Over the course of the last year I have put a lot of miles on shoes, trail runners in particular. This review will be of the shoe that I wore the most. Logging over 1000 miles in two pairs of the Superior 3.0 trail runners. They are offered by Altra in their line of trail runners, they have the least cushion and a removal rock guard. The Lone Peak’s in Altra’s line seems to get all the love yet the Superior is highly underrated.
Before using the Superior 3.0 I had the King MT by Altra. So I was already used to the zero drop platform Altra offers. All of Altra’s shoes have no height difference between the heel and toe whereas other shoes may be up to 14mm or so. This gives a different feel and requires time to adjust from other shoes. Altra is also famous for their wide toebox which doesn’t crush your toes together. All of these things are mostly standard on Altra shoes.
The Superior 3.0 worked as a great shoe for me. The terrain I used them on was completely East Coast single track. I used the Superior 3.0 from Pennsylvania to Maine as well as running after the trail. I pushed the shoes way longer than I would ever recommend using them. Over the first 500 miles, I didn’t get a single hole the shoe or notice much change in the feel of the cushion. After this I started to notice the cushion flattening out quickly. Tears also began to show up on the sides of the shoe near the Altra logo. The shoes didn’t have any major blowouts that caused me to stop wearing them. The shoes ended up being pushed way beyond their limit. For the following pairs I’ll try to keep the usage under or around 500 miles.
The shoes aren’t all perfect, the look of them isn’t great. The color scheme’s for the 3.0 doesn’t really stand out but of course looks don’t matter when the shoe works well. Another feature that I can’t say I really have used or enjoyed is the internal braking system on the rear of the heal. It sticks off the back of the shoe and doesn’t add anything in terms of braking for me. The only thing I have found this to do is make it easier for people to step on the back of your shoe.
Why not Lone Peaks?
Everyone seems to love the Lone Peaks. They are a staple among hikers, I saw more Lone Peaks on the trail than likely any other shoe. Why? I don’t know exactly, but I would assume its the large cushion, and it seems that all of the “professional” hikers are wearing them. It’s time to break free and make the Superior switch! I found the Lone Peaks to be sluggish compared to the Superiors, even though the Lone Peaks on average weigh only an ounce more per pair. The tread pattern is more aggressive and less cushion means more ground feel. Though they are minimally cushioned I had no issues with them even in very rocky places, and my feet aren’t extraordinarily strong or anything. The other issue I found with the Superior is that no running store had it in stock, sure we have 14 pairs of the Lone Peaks but no Superiors. For me, the shoes were true to size if you order online.
My go to shoe – for now.
The Superior 3.0 will be my go to shoe until they bring out the 3.5 to see what will be new. I am going to be reviewing a few other pairs of shoes I have worn over the last year or so as well. I walked around 500 miles in a pair of Altra King MTs and 400 miles in a pair of New Balance Vazee Summits.
Altra Superior 3.0
Pros
- Materials are durable easily lasting 500 miles
- Aggressive long lasting tread
- Comfortable
- Gator trap
- Removable rock plate
Cons
- Not an exciting looking shoe
- Braking system is useless
- Heel lockdown is an issue for some
Saw your Instagram photo and followed to your review because I’ve just put 400 miles on a pair of Superiors in two weeks and I felt quite differently about this shoe and have good experience with Altra’s line. Hopefully your audience finds some of this useful. Here’s my review of the Superior…
Sizing is right on. This is a relief because I find Altra sizes ALL OVER THE BOARD. I’m a 9.5 in all other shoes and rarely stray. In the past year I’ve owned the Altra Paradigm, KingMT, Neo Lone Peak, 3, 3.5, and the Superior. I range from a 8.5 to a 10 in all those shoes. It’s insane how many pairs I’ve sent back because they didn’t fit. My advice is to absolutely go to a store first to try on any Altra model.
The upper is very lightweight and dries super fast (esp in black). It does expose your foot to protruding rocks and roots if you’re not careful. For some, it may feel odd too, like you’re standing on a foam block with crepe-paper around your feet. If you’re coming from even lightweight hikers or light boots, you’ll likely freak out.
I took me 360 miles to finally find terrain where the Superior’s very odd, wide open lugged sole is effective. Not most effective, but effective period. While running, I found the Superior to be unstable on typical gravel-laid trails, or dirt/gravel trails in general. The Superior’s grip is horrible on hard pack. It doesn’t bite well in the sand or sandy terrain either. It’s grippy on rocks – if you’re walking in Moab or on granite all day. However, the wide open tread is so wide, tree roots and rocks find their way to your foot. Ouch. The reason why this latter point is problematic is that the Superior leaves lots of openings in the sole rubber for objects to poke through to the softer foam beneath. You’ll feel it, even with the soft vinyl insert provided as a “rock guard.”
Where the Superior shines – and it’s my belief that this shoe is a very terrain and weather-specific shoe for running – is when it’s muddy, partially muddy, or the ground is still firm yet wet from rain. Bingo. A 12-mile day in Glacier Peak Wilderness after an overnight rain and I was MACH5 over everything. I said outloud to myself – Wow. This is insane how perfect this shoe is right now. The next day, on similar terrain – but now dry – the shoe was right back to being everything I described earlier.
If you’ve never tried an Altra, I really don’t recommend the Superiors as a first shoe. Try the Lone Peak for all the reasons this site and this post mention. There is a good reason it’s popular. If you’ve already tried a Lone Peak, then by all means try the Superior – or better, the King MT which is effectively the same shoe but designed more for the mountain runner, steeple chaser, and hiker, as the MT has a bit more upper protection.