Altra Superior 6 Trail Running Shoes - AW23

Product Information

I, for one, am not happy with that. We need to maintain some natural foot movement to promote an optimal gate. The addition of more and more “guidance” and “stability” moves further away from this.

Over the past few years, shoemakers have poured resources into developing newer and better cushioning foams, and Altra is no exception. The company uses three main cushioning materials in its shoes: Ego, Ego Max, and Ego Pro. (Quantic, another cushioning material the brand developed, is being phased out.)In this post, I’ll dive into all the details on each expected Altra release for 2023, with release dates and prices.

A big thank you goes out to Believe in the Run for gathering most of this information during The Running Event in 2022 and for the video they put together. I’ve not managed to source any photos of the shoes yet, so I’d suggest watching the video for an idea of what the new shoes look like! The upper is made in the same pattern as the previous version. There is no plastic in the heel cup, so it can mould to the shape of your heel. The tongue is an integral part of the upper, burrito style, that wraps around the foot. This reduces the chance of any debris getting into the shoes and gives a really nice fit, making the shoes feel like an integral part of your foot rather than a bulky shoe that feels ‘strapped on’. The toe cap is a bit harder than on the Superior 5, which offers more protection. Whereas both shoes have wide toe boxes, the midfoot area of the shoes is similar, but one feature changes that. Shallower flex grooves create a stiffer shoe. In past iterations of the Rivera, deep flex grooves created a flexible shoe promoting good foot mechanics. In version 3, we’re seeing a reduction in flex groove depth, meaning it’s stiffer. I’m disappointed because it’s another step away from natural barefoot motion. ConclusionAt the end of this post, I’m also giving my super simple formula to help you decide which shoe is for you! What’s Different about Altra’s?