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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Altra Vanish-R Review}} The Vanish-R is arguably Altra's first "racing flat", coming in at just 5.3oz in my US men's 10. This is light, but not stunningly light..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Altra Vanish-R Review}}
The Vanish-R is arguably Altra's first "racing flat", coming in at just 5.3oz in my US men's 10. This is light, but not stunningly light these days. Material science has allowed for the creation of some stunningly light and effective running shoes. The Vanish-R has lots of promise, but it has a few significant flaws, so it doesn't quite match up to the best of breed. The most obvious issue is the fit; the Vanish-R comes with two insoles, and with both insoles installed the shoe is rather too low in volume. However, with just one insole, the volume becomes too large and I had problems with the ankle opening rubbing on my heel bone. The cushioning with just one insole is also a little more minimalist than I'd like. The second problem is the lack of head room in the toe box, with the toes pressed flat. This is uncomfortable, and I fear it prevents the toes risking up to strengthen the arch (AKA "the windlass effect"). This is a problem to one extent or another in virtually every shoe, but it's particularly bad on the Vanish-R. The final issue is that the Vanish-R lacks durability. I retired mine after only 135 miles, mostly due to the compression of the cushioning. Having said all that, the Vanish-R is still "recommended; it's got good cushioning for its weight and I enjoyed running in it (with the toe box cut open as I usually do.) Sadly, the Vanish-R suffers greatly by comparison with the [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]], which is almost exactly the same weight and cushioning, but the Streak is more comfortable and lasts far, far longer. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Altra Vanish-R-top.jpg|Altra Vanish R top
File:Altra Vanish-R-outside.jpg|Altra Vanish R outside
File:Altra Vanish-R-bottom.jpg|Altra Vanish R bottom
File:Altra Vanish-R-inside.jpg|Altra Vanish R inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Vanish-R is nicely cushioned given its light weight. The cushioning is reasonably soft underfoot without being mushy. A good portion of the softness comes from the two insoles. The shoe comes with both insoles installed, and you can remove one or both of them. I measured the Vanish-R with both installed, as that's how they come out of the box and there's nothing to indicate that just one should be used at a time. If you remove one of the insoles, the cushioning is noticeably reduced, and I'd consider them closer to a minimalist shoe when used that way. This dramatic change in perceived cushioning is probably due to the woven TPU plate over the EVA foam midsole. This plate is woven material, but still quite firm, so the cushioning the insoles provide has a disproportionate effect. (Note this is a woven TPU plate, not TPU foam used in some midsoles.) I've done most of the miles in the Vanish-R with both insoles installed, and I prefer them that way, even though the shoe volume is a little low in the forefoot.
* {{H:drop}}. The Vanish-R is zero drop when loaded, which is great.
* {{H:structure}}. The Vanish-R uses just one density of foam and doesn't attempt to manipulate or interfere with your natural biomechanics. I found the Vanish-R to be very honest and transparent, if that makes sense in a shoe. It doesn't get in the way or give a false sense of what the ground is doing.
* {{H:flexibility}}. While the Vanish-R has a plate that Altra imply might "offer maximum energy transfer for maximum propulsion", it's quite flexible with no real spring.
* {{H:outsole}}. There's only small patches of harder rubber outsole, with the vast majority of the soft midsole foam exposed. While the Vanish-R doesn't disintegrate and disappear like the original Altra One shoes did, I found rather more wear than I would have liked.
* {{H:shape}}. Altra shoes are some of the few that attempt to actually fit the human foot. The Vanish-R does a great job of fitting the outline of the human foot, but there's no headroom for your toes at all. I found the Vanish-R presses down on my toes far too much, and I quickly had to cut the toe box open. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is unpadded except for a tiny bit around the ankle opening. I found the Vanish-R upper to be rather low volume over the metatarsals (forefoot) with both insoles installed, but with only one insole I found the ankle opening rubbed against my ankle bones (lateral malleolus.) <br/>[[File:Altra Vanish-R Upper.jpg|center|thumb|300px|The upper backlight.]]
* {{H:tongue}}. The Vanish-R has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. There's no padding and the tongue is rather floppy, so you have to take care to ensure it's laying flat when putting them on.
* {{H:lacing}}. The traditional flat laces stayed tied.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Vanish-R has little in the way of heel counter.
