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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Altra Solstice Review}} Running shoes frequently surprise me, and normally not in a good way. The Solstice is that rare exception when I have low expectations,..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Altra Solstice Review}}
Running shoes frequently surprise me, and normally not in a good way. The Solstice is that rare exception when I have low expectations, and find myself pleasantly surprised. Altra market the Solstice for "everyday wear or shorter road races", and they seem to think of it as an "entry level" shoe. My initial impressions were suitably underwhelming, as the Solstice is not terribly light, or unusually well cushioned, and it doesn't have any remarkable feature. Nothing remarkable that is, until I started putting some miles on them, and discovered just how much my feet liked them. Unlike some shoes, when I have to push myself to put the miles in with them, I found myself automatically reaching for the Solstice. And when I test other shoes, I find myself missing the Solstice. While the solstice is not ultralight like the long gone [[New Balance RC5000]], or massively cushioned like the [[Hoka Clifton]], or amazingly fast like the [[Nike Vaporfly 4%]], it is remarkably comfortable. Like all Altra shoes, it's near zero drop, and has an outline shape that matches a healthy human foot. Unlike most Altra shoes, the Solstice has a reasonable amount of headroom for the toes, allowing for a more natural foot movement. I was surprised to find myself packing of the Solstice for a vacation instead of my venerable [[Nike Zoom Streak LT 3]], which have been my companion on every vacation for the last few years. I'm rating the Solstice as "Highly Recommended", and I hope you enjoy your running in them as much as I am. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Altra Soltice-top.jpg|Altra Solstice top
File:Altra Soltice-outside.jpg|Altra Solstice outside
File:Altra Soltice-bottom.jpg|Altra Solstice bottom
File:Altra Soltice-inside.jpg|Altra Solstice inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Solstice has reasonable, but not great cushioning for its weight. In fact, you can get similar (or better) cushioning for much less weight, with shoes like the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]] or the [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]]. The Solstice reminds me somewhat of the [[Nike LunarSpider]]; it's not light for its cushioning, but it's well-made and comfortable. The cushioning is reasonably springy and resilient for an EVA foam shoe, though not up to the levels of a TPU foam shoe like the [[Altra Escalante]]. I found the Solstice was fairly insulated from the ground, so if you're looking for a slightly minimalist style shoe that lets you know every detail of what's going on under your feet, the Solstice is probably less ideal than you might expect from its sole thickness. On the other hand, if you like a little bit of protection I think the Solstice is a good compromise.
* {{H:drop}}. The Solstice is almost zero drop, with just 1-2mm less forefoot than heel height.
* {{H:structure}}. The Solstice uses just one density of foam and doesn't attempt to manipulate or interfere with your natural biomechanics.
* {{H:flexibility}}. While the Solstice is moderately flexible and quite springy, though I don't if there's any performance benefit to be had.
* {{H:outsole}}. There's only a small patch of harder rubber outsole on the back outer edge of the heel, with virtually all of the soft midsole foam exposed. I found the solstice lasted far longer than I might have expected (see below for details.) There are no outsole lugs, or sticky rubber to improve grip, but I found the exposed midsole was pretty good on asphalt or other hard surfaces.
* {{H:shape}}. Altra shoes are some of the few that attempt to actually fit the human foot. The Solstice does a great job of fitting the outline of the human foot, and like some other Altra shoes there's a little headroom for your toes. In fact, there's enough headroom that I didn't feel the urge to cut open the toe box.<br/> [[File:Shoes For Humans2.png|center|thumb|300px|.]]
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is unpadded except for a tiny bit around the ankle opening. The upper is inflexible, rather than a last dictated, something I prefer. I find the elasticated upper puts continual pressure on my feet that causes a little discomfort. If I compare the Solstice to the [[Altra Vanish-R]], I found the Solstice to be a lot more comfortable.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Solstice has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. There's a bit of padding towards the back half, but not much. The laces are closely spaced, so most runners shouldn't have issues with pain across the top of the foot you're quite sensitive.
* {{H:lacing}}. The thin flat laces came untied way too often, and I had to remember to tie the knot tightly and tuck the loops out of the way.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Solstice has no noticeable heel counter.
{{FastBlr|altra/Solstice-2-1078|1078|Altra Solstice}}
=After 200 miles=
As you can see from the images above, there's surprisingly little abrasion on the exposed midsole after 200 miles. Typically, I'm gentle on my shoes, partly due to weight (140Lb/64Kg) and partly a soft foot strike. As with most shoes, the limiting factor is more the compression of the foam than abrasion, but after 200 miles the compression is fairly modest. Most of the compression is actually the insole rather than the midsole, so if you can find some decent [[Replacement Insoles]], they could prolong the life of the Solstice.
