The Altra One 2.5 is my favorite running at the moment. Having put over 1600 miles in my Nike
Free 5.0’s that I’ve ran in past 2 years, I was looking for new shoe with a similar lightweight, minimal type of running shoe. I was curious to see if there may be something better than the Nike’s so after speaking with some of the better runners I know, they pointed me towards the Altra line of shoes.
The One 2.5 is Altra’s take on a lightweight, softly cushioned running shoe. As with all of Altra’s shoes, the One 2.5 incorporates what they call Zero Drop; a design which places the heel and forefoot the same distance from the ground. Even the Nike’s have a 8mm heel drop. The Altra’s lack of heel drop encourages good running form; a more fore or mid-foot strike, rather than a heel strike which typically leads to a stronger impact and more injuries. I’m a huge fan the Zero Drop and a fore-foot strike. So much so that I now find it difficult to run in shoes that have a heal drop. I can get by in the Nike Free’s, but putting on my old pair of Brooks Ghost 4 feels like I’m wearing some awkward orthopedic shoes.
Similar to the wider toe box design of the Nike Frees, Altra incorporates what they call a FootShape toe box into their shoes. Rather than squeezing your toes tightly together as many traditional running shoes do, Altra’s wider toe box design allows the toes to relax and spread out naturally. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the natural and free feel of my toes when running and I’m very pleased this is part of Altra’s design philosophy.
The One 2.5 is Altra’s update to their One 2.0 Running shoe. I have used both models and the only difference I can discern is the increased height of the toe box in the 2.5. Everything else appears to be the same. My only complaint of the earlier 2.0 was that the my big toes got crunched, leaving me with blackened toenails, even bloody ones sometimes. Apparently this problem was not uncommon and Altra addressed this in the 2.5 design by increasing the height of toe box. Problem solved: no more crushed and bloody toenails!
Altra has a pretty extensive line of shoes, and the One 2.5 is part of their “neutral” line, which Altra describes as “light, fast and let the foot do what it naturally wants to”. The One 2.5’s distinct niche is their having the lightest cushioning of their neutral shoes, as well as being their lightest shoe – weighing a mere 6.3 ounces (an iPhone 6 weighs 4.5 ounces)!
I have put over 170 miles on my pair of 2.5’s and they are holding up well. There’s no visible signs of any rips or holes developing. And the soles look barely worn too. So they seem to be a fairly durable shoe, which I value highly since I don’t like having to buy an expensive new pair of shoes every few months. My Frees are now approaching 1900 miles and still usable, so I’ll be quite pleased if I can get 1000 miles from the Altras.
And I almost forget to mention that Altra’s running shoes are indeed vegan friendly!
Note: I paid for these shoes on Altra’s website as I clearly stated in the video. All commentary found in this review is my own personal opinion of the shoe. Since I was going to provide a link to Altra, I signed up for an affiliate link posted here. If I didn’t like the shoes, I wouldn’t have recommended them.
