The Altra Experience Wild is a trail-running shoe with a 4mm drop, which is a departure from Altra’s usual zero-drop approach. It has an outsole best-suited to light trails and the road, and a rocker to help you rack up the miles smoothly. Nick has been out for a first run in the shoe, here’s his initial take.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
02:14 – How’s The Fit
03:26 – First Run
05:37 – Early Verdict
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Hello and welcome to the Run testers my Name is Nick and this is our first run Review of the Altra experience [Music] Wild so the experience wild is a new Trail running shoe from Altra that has a 4mm drop it's first Trail shoe to have a Drop rather than being a zero drop shoe Part of a range of three shoes that have A 4mm drop with the experience flow and Form which are Road running shoes it Cost £130 in the UK $145 in the US it Weighs in at 282 G or 9.9 oz in a UK Size 9 has a 4 mm drop like I say from Hill to toe a stack height of 32 mm at The heel and 28 at the 4 foot so out's Obviously been known for a long time for Making zero drop shoes and they're very Popular in the trail running scene and This is their first Trail shoe to have a Drop following on from the outra Ford Experience which was a road running shoe With a 4 mm drop which is now the Experienc flow they've rebadged that Shoe along with that drop you have a Nice rocker profile on the shoe and a Compression molded EVA midsole foam Which is not part of their ego foam Range I don't think it's quite similar To Hawker in many ways that 4mm drop and That rocker profile obviously you have That foot shaped toe box that Altra is Known for with their greater width in The front of the shoe there you got a
Mesh upper with lots of padding actually Really thick tongue and there's lots of Builtup sections around the back of the Achilles as well although it is still Quite flexible at the back there's not Really a big internal heel counter there But lots of padding going on at the back Of the shoe there's there's not a lot of Protection on the upper for a trail Running shoe there are some little Strips of plastic on the front of the Shoe there but there's not a really Significant tow bumper or anything like That which you would get on probably Trail shoes that are built for more Technical ground The Experience wild is Aimed more at pretty fairly tame Trails Runnable Trails even rotor trail running You can see that from the outso with the Lugs are fairly deep I'd say but they Are these broad triangle shapes which do Give good contact on hard services like The road or Flat Rocks that kind of Thing and then they're less designed to Bite into soft ground or anything like That it's still a pretty flexible shoe And you can see the maxt track rubber Outside there isn't like continuous There's lots of screws and that to allow For a slightly more natural feeling when Running on an even ground you have Velcro fasting at the back and a ring There to attach Gators and a obviously This heel Loop here that says stay out
There on it which is very [Music] Nice comes to the fit of the shoe I've Got a uk9 here which is a us10 with alra And I've got a good fit and I would say That probably means it's a little bit Smaller than some other us 10s like I'm Generally between a US 9.5 and a 10 and Sometimes 10 can be a bit big especially In trail shoes they often put a bit more Room in the to box but actually I've got A really nice fit in this shoe it's not Too roomy and not too tight so if I'm Going to go downhills I'm not going to Hit the front of the shoe or anything Like that but I do think it maybe comes Up a little bit shorter than some other Shoes so something to consider if you're The opposite of me if you're slightly Big for the size you normally get you do Have a lot of padding and that does Create a nice comfortable step in Feeling but I do think fear this could Potentially run hot on hot days which is Not today the day I ran in the shoe it's Not very hot today but something to look Out for as I carry on testing the shoe Quite concerned about the amount of Support around the Achilles as well I do Tend to get a little bit of Achilles Irritation if shoes are too built up Around there now I didn't get this with The outra forward experience when I Tested that shoe when I had similar
Concerns about the amount of padding Around the Achilles and it's not been Too bad today after the run I haven't Really noticed anything in particular CU It is still very flexible there's not Really a heel counter there to create in Irritation it's just those little Bolsters of padding on either side I was Worried about but nothing no real Problem with that today I'll look out For it during further testing but Overall the shoe does fit me really well In my normal size but it might be a Little bit short if you're someone who's On the bigger end of their [Music] Size just heading out to do first run in The new Altra experience wild the new Trail shoe from Altra that's the first One in their Trail Range to have a 4mm Drop I've not been a big user of outra Shoes in the past mainly because I don't Really run in zero drop shoes very much So excited to give this one a go I did Like the forward experience which was The road shoe that introduced the 4mm Drop to the range that's now called The Experience flow maybe yeah anyway 4 mm To drop Trail shoe mainly built for Light Trails I think going to take it Out for an easy 10K today on a mix of Trails all should be fairly hard it's Rained a bit this week so there'll be a Little bit of mud but not too much so
