall: a zero-drop platform, meaning your heel and forefoot sit the same distance off the ground, and a toe box shaped like an actual foot rather than a point. It is a genuinely different shoe to run in and some people switch and never go back. The range covers trail, road, and hiking, from the Lone Peak that half the thru-hikers on the Bibbulmun seem to be wearing, through to the max-cushioned Olympus and the Torin road shoe. Wild Earth stocks Altra in men's and women's sizing, with free shipping Australia-wide and 80 days to return anything, sale items included.
Nearly every other running shoe lifts your heel above your forefoot - usually by 8 to 12 millimetres. Altra doesn't. The heel and the forefoot sit at the same height, which puts you in roughly the posture you'd stand in barefoot and shifts load off the knee and onto the calf and Achilles.
The second thing is the toe box. Altra calls the fit FootShape and builds it in three widths: Original is the roomiest and is what the trail range mostly uses, Standard is moderate and is what the Torin and most road shoes use, and Slim is the closest to a conventional running shoe. This is a shape, not a size and sizing up to "get more room" is the single most common mistake. Women's models are built on a women's-specific mould rather than a shrunken men's one, so the pair aren't the same shoe in two sizes.
If you want the toe box without the zero drop, that's what the Experience and FWD lines are for. They run a low 4mm drop.
What decides this one is how far you're going and how much is underfoot. All three have the roomy Original fit; they differ in how much shoe sits between you and the ground.
The one most people want: Lone Peak
The Lone Peak is the shoe that made Altra, and it's a hiking shoe as much as a running one - the thru-hiking crowd wear them out and buy them again. Mid stack height, a Stoneguard plate under the forefoot so you don't feel every rock, and GaiterTrap tabs on the heel so a gaiter actually stays put. It comes in two grades: the standard version on a MaxTrac outsole, and the 9+ on Vibram Megagrip. If you spend time on wet rock or clay, the Megagrip is worth it. If you're mostly on dry fire trail, it isn't. There's a wide version of both, and a GORE-TEX version, and a waterproof low and a mid-boot, so it's worth understanding your needs before ordering.
More cushion, same shape: Timp
The Timp sits between the Lone Peak and the Olympus. More stack than a Lone Peak without going to full max cushion, which makes it the pick for long days where the ground is rough but not technical. If you like how a Lone Peak handles but your feet are done before you are, this is the next one to try.
Lighter and closer to the ground: Superior
Low, simple, and felxible - the one for short fast runs and for people who want to feel the trail rather than be insulated from it. It's the most minimal shoe that Altra makes, and that's the whole idea: grip, a bit of protection underfoot, and not much else.
In short: Lone Peak for almost everything, 9+ if it's wet underfoot, Timp for long days, Superior for short fast ones.
The Olympus is the most cushioned shoe that Altra makes. High stack, Altra EGO MAX foam, a Vibram Megagrip outsole with deeper lugs, and the roomy Original fit. It's the right call for long descents, multi-day walking, and anyone carrying a pack - the extra foam does the work your legs would otherwise do at hour six. The trade is that you're further off the ground, so it's less precise on technical ground than a Lone Peak, and it's heavier.
There's a mid-cut GORE-TEX version built as a hiking boot, which is the one to look at if you want the Olympus platform with ankle coverage and a waterproof membrane. Via Olympus is the road-going relative - same max-cushion idea, smooth outsole, built for pavement and long slow kilometres rather than trail.
In short: Olympus when the day is long or the pack is heavy, Lone Peak when the ground is technical, Via Olympus when it's bitumen.
The road range is smaller and easier to sort than the trail range.
The everyday one: Torin
The Torin is Altra's daily trainer - high stack, EGO MAX foam, and the moderate Standard FootShape rather than the roomiest fit, so it feels less unusual than a Lone Peak to anyone coming from a conventional shoe. It carries the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance, which is unusual on a running shoe and is part of why it gets recommended to people with foot problems. If you're buying one Altra to run on roads in, this is it.
Lighter and quicker: Escalante
Less stack, a knit upper, and a much closer feel to the ground. The Escalante is the one for shorter and faster running, and it's the one people who came to Altra from minimalist shoes tend to prefer. The Escalante Racer strips it further again for race day.
More support: Paradigm
Max cushion with added structure through the midsole for runners who need more than a neutral shoe. It's the closest thing Altra makes to a stability trainer, and it's a specific answer to a specific problem rather than a general recommendation.
In short: Torin for daily kilometres, Escalante for faster and shorter, Paradigm if a neutral shoe isn't holding you.
Altra's answer to everyone who wants the toe box but doesn't want to retrain their calves. The Experience line runs a low 4mm drop with a rockered shape that rolls you through the stride, so it's a much softer landing for anyone coming off a conventional shoe.
Experience Wild is the trail version - MaxTrac outsole, GaiterTrap, toe overlays, and light enough for fast running. Experience Flow is the road version. The FWD Via sits alongside them as another low-drop road option. If you've tried zero drop and it didn't agree with you, this is where to look before writing the brand off.
The logic is the same as on the trail: a flat platform and a wide toe box matter more over eight hours with a pack than over a 10km run, because that's when feet swell and toes get squashed.
The Lone Peak comes as a waterproof low shoe and as a waterproof mid boot, and the Olympus comes as a GORE-TEX mid boot and a low GORE-TEX hiking shoe. The mid boots are the ones to look at if you want ankle coverage on rough ground or you're carrying real weight. Worth being straight about the limit: a zero-drop shoe with a soft midsole is not the same as a stiff-soled leather boot, and if you're carrying 20 kilos across scree you may want the boot. For everything short of that, this is a very comfortable way to walk a long way.
Browse the full range across brands under hiking shoes and hiking boots.
Most Altra trail shoes have a GaiterTrap tab on the heel - a strip of hook-and-loop that a trail gaiter attaches to without a strap under the shoe. It's a small thing that stops the most annoying problem in trail running. Altra makes its own gaiters to suit, and the same tab works with most low trail gaiters. Have a look at gaiters and, while you're there, socks - a wide toe box does nothing if the sock is squeezing your toes together.
Running: trail running shoes, road running shoes, minimalist shoes.
Hiking: hiking shoes, hiking boots.
Accessories: gaiters, socks, footwear accessories, footwear care.
Free shipping Australia-wide, bulky items excluded, and 80 days to return anything including sale items. Full detail on our shipping and returns pages. That 80-day window matters more with Altra than with most brands: zero drop takes a few weeks to know one way or the other, and you shouldn't have to decide inside a fortnight. If you'd rather try a pair on, we have two stores - Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast and Brisbane at Skygate - and you can order online for click and collect. Details on the store locations page.
What size Altra should I order in Australian sizing?
Altra uses US sizing which is the same as Australian sizing. Take your usual running-shoe length as the starting point and don't size up for the toe box - the extra room is built into the shape, not the length, and a shoe that's too long will slide on descents. If you're between sizes, go up for trail and hiking where your feet will swell and your toes will hit the front going downhill. Check the measurements on the Altra size guide before you order.
What does zero drop mean, and do I need to transition?
Zero drop means your heel and forefoot sit the same distance off the ground, instead of the heel being lifted 8 to 12mm as it is in most running shoes. It puts more load through the calf and Achilles and less through the knee. If you're coming from a conventional shoe, yes, build up - walk in them first, then short runs, then normal distance over three or four weeks. Going straight into a long run is how people decide Altras don't suit them when what actually happened is a sore Achilles. If you'd rather skip the adjustment, the Experience and FWD lines run a low 4mm drop instead.
Are Altra shoes any good for walking and standing all day?
They're one of the more popular choices for it, and the reason is the toe box rather than the drop - feet spread out over a long day, and a shoe that doesn't fight that is more comfortable at hour ten. Plenty of people buy the Torin for exactly this rather than for running. The zero-drop caveat still applies: if you stand all day in heeled work shoes, going flat is still a change your calves will notice. We can't give you medical advice, and if you're buying shoes to manage a specific foot condition, talk to a podiatrist first.
What's the difference between the Lone Peak and the Lone Peak 9+?
Mainly the outsole. The standard version uses Altra's MaxTrac rubber; the 9+ uses Vibram Megagrip, which is noticeably grippier on wet rock and slick clay and holds up longer. Same platform, same fit, same stack. If your trails are dry and hard-packed, the standard shoe is the better value. If you're crossing creeks and scrambling on wet rock, pay the difference.
Does the Altra warranty apply in Australia?
Altra warrants its footwear against manufacturing faults, and the terms vary by product. Wear from normal use isn't a warranty matter on any shoe - outsoles and midsoles are consumable. Separately and regardless of what the manufacturer offers, Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply to everything we sell. If something's gone wrong with a pair you bought from us, contact us and we'll handle it for you.
Which Altra is best for wide feet?
Start with the fit name rather than the model. Original is the roomiest FootShape and covers the trail range including the Lone Peak and Olympus; Standard is moderate and covers most of the road range including the Torin; Slim is the narrowest. On top of that, the Lone Peak also comes in a dedicated wide version, which is the widest thing in the range. Worth saying plainly: an Altra in Original fit is roomier through the forefoot than a wide-fit shoe from most other brands, so you may not need the wide version at all.
Altra shoes are born out of frustration, with the company owner lobbying shoe companies for years before making his own designs in order to encourage low impact running technique and prevent injury. Listening to his customers and using research as his guide, a long time was spent altering existing shoes to remove excess heel elevation, provide level cushioning, and create a toe-box that mirrors the shape of a healthy foot.
While these shoes have evolved a lot since then, they still aim to return runners' feet to their natural position. Altra designs and manufactures a wide range of running shoes for men and women. There are three categories of shoes available: neutral road, support, and trail. Each of these shoe categories has been specifically designed to eliminate knee pain, shin splints, and recurring foot pain.
While level cushioning through the Zero Drop platform is the design goal of all shoes, there are three cushioning ranges available to choose from: light, moderate, and high. Altra's large selection of shoes is made by runners for runners, with a number of clever and innovative design choices being made rather than blindly following convention. Altra is committed to helping people run better.
Here at WildEarth, we stock a number of Altra shoes for men and women. While we sell a large number of trail shoes to our adventurous customers, we also stock Altra's road running range. The friendly team at WildEarth take great pride in our competitive prices, super-fast nationwide delivery system, and expert technical advice. From outdoor equipment through to running shoes, our staff are passionate about all elements of the outdoor lifestyle.
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