The Altra Olympus 6. All photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Get married. Have a baby. Move to the suburbs. Start running a lot of miles in the Altra Olympus 6 ($175).
While tongue in cheek, this sequence will sound familiar to many of us as we hit peak adultness. Some of us get a little heavier, a little slower, and a little more concerned with comfort. After many days in diverse terrain, the Altra Olympus 6 is a cruise-y shoe for your mid-life era.
I like to run fast (or at least try hard); I do track workouts, races, and intervals. I’ve reviewed countless short-distance, lightweight racing shoes for iRunFar, so this shoe is a massive detour in my rotation, but one I’ve come to really enjoy, particularly on long and rambling mountain runs with my better half.
I can no longer convince myself to squeeze my foot into shoes like the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 3 or the Brooks Catamount Agil, unless I’m looking for high performance in races or for workouts.
When the order of the day is long and slow (and not very technical), I now reach for the pontoon-like bulldozers that are the Olympus 6. This shoe packs creature comforts, whether it’s the “Achilles pillow” at the heel, the claimed 33 millimeters of cushy foam, or the toebox that is accommodating even with your thickest run or hike socks. In exchange for that comfort, the Olympus 6’s actual weight is a not light 12.5 ounces (354 grams) for a U.S. men’s 9, while maintaining Altra’s standard zero-drop platform.
My history with Altra over the last few years has been extremely limited due to the fact that, especially with today’s shoes, I love a rockered shape, carbon plates, huge stack, and lots of heel-to-toe drop. Against those qualities, Altra can feel extremely flat and uninspiring. I was very surprised to find that the Olympus 6 would be my gateway back to the brand after a very long absence.
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Altra Olympus 6 Upper
A lateral view of the Altra Olympus 6.
Altra has never had an aesthetics problem. Despite the actual performance not being favorable for my particular style of running, I’ve always really liked the way they look. When you add a beautiful aesthetic to a mega-cushioned and heavy shoe, you get an unexpected boost of enthusiasm for using them, and the Altra Olympus 6 doesn’t disappoint. It has a very modern look with its carved and contoured shapes around the medial and lateral sections of foam.
From the Altra Olympus 5 to the Olympus 6, you get more breathability through the tongue section and the toe, but that’s about it. This shoe, with its bulldozer demeanor, is all about the overlays. There are beefy textured overlays on top of smooth overlays (underlays?) on either side of the forefoot, all the way up to the classic Altra toe cap (with a Vibram logo stamp).
These overlays will help maintain the integrity of the upper because they are in most, but not all, of the high impact areas. Altra should have added an overlay on the fore to the midfoot area on the medial side, since this area of mesh is unprotected. There is no deterioration there yet, but it seems likely to occur as a single swipe from some talus or other sharp rock could shred it.
The shoelaces are some of the beefiest I’ve ever seen. They are more likely to remind you of leather hiking boots from the 1970s than a trail running shoe in 2024. A more lightweight or streamlined set of laces would make this a much more svelte-looking and feeling shoe package.
Altra’s trademark Achilles pillow is a nice add for extra cushioning in the heel; it also has the benefit of lessening the general gaps around the collar to prevent debris from entering. The Achilles heel pillow is attached to one of the most massive pull tabs I’ve ever seen on a running shoe; it’s just another indication of this shoe’s “more is more” philosophy.
Altra Olympus 6 Midsole
A medial view of the Altra Olympus 6.
The Altra Olympus 6 doesn’t use proprietary or branded midsole foam from Altra (i.e., Ego Max); it uses compression-molded EVA, similar to what was used in the Altra Olympus 4.
My historical major gripe about zero-drop shoes is the lack of roll through the stride, feeling more like my feet are just slapping at the ground. (This sensation has followed me all the way to other modern Altral modesl, like the new Altra Timp 5, which I tested in the spring). As a very cushy shoe, maybe my expectations were inherently altered, but I find this midsole compound to be the very best I’ve used from Altra in a long time.
There are 33 millimeters of stack, so it’s a nice big chunk of foam underfoot, but there is palpably more pop and spring when rolling along, whether on flat or uphill terrain. But this does come at a cost. Where the aforementioned race shoes from Salomon and Brooks are sensational downhilling shoes, the Olympus doesn’t claim to be, nor is it.
Precise foot placement is just not a thing here. It’s more like, pick a line and then smush–and–smash whatever’s underneath. Landing on awkward surfaces can be almost instantly nullified as the enormous contact patch of the outsole grabs at the ground and the midsole just smooths it right out.
Altra Olympus 6 Outsole
The outsole of the Altra Olympus 6.
The Vibram Megagrip outsole acts as a bit of a governor for the Altra Olympus 6. It is a highly capable and versatile outsole, but its lack of aggression will prevent you from putting this shoe in places it doesn’t belong, such as in deep mud or up and down fells.
The outsole pattern is in a largely unchanged configuration from previous versions in the Olympus lineup. I’ve used the shoe in scree and in tight spaces on ascents of a few San Juan Mountains 14ers in Colorado; there has been mud, creek crossings, and just ultra dry and loose dirt and this outsole stands up to all of it.
Altra’s usual outsole pattern, where lugs line the silhouette of your foot’s sole, is in place here and this strategic pattern really helps from catching errant zingers from landing wrongly.
A large drainage port from the midfoot to heel helps prevent mud buildup. Something I appreciated after amassing a fairly sizable amount of mud in other places during the 14ers runs.
Altra Olympus 6 Overall Impressions
A top view of the Altra Olympus 6.
Though I may have entered (or I’m at least toeing) a slowed-down era of my running, the Altra Olympus 6 has been a very cushy entry into this world.
The expectations are clear: this is a max cushioned, max comfort, and max mileage shoe for trail runners and hikers, but it is also somehow the most fun Altra shoe I’ve tested in years. There are few competitors for a shoe with this DNA and it’s no wonder that this has become a franchise in Altra’s trail lineup.
The New Balance More Trail V3 and Hoka Stinson 7 are among the closest current challengers in the ultrarunning “tank” category, but unlike those shoes, the wide-footed among us will find so much comfort and room to breathe with the Olympus 6.
With wider than average feet and bunions, years of cramming my feet into lightweight and narrow trail running shoes makes the Olympus 6 a long, full-bellied breath of fresh air for trail running on long and easy days.
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Call for Comments
- Have you tried the Altra Olympus 6? What are your thoughts on it?
- How does this shoe compare to previous versions of the Olympus for you?
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