Altra - Escalante 4

Nurse. Walk a lot at work. Love the escalante for work and running. Will probably try the escalante racer next because me feet get warm.

Everybody's feet are different, so that's a tough answer. I have collapsed arches and over-pronate, fairly severely with my left foot, and have had varying success with wildly different shoes. The key for me is a stable heel matched to a non-intrusive arch. I had to trial and error quite a bit with different shoes. I like running in the Saucony Hurricane 24 because it has a lot of good cushion, a lot of different stability elements going on, without having a traditional medial post. There's enough cushion that I feel protected, matched with enough guidance that I'm not moving/wobbling excessively anywhere. The New Balance 860v14 is similar for me, though it's less exciting and the arch-support is slightly more intrusive. I tried the Saucony Hurricane 25 on in store and they seem lighter and a touch more sporty feeling. The Saucony Triumph 20 oddly enough works great for me as well because the lockdown is flawless for me in addition to a stable feeling heel. I think a good, stable heel keeps my inner-ankle from rotating inward and is just enough that I'm not beating up my foot/arch. These next two are really oddballs for me and it took me years to even consider giving them a shot.  On a whim I tried a Saucony Kinvara 15 and Altra Escalante 4 recently and love them both.  I always figured this type of shoe would never ever work for me, but they do.  The light, low, firm setup is inherently stable and the ground-feel allows me to really focus on my form: not slamming my feet or heels down, running quietly is what I tell myself.  I think many shoes just have too much height and squish that allows too much movement for me and lower stack, firmer shoes leave less room for error.  The Kinvara feels both light and minimal but just protective enough at the same time. They also have minimal arch-humps so I never feel uncomfortable pressure there. I keep runs in these shoes less than 5 miles since they're on the more minimal side. Here are some that did not work for me: Saucony Guide 16: horrible, painful stiff medial post, slappy shoe New Balance 860v12: too firm, invasive arch New Balance 1080v12: insane instability Adidas Adizero SL2: I occasionally use these but they are very soft with minimal structure Topo Fly-lite 5: rock-hard, invasive arch support, wildly uncomfortable Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19: like running in a wooden clog 

I do not, but it may be due to the severity of my issues or lack thereof.  I usually use the Escalante for 5K runs or shorter, or for walking around.  If I'm trying to run farther or if I'm going to be on my feet all day I'd probably pick something else. I've never had much luck with alternative insoles though. For me it seems the intrusive arch support is the worst offender which is often baked into the midsole of the shoe, and the best I can hope for is a simple, flat, and maybe soft insole, nothing fancy. 

I bought these for running and I have mixed feelings. I like running in them, but I haven’t ran in other running shoes, just barefoot shoes that aren’t made for it before these.  Walking however I really hate, I find them too squishy and bulky, my gait definitely becomes unnatural and I get tired much more quickly.

Got some Altra Escalante 4s earlier this year and the upper has already worn through at the heel. I have found I strongly prefer a zero drop shoe and the wide toe box, but I'm not happy with the durability. They have about 300 miles which seems on the low end to be wearing through. I have some Lone Peaks which have about the same mileage, and I love them, but they're a trail shoe and I try to wear them mostly/only on trails. Would love recommendations of another workhorse daily run road shoe! I was all settled on trying some Topo Magnifly 5s but read a bunch of reviews from Altra-wearers saying they didn't like them.

i personally think they are the best altra model. all of the other models are “less minimalist”. wideish toe box, zero drop, thinnest sole, fairly responsive sole material. it’s one of the only 2 shoes they still make that retain their minimalist roots. it’s certainly not a barefoot shoe, but it trends more toward minimalist while retaining some cushioning. most of their other models these days are, unfortunately, fairly indistinguishable from main stream “normal” brands.

I size up 1.5 size and the width becomes quite nice. The fit is so nice even in that size I don't mind the extra length at all. Great shoe.

I’m a “barefoot” person, and I can’t say that these meet the typical requirements of this subreddit, but these are my running shoe of choice. If I ran more than 5k distances, I would likely return to even more cushion. This is just for me. Some folks here run in sandals and actually barefoot. Not me.

I have these shoes and really like them. They have just enough cushioning to be comfortable walking on concrete, but not enough to hurt stability; however, I would prefer if the heel counter were a little stiffer. For running on concrete, you would probably want a bit more cushioning. I haven’t had them long enough to say for certain that the outsole is durable, but I’ve done a few rounds of pickleball and a little shadow‑boxing on concrete (pivoting into the ground isn’t good for the outsole), and it seems fine to me. I have medium‑width feet, and the shoe fits great; if it’s too narrow, I would suggest elastic laces to relieve the pressure points. I have some other Altra shoes, like the Lone Peak 8 and Experience Flow, and I would say the Escalante 4 has the least amount of volume, so if someone’s foot width is beyond medium it may feel a bit tight. The tongue isn't generally something I focus on so I can't comment on that. [RunRepeat has an indepth review of the shoe](https://runrepeat.com/altra-escalante-4).

Altra Escalantes!! I’ve gone through 4 pairs of Escalante 3s, and just got the 4s (they’ve been out for a while), and I might love them even more. The Escalante Racers are also 👌🏼for speed work.

I love the shoes but I'm never buying another pair. I actually got them to be a walking shoe thinking they would be comfortable and last a long while. The tread wore down immediately where my Merrell's and Whitins will last a year as a walking shoe. Like they wore down to the point where walking in my area didn't feel safe (a lot of brick sidewalks, marble and granite) after a month and a half or so. They are super comfortable and nice to run on pavement in though.