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
Running shoes frequently surprise me, and normally not in a good way. The Solstice is that rare exception when I have low expectations, and find myself pleasantly surprised. Altra market the Solstice for "everyday wear or shorter road races", and they seem to think of it as an "entry level" shoe. My initial impressions were suitably underwhelming, as the Solstice is not terribly light, or unusually well cushioned, and it doesn't have any remarkable feature. Nothing remarkable that is, until I started putting some miles on them, and discovered just how much my feet liked them. Unlike some shoes, when I have to push myself to put the miles in with them, I found myself automatically reaching for the Solstice. And when I test other shoes, I find myself missing the Solstice. While the solstice is not ultralight like the long gone [[New Balance RC5000]], or massively cushioned like the [[Hoka Clifton]], or amazingly fast like the [[Nike Vaporfly 4%]], it is remarkably comfortable. Like all Altra shoes, it's near zero drop, and has an outline shape that matches a healthy human foot. Unlike most Altra shoes, the Solstice has a reasonable amount of headroom for the toes, allowing for a more natural foot movement. I was surprised to find myself packing of the Solstice for a vacation instead of my venerable [[Nike Zoom Streak LT 3]], which have been my companion on every vacation for the last few years. I'm rating the Solstice as "Highly Recommended", and I hope you enjoy your running in them as much as I am. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Altra Soltice-top.jpg|Altra Solstice top
File:Altra Soltice-outside.jpg|Altra Solstice outside
File:Altra Soltice-bottom.jpg|Altra Solstice bottom
File:Altra Soltice-inside.jpg|Altra Solstice inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Solstice has reasonable, but not great cushioning for its weight. In fact, you can get similar (or better) cushioning for much less weight, with shoes like the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]] or the [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]]. The Solstice reminds me somewhat of the [[Nike LunarSpider]]; it's not light for its cushioning, but it's well-made and comfortable. The cushioning is reasonably springy and resilient for an EVA foam shoe, though not up to the levels of a TPU foam shoe like the [[Altra Escalante]]. I found the Solstice was fairly insulated from the ground, so if you're looking for a slightly minimalist style shoe that lets you know every detail of what's going on under your feet, the Solstice is probably less ideal than you might expect from its sole thickness. On the other hand, if you like a little bit of protection I think the Solstice is a good compromise.
* {{H:drop}}. The Solstice is almost zero drop, with just 1-2mm less forefoot than heel height.
* {{H:structure}}. The Solstice uses just one density of foam and doesn't attempt to manipulate or interfere with your natural biomechanics.
* {{H:flexibility}}. While the Solstice is moderately flexible and quite springy, though I don't if there's any performance benefit to be had.
* {{H:outsole}}. There's only a small patch of harder rubber outsole on the back outer edge of the heel, with virtually all of the soft midsole foam exposed. I found the solstice lasted far longer than I might have expected (see below for details.) There are no outsole lugs, or sticky rubber to improve grip, but I found the exposed midsole was pretty good on asphalt or other hard surfaces.
* {{H:shape}}. Altra shoes are some of the few that attempt to actually fit the human foot. The Solstice does a great job of fitting the outline of the human foot, and like some other Altra shoes there's a little headroom for your toes. In fact, there's enough headroom that I didn't feel the urge to cut open the toe box.<br/> [[File:Shoes For Humans2.png|center|thumb|300px|.]]
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is unpadded except for a tiny bit around the ankle opening. The upper is inflexible, rather than a last dictated, something I prefer. I find the elasticated upper puts continual pressure on my feet that causes a little discomfort. If I compare the Solstice to the [[Altra Vanish-R]], I found the Solstice to be a lot more comfortable.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Solstice has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. There's a bit of padding towards the back half, but not much. The laces are closely spaced, so most runners shouldn't have issues with pain across the top of the foot you're quite sensitive.
* {{H:lacing}}. The thin flat laces came untied way too often, and I had to remember to tie the knot tightly and tuck the loops out of the way.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Solstice has no noticeable heel counter.
{{FastBlr|altra/Solstice-2-1078|1078|Altra Solstice}}
=After 200 miles=
As you can see from the images above, there's surprisingly little abrasion on the exposed midsole after 200 miles. Typically, I'm gentle on my shoes, partly due to weight (140Lb/64Kg) and partly a soft foot strike. As with most shoes, the limiting factor is more the compression of the foam than abrasion, but after 200 miles the compression is fairly modest. Most of the compression is actually the insole rather than the midsole, so if you can find some decent [[Replacement Insoles]], they could prolong the life of the Solstice.
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}