Altra King MT 1.5 Trail Running Shoes

Product Information

What I mean by that is they are designed for thick mud, wet trails, snowy, icy conditions and technical rocky ground; so the construction of the shoes is just as hard as the terrain they are designed to conquer.

However, there are some OCR-focused features of the shoe that are superfluous for everyday running: the forefoot strap is overkill unless you are really wallowing in deep mud, and the substantial overlay on the medial forefoot is (I assume) only there to help climb wet ropes. While I find that it works well, is comfortable and not restrictive/constricting, I don’t find it to be entirely necessary either, as the majority of shoes that I run in secure around my foot well without one. The blow out zone (for us) has been around the edges of the upper; however, in this update, there is more reinforcement in this zone.For the first year of running it was Merrell that served me well here with their Trailglove barefoot style running shoes.

Those that will find the most value in this shoe are those who seek a lightweight, wide-footed option with an aggressive outsole that can go almost anywhere. When running on trails littered with sharp rocks, we could feel the rocks but did not experience any pain. He regularly competes in Expedition Length Adventure races with his longest race to date 600 miles as well as traditional road races and triathlons. TRAILCLAW: Designed for trail, this unique outsole has canted lugs directly positioned under the metatarsals and 'claws' at the front of the shoe for optimal uphill and downhill traction.As the trails melted out down here in Palmer Lake I did find my left shoe collecting a lot of dust, I assumed it was because of a hole I poked through the upper but perhaps it was because of those holes around the Vibram logo! Whereas some higher, softer Altra shoes are more friendly to heel-strikers, the King MT… not so much. Given its thinner design, there are far more protective options out there that use a thicker midsole and a burlier rock plate.

And this is not a trail shoe for running on smooth, hardpacked trails or miles of sandstone, as the lower stack height and aggressive outsole just aren’t designed to deliver comfort in those settings. Notably I used them on two of the toughest condition long runs I've tried: a loop around the woods of North Somerset after a week of rain and a half marathon around Cheddar Gorge in snow. This is where the King MTs truly shine, those deep lugs and low stack height help keep you stable and propelling forward over the muck, whilst any puddles you splash through quickly drains out the shoe. I find the King MT 2 to be more stable with lower to the ground stance/stack and has overall superior wet traction. With a flexible upper, especially around the widest part of the foot, there's a little give for those who need a wider fit.But I also went back and did the same run in the Altra Superior 4 in similar conditions and the King MT 2 provided much better grip and let me run faster through the snowier parts of the route. But on trails when you get your feet properly soaked the rapid drainage is nothing short of fantastic. Zero Drop™ Platform: Places your heel and forefoot the same distance from the ground to encourage low-impact running technique, respects the natural alignment of the body and strengthens calf muscles that are weakened by raised heels. As it has so many vents, both on the upper and around the soles, I found that even going across light puddles means my foot gets soaked through, whilst in other shoes the water would stay out. g. pavement or slickrock), the thinner midsole does less to absorb the impacts of running when compared to a higher-cushion shoe, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise.