Altra Adam First Look

I was fortunate enough to meet the guys from Altra at the 2011 CrossFit Games. They were very friendly, very staunch advocates of a wide toe-box and zero heel drop. All of their shoes, they explained, are built on variations on those two themes. The one shoe that jumped right out from the pack was the Altra Adam. At that point The Adam was very new, and the only pair they had handy was a size eight display pair, if I remember right. Upon handling the display model I could tell that besides the roomy toe-box, and zero heel that this shoe was also very lightweight and flexible, and more like what I was looking for than any other shoe they carried. Whatever size it was, it was definitely too small for my size twelve feet, so I didn’t get to try them on. Fast forward to now, and I have a pair of twelves in front of me!

After the jump I'll share my initial thoughts (and photos!) on these ultra minimalist shoes!

Altra Adam Initial Thoughts

Immediately on first sight of the Altra Adam last year, I remarked that it reminded me of a toe-pocketless answer to the Vibram KSO.  I know that model is the be-all-end-all shoe for many of you VFF fans out there, but this shoe is about as close as you can get without going full-on toes. Like all of Altra's other shoes the toe-box of the Adam is plenty roomy and the heel is zero drop, but like the FiveFingers KSO the sole is also lightweight, and extremely flexible (Contrast this to the Altra Lone Peak's beefy sole). In fact, it is so flexible that it requires very little effort to fold the shoe in half with one hand, as pictured below. The weight of it is certainly a bit heftier than the VFF KSO, but it’s not terrible. I would put it on par with my Inov-8 Road-x Lite or The NB Minimus Trail.

The Altra Adam has a removable insole that allows you to adjust the ground feel to your preferences.

Like all other Altra shoes that I have seen, the shoe ships with two sets of interchangeable foot beds, one labeled “Strengthen” and the other labeled “Support.” These are exactly what you probably suspect they are. The Support insert offers a little bit of arch support, for those weening off of decades-long marshmallow shoe addiction, and while they are more supportive than a true minimal shoe, they are by no means as thick as a traditional running shoe. The Strengthen insert is thin and completely flat, offering your foot the chance to do what it is supposed to.  While they don’t give any specific instructions on when to use either, the ideal would be for a newcomer to minimal shoes to slowly ween from support to strengthen. Since I have already been through the weening phase, I will jump right to the strengthen insert.

Photos of the Altra Adam from both sides.

The profile of the shoe has a very earthy feel, which I like very much. On the rear, just above the heel there is even a nice little green leaf “tattoo.” I also like the change of pace from the bright, garish colors that minimal shoes seem to inspire.  Here we get just simple black and grey, with a few reflective highlights. Function and form meet especially nicely in the interesting two-way,  zig-zagging Velcro straps. You have one Velcro adjustment to make just around the mouth of the shoe, like most VFF shoes, and another the goes across the middle that is in roughly the same placement as the thick rubber strap across the toe-box of the NB Minimus Trail. I liked that touch on the Minimus, but here you actually get to adjust it and control the snugness of it, which I like even more! Between that and the removable footbed, I am excited to see how customizable the level of fit and comfort are with these bad boys.

Obviously, I am just taking them out of the box now, so I have no way of knowing just yet, but my one concern is durability. I could be wrong, but I don’t get the feeling that these shoes will hold up very well for long with the stresses I put my shoes through. Fifteen hour work days at the gym, two to three CrossFit workouts of my own per day, plus six hours of teaching classes, and various personal training sessions. Like I said, I could be wrong. Time will tell.

Here are a few more photos of the Adams:

All in all, I think it’s a very promising shoe, and after taking a few short strides around my apartment I them, I like the fit and feel too. I look forward to putting them through their paces and reporting back.

Anybody else out there given these a shot yet?  What did you think? Fall in love? Hate them? Let us hear about it in the comments below and stay tuned for a full review!