Altra Olympus 7 Review

The Altra Olympus line has been a constant presence at the start line of many an ultra marathon over the years. A tank of a shoe designed for long days on your feet, loved by many due to the cushion and stability.

I had a go on the Olympus 5 a few years ago, finding that I really enjoyed the extra protection, however they ran a little too short for me, and a little too heavy. The Olympus series also historically continued to use a legacy bog standard Eva compound which other Altra shoes had switched away from, lending it a flat running-on-cardboard like feel.

Initial reviews of the new Olympus 7 however were hopeful. They'd fixed the divisive heel counter issuers on the 6s, shaved a good bit of weight, and finally switched to the much nicer Ego Max midsole.

What really cinched it for me was seeing this comparison:

So I get 8mm more midsole cushion than the Lone Peaks, yet they weigh less??

Sold! Let's see how they ran 💨

Specs

• 325g weight
  • Weighing less than a Lone Peak 9+
  • 20g lighter than the previous Olympus 6 model
• 4mm Vibram Megagrip
  • Bow with traction lugs: basically little nobbly bits on each lug that are meant to improve surface area and traction further
• 33m heel, 33m forefoot for a zero drop
  • See here for an outline of what zero drop means and its impact
• Ego Max midsole
  • Replacing the legacy Eva midsole
  • Much livelier and more responsive
• Engineered mesh upper
• Rocker under the forefoot
• Wide anatomical toe box for foot splay
  • "Original" fit, which is widest that Altra make
  • Matches the Lone Peak and Torin toe box widths
• Textured laces that grip well
  • A big step up on the horrendous Olympus 5 laces

Fit

For me these came in true to size, maybe a hair short. They feel slightly more generous length wise than the Olympus 5.

Comparison to other Altra models I've used for reference:

• Comparable length to the Experience Wild 3 and Torin 8
• About 1/2 size smaller than Lone Peak 9+
• About 1/4 size smaller than Mont Blanc Carbon / Speed

First Impressions

They really do feel lighter than the Lone Peaks, that tankiness of the old Olympus has been well masked.

Seeing the lug pattern and addition of the traction lugs was exciting. The Olympus have always been a good all year round shoe, but with that extra grip winter mud won't be an issue.

The Ego Max midsole is a million times better than the old Eva ones, immediately felt like slipping on one of the more recent Torins: comfortable and lively with a hint of firmness for that responsiveness.

The tongue is quite short and a little thin. I'd be cautious of lacing them too tight especially at the top, and with the laces being shorter you'd struggle to get a heel lock on these out of the box.

The heel counter is comfortable and effective. I don't get the heel lift out the box I was getting with the Mont Blanc series, the fit and feel is now closer to the Experience line, which is no bad thing, those shoes are super comfy.

Toe box is as expected, wide, foot shaped, tapers late. It is shorter length wise than Lone Peaks so if coming from that series it'd be worth trying them on in a shop. For regular Olympus users I think these give a tad more length than previous models.

How They Performed

Starting off with a hike, they felt super duper comfortable underfoot. Regardless of they run later I'd be very happy with these just as a long distance hiking shoe.

The heel holds nicely. The upper felt soft with no abrasion, yet locked down.

Definitely don't feel the tanky weight of previous versions.

Moving onto a run the lockdown was better than expected. Despite being shorter than my usual Altras they felt well dialled in on descents with no toe bashing.

Was surprised at how nicely they cruised on roads, they have a reliable daily training feel to them on tarmac.

Gripped well in wet (we finally had some rain here to test them) and didn't feel too heavy when soaked through.

I'd say the midsole is on the firmer end of things, which can be a positive or negative. For me the firmness adds to some responsiveness, yet the cushion is ideal for long distances.

Felt a little lace bite at the top I had to adjust mid run. Nothing crazy but be aware of it.

For technical ground, I will say you feel the higher stack and chunkier base. The stability is great, but the nimbleness around rooty / rocky ground is lower due to that. For a technical shoe I'd be looking for more flexible lower stack shoes like the Mont Blanc Speed / Carbon.

Generally exceptionally happy with these after a few long test runs.

Next

After 50k of testing, I immediately picked up these lovely pickle juice flavoured pair for race day. I am sold on the Olympus 7, having been a firm cynic before.

For me they are now a solid pair of all day monster trucks, with enough weight shaved that they retain more agility than ever before.

If you're looking for ultra distance cruising shoes, now light enough to retain a bit of competitiveness, these are the ones.

Note Altra also have the Olympus 275 HiLo which are a hair lighter again. For reference they have the same last, base and outsole, so the fit should be very similar, however use a Matryx upper instead which is supposedly more durable and hugs your foot better. I swerved them due to durability issues with the previous 275, but assuming we don't hear the sam thing about the HiLos they'd be a good pick for race day too.