Altra Olympus 6 Hike Low GTX

Super cushion support, zero drop hiking shoe that is waterproof and has Gore-tex. These are super comfy and plenty of room in the toe box. A rugged hiker shoe with plush cushion!

I bought these new hiking shoes after doing extensive research on them. I tried the Lone Peak 9's. They also felt amazing, but I wanted more all-around cushion. I have never worn a hiker shoe with a wide toe box and natural foot positioning. I hear so many people talking about Altra hiking shoes, giving them outstanding reviews; especially long distance hikers. I figured it was time to try them out for my upcoming hike in two weeks in Yosemite. 

I ordered them from Altra Running's online store, because no one had them in stock near me. I originally ordered size 8, which is my normal hiking shoe size. They fit just a little to snug by the toe area for hiking. My rule of thumb (no pun intended) is to have a whole thumb of extra space in the toe area for hiking shoes, especially for intense downhill mountain hiking. This way, my toes won't jam into the front of the shoe while doing steep descents. 

The size 8.5 fit perfectly! I wore them for three 5-mile walks locally in my neighborhood, doing some on- and off-road hiking. They are comfortable, and have lots of cushiony support. No "hot spots" to speak of. 

I would like to add that the bones in my feet ache a little bit after walking 5 miles in them. I believe this is my feet getting used to being in a "natural" position in a shoe, unlike the higher heel area compared to ball-of-foot area in most shoes. I am hoping the aches and pains will subside after doing more walks in these shoes. 

I will definitely come back to this post and comment on how they did on this upcoming 45-mile hike in Yosemite. 

Background

I have only two weeks experience with this new hiking shoe.