{{FastBlr|altra/Vanish-R-2-1078|1078|Altra Vanish-R}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The Vanish-R is arguably Altra's first "racing flat", coming in at just 5.3oz in my US men's 10. This is light, but not stunningly light these days. Material science has allowed for the creation of some stunningly light and effective running shoes. The Vanish-R has lots of promise, but it has a few significant flaws, so it doesn't quite match up to the best of breed. The most obvious issue is the fit; the Vanish-R comes with two insoles, and with both insoles installed the shoe is rather too low in volume. However, with just one insole, the volume becomes too large and I had problems with the ankle opening rubbing on my heel bone. The cushioning with just one insole is also a little more minimalist than I'd like. The second problem is the lack of head room in the toe box, with the toes pressed flat. This is uncomfortable, and I fear it prevents the toes risking up to strengthen the arch (AKA "the windlass effect"). This is a problem to one extent or another in virtually every shoe, but it's particularly bad on the Vanish-R. The final issue is that the Vanish-R lacks durability. I retired mine after only 135 miles, mostly due to the compression of the cushioning. Having said all that, the Vanish-R is still "recommended; it's got good cushioning for its weight and I enjoyed running in it (with the toe box cut open as I usually do.) Sadly, the Vanish-R suffers greatly by comparison with the [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]], which is almost exactly the same weight and cushioning, but the Streak is more comfortable and lasts far, far longer. {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
<gallery widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
File:Altra Vanish-R-top.jpg|Altra Vanish R top
File:Altra Vanish-R-outside.jpg|Altra Vanish R outside
File:Altra Vanish-R-bottom.jpg|Altra Vanish R bottom
File:Altra Vanish-R-inside.jpg|Altra Vanish R inside
</gallery>
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The Vanish-R is nicely cushioned given its light weight. The cushioning is reasonably soft underfoot without being mushy. A good portion of the softness comes from the two insoles. The shoe comes with both insoles installed, and you can remove one or both of them. I measured the Vanish-R with both installed, as that's how they come out of the box and there's nothing to indicate that just one should be used at a time. If you remove one of the insoles, the cushioning is noticeably reduced, and I'd consider them closer to a minimalist shoe when used that way. This dramatic change in perceived cushioning is probably due to the woven TPU plate over the EVA foam midsole. This plate is woven material, but still quite firm, so the cushioning the insoles provide has a disproportionate effect. (Note this is a woven TPU plate, not TPU foam used in some midsoles.) I've done most of the miles in the Vanish-R with both insoles installed, and I prefer them that way, even though the shoe volume is a little low in the forefoot.
* {{H:drop}}. The Vanish-R is zero drop when loaded, which is great.
* {{H:structure}}. The Vanish-R uses just one density of foam and doesn't attempt to manipulate or interfere with your natural biomechanics. I found the Vanish-R to be very honest and transparent, if that makes sense in a shoe. It doesn't get in the way or give a false sense of what the ground is doing.
* {{H:flexibility}}. While the Vanish-R has a plate that Altra imply might "offer maximum energy transfer for maximum propulsion", it's quite flexible with no real spring.
* {{H:outsole}}. There's only small patches of harder rubber outsole, with the vast majority of the soft midsole foam exposed. While the Vanish-R doesn't disintegrate and disappear like the original Altra One shoes did, I found rather more wear than I would have liked.
* {{H:shape}}. Altra shoes are some of the few that attempt to actually fit the human foot. The Vanish-R does a great job of fitting the outline of the human foot, but there's no headroom for your toes at all. I found the Vanish-R presses down on my toes far too much, and I quickly had to cut the toe box open. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is unpadded except for a tiny bit around the ankle opening. I found the Vanish-R upper to be rather low volume over the metatarsals (forefoot) with both insoles installed, but with only one insole I found the ankle opening rubbed against my ankle bones (lateral malleolus.) <br/>[[File:Altra Vanish-R Upper.jpg|center|thumb|300px|The upper backlight.]]
* {{H:tongue}}. The Vanish-R has a traditional tongue that is has a tab to attach it to the laces. There's no padding and the tongue is rather floppy, so you have to take care to ensure it's laying flat when putting them on.
* {{H:lacing}}. The traditional flat laces stayed tied.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The Vanish-R has little in the way of heel counter.
{{FastBlr|altra/Vanish-R-2-1078|1078|Altra Vanish-R}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}