Altra running shoes
Ranked 2 of 3 running shoes by recommenders
People recommend Altra running shoes for their wide toe box and zero-drop design, and say they last a long time. Quality control for the price is the common complaint.
People recommend Altra running shoes for their wide toe box and zero-drop design, and say they last a long time. Quality control for the price is the common complaint.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Wide toe box
“I've only bought Altras for the past five or so years because of the large toe-box size and reasonable looks.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” “Switched to a zero drop, wide toe box Altra, and have stayed with them since.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” “They are the least ugly, properly wide shoes I have bought yet”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” Zero-drop design
“Switched to a zero drop, wide toe box Altra, and have stayed with them since.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” “I changed shoes to zero-drop (Altras) which makes this easier to do.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Anti-Aging Injection Regrows Knee Cartilage and Prevents Arthritis” Loyal repeat buyers who won't switch
“I've only bought Altras for the past five or so years because of the large toe-box size and reasonable looks.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” “Switched to a zero drop, wide toe box Altra, and have stayed with them since.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout” “Since I discovered Altra it feels pain to wear anything else.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poor quality control for price
“Their QC to price ratio is atrocious”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Nike exits the S&P 100 after 18 years and a $200B market-cap wipeout”
Other running shoes people recommend
The two most recommended other running shoes, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoka running shoes | 25 | 6 | 81% | 3 | — | — |
| Altra running shoesThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 2 | — | — |
| On Running shoes | 5 | 6 | 45% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“My Altras last about 2x any other running shoe, and I even took them on trail runs”
“Since I discovered Altra it feels pain to wear anything else.”
“I've only bought Altras for the past five or so years because of the large toe-box size and reasonable looks.”
“Switched to a zero drop, wide toe box Altra, and have stayed with them since.”
“Their QC to price ratio is atrocious”
“They are the least ugly, properly wide shoes I have bought yet”
“It's way less durable than my old boots.”
“I changed shoes to zero-drop (Altras) which makes this easier to do.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.