The North Face - Altamesa 500

Late to this thread, it popped up when I was searching on a release date for the Vectiv Enduris 5. I have had a couple editions of the Vectiv Enduris and the Alta Mesa 500 plus the Offtrail TR. I was among the early adopters and have been happy with any and all that I have tried so far. Engineering, technology, materials, build quality, fit, and comfort have been all on a par or better with other brands' trail shoes that I have run in through the years. I will be purchasing more going forward for as long as I run trails. To reflect on others' comments, I tried the Arc'teryx trail shoes based on perception of brand quality and did not like them at all. They were too similar to Salomon trail shoes which I also did not like, though those have improved in recent years. La Sportiva has also come a long way and now makes trail shoes I enjoy running in. La Sportiva and TNF are probably my top two favorites at the moment. I am also liking Norda right now. Could there be an issue with accessibility? I live in an area with above average running trail access and do not know where to get TNF locally except at the TNF store the next town over, and the trail shoes have disappeared from their inventory more recently. There is one running store, over half an hour away, where I have seen TNF trail run shoes. I know people that want to try on shoes first before buying, so if access is primarily through ecommerce then I can understand widespread reluctance. Hoka and Altra are two brands I probably see the most locally, both in stores and on people's feet.

northface altamesa 500s. I’ve used them on everything, light trail to flights to just regular walking lol. The regular black and white ones are super casual looking. The lugs aren’t too big as well.

I’ve been using the altamesa for road to gravel. been hiking with it too but it performed poorly on technical terrain. If the terrain is gravel and light terrain you should be fine. I’m using my altamesa 500s like my daily shoe now, i walk everywhere with it.

the treads wore out pretty early about 400km

I have flat feet and overpronate. My road to trail shoes are the north face altamesa 500s. I highly recommend it, wide forefoot too. I have a wide fore foot🥲okay they do not do that well on mud. for technical and some mud I recommend asics trabuco, I have the 12 and I run trail races in them

This is the option I would recommend most. Pretty darn good shoe

TNF Altamesa 500, fantastic on non-technical trails. Used them for Rim-Rim-Rim and they were fantastic. Stable and cushioned. Drain well, can handle some technical. Only issue I’ve had is on super steep descents, toes jam into front a bit.

The North Face Altamesa 500 and Vectiv 4s, also Salomon thundercross and Topo Ultraventure

I’ve wider toes and ran the R3 with TNF Altamesa 500s. They were great. But it all depends on your foot shape and gait.

I’m on my 3rd pair of the Altamesa 500s. Great shoes. Well built, good toe room, drain well. I used them for a Rim2Rim2Rim in the Grand Canyon last spring and they were AMAZING! For 90% of my trails they are great. Their traction isn’t bad but it’s not great. My biggest issue is super steep technical descending my toes get a bit hammered. Wore them for GTC100 last July and my toes were wrecked by the end. However I ams planning to use them for Crazy Mountain 100 in a couple of weeks, with a different set in a drop bag. Can’t compare to the SGs as I haven’t had great luck with Hokas.

I have similar feet (appointment with a podiatrist upcoming). The genesis is the first shoe I've owned that doesn't have a crease in the upper from my flat foot hanging over the medial side of the insole. It is relatively straight but I think the support pieces in the heel are what is doing the work. Now if they'd make a "genius max" or similar id be set. I just tried on the north face altamesa 500, the north face vective enduris 4, and puma voyage 4. All have cool tech, but all have curve and/or a cutout in the midfoot that removes them from consideration. You may need to try different sock thicknesses to dial in the fit with the genius (or fill in the volume with an insole). Lete know if you find something. There aren't a lot of shoes for us lol.

I tried on the altamesa and the enduris 4. Loved them both except the midfoot cutout was too dramatic. I have low arches and need a but more platform then that. Otherwise I would've purchased the enduris 100% .

My partner raced much of his last 100 in the Enduris, and I have a pair as well. They're a very, very good shoe. The brand doesn't have a ton of exposure, but I bet a lot more people would pick them if they did. I also have Alta Mesa 500s that are my absolute favorite shoe for all day crewing/volunteering/course sweeping. 

I LOVE TNF for trail running! I feel it’s one of the most overlooked brands out there. I have the Vectiv Enduris 4, Altamesa 500 and the Offtrail TR GTX shoes, and they are 👩🏻‍🍳💋!

I’m a big fan of The North Face shoes, specifically the Enduris 4 and the Altamesa 500; the former being a moderately cushioned daily or race shoe with an aggressive rocker, and the latter being a max cushion stability shoe with a wider toe box.

Prodigio Pro, Mount to Coast T1, TNF Altamesa 500

I have found TNF shoes to fit my wide feet fairly well. I run in the enduris 4 and altamesa 500 currently. The Nike zegama 2 are also fairly roomy. Definitely stay away from anything hoka, Solomon, or nnormal as they have all been way too narrow for me.

I love the north face Alta Mesa 500s. I run in them often!