Shoe Review: Altra Escalante

The Altra Escalante is the first shoe Altra had produced that features its new EGO midsole. I know that I'm a little behind with this review, as there are many others such as Ultra Runner Podcast who have already review this shoe. But, I wanted to review it after running about 200 plus miles in this shoe.

Technical Specs:

• Footshape toe box with fully cushioned ZeroDrop material
• Stack height-25mm
• Altra EGO midsole with innerflex
• Rubber outsole with Footpod technology
• Engineered knit upper
• 8.2 oz for a size 9

"Enough of me waxing poetic on this thing, let's just get into the nitty gritty things I like and dislike about this shoe."

- The Ginger Runner

1.The Good:

• The new EGO midsole is really cushioned and soft, yet very responsive and can withstand long runs, and even speed workouts on the track. Comparing it to the New Balance RC1400v4 I wear daily(About 2 years old), every time I wear the Escalante I feel the difference in how plush and soft it is. The Altra Escalante is actually really soft and can be used when wearing casually.

The EGO midsole is plush!

• Altra has done a really great job with its knit upper. When I used this shoe for summer training, my feet didn't feel limited. There is plenty of space in the shoe because of its knit upper. The knit also made this shoe really breathable which was good during long runs and workouts.
  
• The Footpod outsole makes the shoe into a more human like shape. Unlike other shoes, Altra has made it's running shoes to fit a person's foot by making it look like a foot. Because of this, the interior of the shoe is very spacious, and I don't feel like my feet in crammed in one spot.

• With just 8.2 oz for a size 9(my size) this shoe isn't just perfect for training runs, but for races and workouts. The shoe felt really light while running in races and almost felt like a racing flat with more cushion. Compared to other daily trainers, I believe this is more lighter and is great for those looking for speed.

                                        The heel of the shoe is also very plush and padded

"And you can just downshift into cruise control and run long distance in this thing and somewhere in the middle of your workout start kicking up the pace"

- The Ginger Runner

2.The Bad:

• Because of its flexible knit upper and spacious footpod outsole, your feet tends to move around a lot. When I'm running and turning left or right, my foot tends to slide and hit the edge of the shoe. I've tried to tie my laces tighter, but the forefoot keeps sliding left and right.
• The knit upper is breathable, but terrible in wet conditions. I've run this shoe in several occasions when it was bad weather, or wet terrain. The result? Well, it was awful. This shoe can get wet easily and it feels really bad when it does. The knit just sucks up moisture and my foot just felt really uncomfortable during races and workouts. 

3.Overall:

With an msrp of $130-should you buy this shoe?

Yes, I would highly recommend this shoe as it is light, cushioned, stretchy, and comfortable. With new technology Altra has put into it, I believe that it is worth spending $130 on this shoe.

Questions, comments, or feedback of this shoe? Please share, and as always thanks for reading!