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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Altra Instinct 2 Review}}
The Altra Instinct 2 stands out as one of the most comfortable and well-designed shoes I've tested. It's too heavy for it to be considered as a shoe to race in at any distance, but as a shoe for some gentle running, it stand out from the crowd. I consider the Instinct to be in the 'balanced' category, part way between the light weight optimal shoes and the heavier [[Minimax]]. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
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* {{H:drop}}. Like all Altra shoes, the Instinct is zero drop, which is great.
* {{H:structure}}. The Instinct uses just one density of foam, and doesn't attempt to manipulate or interfere with your natural biomechanics.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Instinct has more flexibility than you'd expect with a [[Minimax]] shoeI expected, and it's similar to the [[Hoka Clifton]], but far more than the other Hoka shoes.
* {{H:outsole}}. There's a good layer of harder rubber outsole over nearly the entire sole of the shoe. There's a gap in the outsole near the smaller toes, which is an odd choice, but doesn't cause a problem. The layer of outsole means the shoe does not conform to trails in quite the same way that many of the Hoka shoes do. This softness gives the Hoka shoes surprising grip on many trail surfaces, unlike the Instinct that is best kept for road running.
* {{H:shape}}. The Altra Instinct is one of the few shoes truly designed to fit the human foot. Even some other Altra shoes have a toe box that lacks sufficient height, but the Instinct is remarkable in its fit.