Today, household name in zero-drop running shoes, Altra, is launching what is not only a new shoe — but a new departure for the brand.
The AltraFWD Experience ($140) road running shoe is Altra’s first low-drop shoe, and features a 4-millimeter drop, with claimed stack heights of 32 to 28 millimeters heel to toe for the men’s version, and 30 to 26 millimeters for the women’s.
According to the brand, the shoe weighs in at 8.5 ounces for the men’s version and 7.1 ounces for the women’s. The shoe boasts a rocker-shaped geometry for efficient toeoff, and retains Altra’s renowned Footshape Fit with its trademark wide toebox.
The AltraFWD Experience men’s version. Photo: Altra
According to Altra co-founder, Brian Beckstead, “The AltraFWD Experience is all about brand expansion, product evolution, and continuing to create shoes that work for more and more runners. Since the start, we’ve been all about creating what people need and sought to build shoes that work with your body from road to trail. We’ll never stop catering toward the Altra loyalists that are all about zero-drop, but we are super excited to expand our line-up and create a low-drop shoe that helps make Altra accessible to more runners — especially those that haven’t wanted to take the full leap into zero-drop.”
Altra conceptualized this performance-forward, lightweight road shoe by listening to feedback from consumers, and it was developed and tweaked through continual athlete testing.
The outsole of the AltraFWD Experience women’s version. Photo: Altra
Altra athlete, Cal Neff, was involved in this process and said: “I believe there are a lot of benefits to rotating in a 4-millimeter drop shoe that complement the use of zero-drop shoes. Biomechanically, the 4-millimeter AltraFWD Experience will allow for an efficient running form and forward-propelling stance, especially as fatigue sets in.”
The AltraFWD Experience will be available on October 3, in a choice of four colorways, with men’s and women’s specific versions.
We’ll have to wait and see if the brand brings a low-drop trail shoe to market in the future.
The AltraFWD Experience during athlete testing. Photo: Altra
