Altra absolutely sucks now!

Topo Athletic kind of did the same thing.

These lightweight shoe companies forgot what drew a lot of runners to them in the first place. Trail and ultra runners who will wear their equipment out and don't run as often as hardcore road/track runners (who wear their shoes out more quickly) aren't that big a source of revenue.

Actually none of the shoes you mentioned HAVE replacements so, no, they haven’t replaced them with bricks. They just haven’t been replaced. Exception being the solstice, which is currently sold as the Solstice XT.

The Escalante Racer is in the lineup still and isn’t a brick. The Escalante 2.5 is just an Escalante 1.5 with an upper change.

No idea what they’re going to do with their spikes and cross country flats but I get the impression that the racing line is getting a big update. I’d expect them to follow industry trends though, more cushion. They have a high stack, non plated version of the Vanish that Cal Neff used for his 50k record. Zach Bitter won the 100k (100mile? I forget) US Championship in the new carbon plated shoe. I think Tyler McCandless has been using these shoes too.

Competition shoes have changed and you’ll race faster in these new shoes. Adapt or die.

I expect a light, flexible “minimal” shoe to remain in the lineup. Not sure both the Escalante and Escalante Racer will survive to the next version, I half expect the next Escalante (which they ARE working on) to get new foam and a weight drop and swallow up both the regular Escalante and the Racer. Maybe there is a new cross country or distance spike that occupies the spot the Vanish-R did occupy, but I think the current Vanish-R will be replaced by a higher stack unplated shoe.

Also, have you even seen people run in the Kayenta? It probably got killed because no one bought it. Everyone around my parts runs in Torins, Escalantes, or Provisions for the road. The stores that had the Kayentas could not sell them. And they probably had better success with the Solstice as a cross trainer, hence the rebranding.

I had the Kayenta, but forgot that I had until you mentioned it. Which says all you need to know about that shoe. I loved the OG Solstice and had no problem using them for a marathon. The first Escalante was too soft for me for running but they were great for just hanging out or walking in.

After the Escalante they lost me. I went to Topo for awhile but they haven’t come out with anything that excites me for a year or two either. Right now I’m digging the Atreyu shoes but looking for something between their base model and their plated racer for longer easy runs.

The Escalante Racer and the Rivera are both sweet shoes. The Rivera basically swallowed the OG Torin.

+1 Solstice was superb. Usual story of someone filling a niche, establishing a brand/reputation and then getting bullied/ forced or tempted into selling out to the cartel and everything gets mainstream to build sales volume and not rock boats.

These companies get sold out and then the new parent company just focuses on the money makers. Happens every time. Not like Altras were that great in the first place.

To me they are great (escalante) since they cured my Achilles tendonitis problem of four years. Plus I like there natural running moto, none of their shoes having carbon-foam springs

I must be one of the lone Kayenta fans. When I heard they were being discontinued I stocked up, but I'm down to my final 3 pairs. Hoping they release a new lightweight responsive shoe.

Escalante Racer is the GOAT

I made the switch to Altra as my running shoe of choice ironically due to my search for a good hiking shoe. I bought the Lone Peaks and took them out on the trail for a run, was very impressed by the feel, and then never looked back. I use the Escalante for road running now in addition to the Lone Peak. I used to walk on my toes as a kid, so the zero drop works wonders for me and my natural running mechanics. I definitely regret having used padded pronation shoes for all the years leading up to the change. I always had nagging Achilles tendonitis, tight hips, and knee sensitivity.

If you want lightweight, zero-drop, wider shoes. Just embrace Vibrams.

Altra was a better shoe company when Golden Harper was still the owner. Since he sold the company the shoes have gone downhill.

San Diego Hobby Jogger wrote:

To me they are great (escalante) since they cured my Achilles tendonitis problem of four years. Plus I like there natural running moto, none of their shoes having carbon-foam springs

Oddly Altras have helped my foot/ankle problems too (Achilles and peroneal tendinosis) , which is strange for a shoe that stresses those areas more to fix those issues but here we are. I use the Escalante Racer for workouts and a mix of the Rivera and Torin Plush for everything else. I am in barefoot style shoes (or barefoot) for literally everything outside of running so I think I’ve just gotten used to having no heels and depend on a flat surface to maintain balance and having a heel, no matter how small, throws that off and wreaks havoc on my stability, hence my Achilles and peroneal issues.

Have a marathon coming up in November, not sure if I’m gonna run that in the Escalante Racer or the Rivera.

your mention of peroneal tendinosis piqued my interest. After trying soft/super cushioned shoes, I'm finally coming out of close to 7 months of wicked PF (which I never, ever had in 40+ yrs of running), and I end up w/ peroneal tendon problems which the ortho doc says is somewhat typical. Ironically, I have an old pair of Torins that I walk around the house in, but I've never run in them. Curious as to what kind of mileage you do in the Rivera and Torin plush. Thx.

fj wrote:

your mention of peroneal tendinosis piqued my interest. After trying soft/super cushioned shoes, I'm finally coming out of close to 7 months of wicked PF (which I never, ever had in 40+ yrs of running), and I end up w/ peroneal tendon problems which the ortho doc says is somewhat typical. Ironically, I have an old pair of Torins that I walk around the house in, but I've never run in them. Curious as to what kind of mileage you do in the Rivera and Torin plush. Thx.

I’m in a marathon block right now and am up to 47 miles per week in up weeks, all in Altras. Should max out in the low 50’s by fall. A mix of the three mentioned. I used to spend some time in NB Rebels (v1) but those suddenly hurt like the dickens so I’ve been running all Altra for the past month. Cushion is all the rage right now but that’s not necessarily a good thing.