I've had other Altras that were pretty good but also not quite right. I thought I'd try one more time with these, and I'm glad I did. They do have a spongey feel, which I like, but they aren't minimalist (zero drop but lots of cushion). I've only worn them a very short time, but they feel light and broken in right away. I like the softer, flexible upper over the toes too. My feet and ankles are narrow, so I didn't have a problem with the tongue that others complained of. I also didn't lace them up all the way so my ankle has more freedom. Speaking of laces, I ordered the gray color and the laces are a bright coral color. The shoe color is much more minty blue/green in person. I normally don't care that much about color or appearance of running shoes, but this color combination was ugly. I had some black laces from a different pair of shoes and they look way better.

This so far is the best walking/running shoe I've ever purchased. The wide box toe makes moving more comfortable. Instead of having aching feet after a mile or two I've upped my walk to four miles a day no matter what the weather, because they stabilize me I take on hills, trails, and wet pavement without worry.

I am healing from plantar fasciosis and am moving to shoes with a wide toe box and zero drop in order to strengthen the top of my feet. The Altra brand was suggested by several websites as a "transitional" shoe, somewhere between most running shoes with a narrow front and barefoot, minimalist type shoes. I chose an older style at a lower price since I didn't know how my feet would do in them. I had to take out the liner inside and lace them further down due to the swelling in my feet from the plantar fasciosis. Now they are great. In addition, I have had no issues with the stiff tongue that others mentioned in their reviews. When wearing ankle socks, the tongue doesn't even touch your leg. As I am breaking them in, they are feeling even better. I will be trying more Altras in the future!

I have been wearing vivobarefoot and other minimalist shoes for the last 10 years and recently found myself working in the medical field and needing something padded for standing on concrete all day but not wanting to stray from the zero drop and wide toe box found in minimalist shoes. I found these and they are the perfect compromise!! Ample padding (like standing on firm clouds) and the zero drop/foot shaped shoe that I am accustomed too. I can't believe the price of these as well and bought 2 pairs. Like I said too good to be true

These are amazing shoes and one of the only brands I find fits my custom orthotics well and have a wide toe-box so my toes are not scrunched together I have several styles of these shoes and all are equally amazing. Some of the comments about the shoe "lip" being uncomfortable. I can see how this might bother some but I have not found it to be uncomfortable. I do wear these with thinner but cushioning socks. Oh, and I have put these in the washer once (make sure to remove shoe-laces so they don't get stuck in holes of the washer "drum") and they look as good as new. I would not wear these for weight lifting as the sole is too soft, but great for walking or running.