Altra made a name for itself long ago with its atypical style of running shoe, which featured several signature elements. One of the more identifiable traits with all Altra shoes has long been a zero drop, meaning there’s no difference in the height between the heel and forefoot.
This, however, is about to change.
Today, Altra revealed its first-ever low-drop road shoe, the AltraFwd Experience. The most distinguishable element of the shoe is its 4 mm drop.
This road-ready look, Altra explained, is for the runner who may have never considered the brand before but is now curious because of this low-drop shoe. What’s more, the brand said the look is a continuation of its mission to offer comfort to runners through natural foot positioning.
“We recognized early on that people are in high-heeled shoes from the time they were children, so going to pure zero drop is hard for some. We’ve always talked about how to transition to zero drop and so forth,” Brian Beckstead, co-founder of Altra who currently leads strategy and PR, told FN. “We have prototypes of transition insoles from eight or nine years ago. We have shoe designs from five or six years ago that had a drop in it. This is something that has been noodling in the back of our brains since we launched the brand 12 years ago.”
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The stack heights for the AltraFwd Experience are 33 mm in the heel and 28 mm in the forefoot for men, and 32 mm in the heel and 28 mm in the forefoot for women.
“We want people to be aligned naturally, and 4 mm drop for a lot of people is much more natural than the shoes that they’ve been wearing for most of their lives,” Beckstead explained. “Our goal is to continue to evolve the brand, get more people in a foot-shaped shoe, get them in zero or low drop — that’s what you’re going to start seeing from us, zero to low instead of zero drop.”
Although Altra has become synonymous with zero drop running shoes, Beckstead said retail the brand’s partners have been supportive of this shift.
“Do you know how many retailers have requested this shoe for years and years?” Beckstead said. “The orders have come in really strong. The retailers have absolutely supported this, they’ve requested it, they are thrilled to have this. They’re going to continue carrying the Altra products that they know and sell very well, but there’s consumer demand out there for this type of product from Altra. In terms of fit and length and spacing and the foot-shaped toe box, this fits pretty much all the other Altras.”
Aside from the 4 mm drop, the shoe is built using Altra’s Standard Footshape Fit, as well as the brand’s rocker shape geometry, which Altra explained is to encourage efficient toe-off. It also features sleek engineered mesh uppers and compression-molded foam for a performance-focused ride.
Beckstead also stated that Altra is reframing the way it looks at its collection of shoes.
“Historically, it used to be neutral versus pronation. Then it was minimal versus max. What we were trying to do with our consumers now is talk about our shoes in terms of how they’re going to feel or experience the shoes. We’re dividing that into four silos. This is our Fwd silo,” Beckstead said. “What this shoe does is rockers you forward, you feel that that experience. It rolls you forward.”
He continued, “Then, we’re going to go with Feel. That’s going to be your Escalante, your Lone Peak and your Superior. Then, it’s Float. That’s your traditional higher-cushion Altras like the Torin or Timp or Olympus. Fwd, that’s going to be this shoe. And the last is Fast.”
The AltraFwd Experience arrives Oct. 3 via Altrarunning.com, as well as at select retailers. It will debut in four colorways for both men and women, and will retail for $140.
Looking ahead, although sparse on details, Beckstead said there is going to be rapid expansion within the Fwd category. This includes the addition of two SKUs for 2024.
