Altra has released its first low-drop running shoe. That’s right, the zero drop experts have finally added a 4mm drop shoe to their line-up. The Altra FWD Experience is a daily trainer designed with a low drop that Altra hopes might entice newcomers to the brand. Maybe even en route to trying zero drop. We had one of the only pairs in the UK in early for testing and here’s our first run impressions.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:29 – Design details
1:53 – First run test
4:59 – First run verdict
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters?sub_confirmation=1
Some other videos you might find useful:
Saucony Ride 15 vs Nike Pegasus 39 vs Puma Velocity Nitro 2:
Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 Multi-Tester Review:
Puma Deviate Nitro 2 Review:
Nike Pegasus Turbo Next Nature Review:
Puma Velocity Nitro 2 Multi-Tester Review:
Kiprun KD900X First Run Review:
Asics Novablast 3 First Run Review:
Best Running Shoes 2022:
Hey people welcome to the Run testers It's Kieran here I am at Battersea power Station on my feet I have got the brand New Ultra forward experience these are The first drop shoes the ultra is made Obviously Ultra famous for doing zero Drop or Balance cushioning is what they call it These are the first time that they have Gone off-piste with that and they put a Drop in a pair of shoes I've got on my Feet gonna take them for a first run Along the River Thames and see how we Get on let's go and have a look [Music] So some quick details then when it comes To stack height the ultra Ford Experience packs 32 28 mil stack in the Men's and a 30 26 mil stack in the Women's for a four mil drop that's the Headline here this is ultra's first shoe That steps away from zero drop Weight Wise the Ford experience come in at 8.9 Ounces or 252 grams in our UK men's Eight and a half test size so that's a Good chunk lighter than something like The ultra Veer Olympus for example on Price the ultra forward experience comes In at 150 pounds in the UK or 140 in the US Let's give you a really quick shoe whip Around then starting with the uppers There's an engineered mesh upper here That's pretty thick and dense with no
Overlays you've got Ultras trademark Kind of toe box shaping that remains Here you've got a medium padded tongue And heel collar with some extra pads on The inside that hold the base of the Heel nice and firm the midsole uses Compression molded EVA foam that's Somewhere between semi-firm and Semi-soft so you don't get ultra's Lively ego ego Max or ego Pro Foams here And there's a rocker here also to help With toe-offs flip them over and on the Outsole you've got a decent covering of Outsole rubber you've also got ultra's In a flex Groove system here that you Can see these flexes are designed to Move with your foot and toes on Landing To help for a more natural feel [Music] Oh so I've just finished my first run in The ultra forward experience I did 10 Miles about 90 minutes so very very low And slow pace took it nice and easy nice Run along the river here in the UK now The outer fraud experience on feet I Think it's really interesting that Ultra Have decided to make that jump from Their balanced cushioning what they call Balance cushioning zero drop into a Small drop shoe you've got a four mil Drop on these shoes but you also still Have ultra's trademark foot shape up the Front that toe box still sweeps along in The shape of your toes it follows the
Natural shape of the foot what that Means is the instant stepping Comfort on These shoes is pretty familiar in terms Of ultra's overall Comfort it's a nice Roomy toe box although not maybe the Roomiest I've found on Ultras but it's Still plenty roomy lots of wiggle room And it feels nice and Airy and nice and Natural the cushioning over all the Padding and the tongues and the heel Collars and that step in Comfort is good Feels nice and natural nice and balanced The footbed feels soft but not too soft And then you get into that midsole ride Now once thing I was expecting maybe was This to be a lot softer than it is There's still rides kind of firm and I Would say if you're familiar with the Kind of ultra level of kind of firmness Then I think this for me feels like it's In keeping with something that Ultra Does there so what you're getting really Is a landing that is soft but not really Soft and Squishy it's protected but you Can still feel the ground a little bit Coming up now what that meant over those Miles long and start I don't know Whether I've got particularly sort of Tired legs I didn't know that mile Yesterday and I wasn't feeling Particularly loose and free today Everything felt a bit sore but I did Feel a little bit of fatigue in the legs Coming up into the last few miles of
That that might be me that might be the Shoe yeah but it's notable that you're Getting a kind of slightly firmer ride If I'm putting my I'm thinking something Like the cloud monster you know it's got That there's a softness but it's also Just not soft and Squishy like a Nova Blast or something like that it's a bit More to the firm end of the scale now The other thing you've got in play here Is a rocker I didn't find that that was Adding too much roll it wasn't too Noticeable it's there but it's not as Pronounced I don't think there's some Shoes that I've run in uh but it does Sort of help a little bit for you to Clip through stability overall on these Shoes I found really good nice and wide Base to run off all the way along the Back of the Hill there's a decent Platform in the front of the shoe to Land on to roll through the other thing Over all these shoes you know when you Look at them they're sort of fairly big Really grand scheme of things but they Actually run quite light there is more I Think than a touch of Hoka here and We've seen loads of shoes the Hokerization of all shoes I think these Are moving along that way you know if You took away that funny toe box you Might actually kind of feel uh these These look like kind of some of the Hookers that we've seen coming out in
The last few years what's also Interesting here is you know the uppers There's not too many overlays on the Uppers but they are quite dense I didn't Find them hot I've got quite thick socks On today Feel sort of Fairly breathable I think That's partly because of the room that You've got in there and I feel the hole Across the top of the midfoot really Good that lockdown was good heels no Slipping so overall that Comfort on the Foot was really good [Music] So quick first run Impressions after That 10 miles 90 minutes on feet I think These are a good shoots really Comfortable great step in Comfort I Think they're just soft enough to take The edge off they clip along really Nicely just about right there's just you Know there's enough rockering there to Sort of help you clip along now for this Kind of run that I did that easy low and Slow very plotty I think this is how I Think these shoes are going to perform Best I didn't take them up through the Gears but to me that feels like it's Going to be their sweet spot and they Were perfectly good from that you know One of the shoes that I feel like they'd Remind me of was like Salomon aeroglide Or I don't know like uh maybe it's not Right not a speed goat but it kind of
Had that sort of sensation but for the Road and yeah I actually have really Enjoyed those early miles in them Interested to do more tests and I'll Probably do a little bit of a wrap back In the office just to summarize any more Thoughts I have Um because I'm a little bit tired now And I need to go and get a shower so Having had a bit of time to mull over That first run my instinct here is the Default experience is going to shape up As a solid fairly versatile daily Trainer there's probably better at the Lower Pace ranges than the upper it's Definitely not anywhere near as Lively Or as sprightly as like your super daily Trainers like the speed three and so on It's not a soft and cushioned as things Like the Asic Gel Nimbus 25 it's sitting Somewhere in between But it's got good comfort and a certain Sprightliness to it that's balanced and I think happy for cruising around in Disappearing Comfort there's good Stability and reliability underfoot as Well on Landings and the outer roomy toe Box feel is very much still here even if That zero drop isn't and overall this Has been a shoe that I ran well in I Enjoyed running in it and I'm looking Forward to doing some more miles in it Rather than one that I'm not so that is A good start we will have more testing
To do and we'll bring you a full review In due course so there have it that's Been my first run in the ultra Ford Experience I hope it's been useful don't Forget to hit subscribe and ring the Bell to make sure you get notified when The full review lands otherwise it's Been a pleasure to chat to you and we Hope to see you again soon on the Run Testers happy running everyone good luck With whatever it is that you're trying To achieve out there
