Altra — our number one brand for 2014 — has already taken it up a notch in 2015. They are the new title footwear sponsor for both the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100. Their shoes are crushing the competition at our shop. For 2015, they could be close to 25% of our total business.
Everything Altra does draws attention and excitement. When local sales rep KC came in with the new products for Summer 2016, it wasn’t just another appointment: it was an event!
Here are the highlights:
Lone Peak 3.0 (July 2016)
The Lone Peak franchise continues its amazing trend of just getting better! The tread will be stickier; and a bit more of it. The upper is heartier, especially on the medial side arch area, to prevent wear and tear and tackle rockier terrain. Heather Anderson said she didn’t feel confident that the LP2.5 could take on the gnarly AT terrain of Maine and New Hampshire–she would not worry about the LP3.0 in that regard!! The mid-foot fit is also a bit snugger than previous LPs. The lightness and flexibility feel similar to LP2.5. If anything, the LP3 feels softer than the LP2.5 (due to that extra tread). The toe-box feels even roomier than LP2.5, especially in the volume. The seems you can see in the pictures could not be felt by my foot! I don’t think they’ll cause any issues; they’ll just give the upper more structure.
Lone Peak 3.0 Mid (July 2016)
These guys are the taller, NeoShell version of the LP3. NeoShell is the waterproofing liner by PolarTec that Altra uses on the current Lone Peak 2.0 WP. These “boots” feel like the shoes, but come up higher. There will be the Lone Peak 3.0 NeoShell Low Top as well. $160 for Mid
Golden Spike
Named after co-founder Golden Harper, these will be Altra’s first foray into spikes of any kind. They are characteristically wide. If you take the spikes out, you can run in Altra’s most minimal shoe since the Samson. I think we’ll sell more to the minimal runners out there then we will to XC folk. $90
Torin 2.5
Not many changes here…but the style and color are not our favorite. We like the fabric on the Torin 2.0’s upper better. We’ll likely go with the black colorway that we didn’t get a pic of. Still Altra’s best road shoe in our opinion–if you want a lot of soft cushion.
Tokala
A casual shoe with style and cushion!! These slip-ons have the One 2.5 midsole. So cushy, so hip. $90
A few folks have asked us via twitter (@7hillsRunShop) about the One 2.5. There will not be a “One Cubed” this summer. One 2.5 remains.
Also, the Paradigm goes to v2.0…but we are so blinded by the shear awesomeness of the Olympus 2.0 –which is out now — that we couldn’t possibly give the P much thought.
Tweet us what you think!
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