Should be a good first roll out in the Shoe to see how it feels at those nice Relaxed Paces want a mix of [Music] Trails so just back first run in the Outra experience wild uh which was an Enjoyable experience just ticked over in My local Forest pretty dry Trails for The most part one couple of Muddy Patches bit of grass but in general all Quite nice nothing too steep or uh you Know uphill or downhill either so grip Wasn't tested that much but the grip's Been pretty good in all conditions I Tested today and it was quite Comfortable on the road to and from the Forest as well sh in general was quite Comfortable and does disappear on the Foot quite nicely it's got quite a broad Platform and a good rocker and just Running along with my mates today Chatting he disappear on the foot didn't Really think about it very much and then When it got a bit more narrow or Slightly very uneven like poth holy Grass and that kind of thing it feels a Bit Broad and a bit um A little bit cumbersome but it's like Kind of that shoe that's built much more For those runnable Trails flatter Trails Where you the breadth of the shoe is Actually appreciated for grip and just General Comfort but yeah did enjoy it Today ticked over quite nicely did
Remind me of the Ford experience Road sh Which I did like like I said the foam's Not anything too special but the rock is Very nice it moves you well and yeah it Felt comfortable today cruising through That easy run I'll get out probably for Something longer at the weekend but Pretty enjoyable first experience in the Shoe necessarily going to knock your Socks off but yeah immediate thoughts Are that it seems like quite nice Addition to the outra range to have a Shoe with that form meter drop to give An option to people who want that and Mostly run on fairly light tame [Music] Trails so enjoyed the first run out in The experience world today it did remind Me of how I enjoyed the Ford experience When I was running in that on the road It's not a spectacular shoe the foam in The midle is not very exciting but it Does have a nice rocker it rolls through Quite smoothly it's not too heavy feels Quite natural on the foot and just kind Of gets out of the way and lets you run Want to test the outsole in some Slightly more significant trails or Tricky trails and stuff like that but it Was fine today on a range of surfaces it It grips well enough and it feels good On the road I don't think all around This is going to be a shoe that you're Necessarily be taking into very
Technical terrain outra has other shoes In its range for that but I think it Will actually be probably a little bit Better than some road to trail shoes That I've tested lately like the meril Mo flight and stuff like that which Really are built for just very light Trails I think you have enough bite here That hopefully the experienced wild will Be able to go into slightly more Treacherous terrain than that shoe other Thing that stood out today was as with The Ford experience it does feel like a Hoker shoe got quite a similar midell Foam in general with that compression Mold underne yeah you've got the rocker The 4mm drop did remind me a lot of the Hoka Challenger 7 in particular I think You're getting a lot of similar vibes From this shoe as you do from that shoe That's a shoe I like as well though so That's not necessarily a bad thing but Obviously outro moving away from the Zero drop maybe means it loses what is a Signature feature for the shoes and Comes a little bit similar to other Shoes like hus Al you still do have the Distinctive toebox shape and I think in General it's a good idea to have a 4mm Drop shoe in the range like I wouldn't Run in zero drop shoes for really much Of my running I just don't really like The feeling of running in those kind of Shoes I do tend to enjoy 4 to 6 mm drop
Shoes on the trails and I think this Will suit me a lot better and I think There'll be lots of other runners in my Position who might be more open to Trying an outra shoe now because it is a Bit more like other shoes but it still Does bring some of its own distinctive Features to the party and it's just an Enjoyable shoe to run in which is the Main thing overall moving away from Focusing very directly on the exact drop And the foot shap toebox and all that It's just it's just an enjoyable shoe to Run in like I say it does disappear on The foot and I like that on the trails Probably more than I do on the road Where on the road I'm looking for Something a bit more from the foam a lot Of the time when I'm on the trails it's Quite nice to have a shoe like this that Rocks through nicely but otherwise just Kind of gets out of the way provides Enough grip enough comfort and supports You on those runs without being too Intrusive so yeah looking forward to Getting out at again finding some Slightly tricky Trails doing some longer Runs in the shoe to see how it feels but I enjoyed the first run today in the Experience [Music] World that's our first look at the outra Experience wild let us know what you Think in the comments below please do
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