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* {{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 doubt 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. On slippery surfaces, such as a thin layer of wet mud, there is very little grip, so use caution.* {{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 unlike 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 dictatedelasticated, 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 unless 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.
[[File:Altra Solstice 400miles.jpg|center|thumb|300px|]]
After 400 miles the Solstice is still going strong. There's still relatively little abrasion on the exposed midsole as you can see from the image above. There's some compression on the midsole, but far less than I'd have expected. The insole has continued to collapse, but ironically now that more of the insole is flat, it causes less problems. Instead of being compressed under just the ball of my foot, it's compressed over most of the forefoot, so there's not the twisting forces anymore. The Solstice has become my "go to" road running shoe, and the more I run in it, the more I appreciate it. I occasionally get caught out by the laces coming undone, which can be really annoying, but that's about my only quibble.
=After 500 miles=
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Altra Solstice after 500 miles (1).jpg
File:Altra Solstice after 500 miles (2).jpg
</gallery>
I really wasn't expecting the Solstice to last anything like this long. There is now some noticeable abrasion on the sole, mostly under the middle of the forefoot. There's a little bit of abrasion on the outside edge of the heel, and most of my shoes have more wear in this area. This leads me to suspect that I'm running a little more efficiently in the Solstice and some of the shoes. There is a far less compression of the midsole than I would expect, something I confirmed by comparing with a new pair of Solstices. The new shoes are quite a bit firmer, showing how the foam has become more compliant with use. While there's quite a bit of compression under the ball of the foot, most of this is in the insole rather than the midsole. The Solstice is now borderline for continued use, but I may continue to put more miles on them as the opportunity arises.
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}