Altra Running Mens Provision 2 Running Shoe

Purchased 11/2015 as my first Zero Drop shoe.PS I just learned these are for PRONATORS!I have just gone a round with Achilles tendonitis (I still have the heel spurs.)I normally wear 10.5 in every shoe (for instance Asics running) and purchased a 10.5 here after looking at the Altra sizing tool.As soon as I put these on and went for a mile+ walk, I knew these were what I wanted. I loved them.I walked about 20 miles, plus jogged about ten 1/2-mile runs over a few weeks to get my gait adjusted before taking them out for anything speedy or longer.Walking with them is the greatest pleasure. There is a rolling feeling instead of the "breaking" experienced with heeled trainers. Running and training (Spartan/Crossfit/Bodybuilding/etc) is also nice.They lace up snug and are easily adjustable. I have had no slipping or fit issues.I made these my primary wearing shoe to replace a heeled trainer, as I am working on full recovery from Achilles tendonitis.I have had the shoes for 7 months as of this writing and they have well over 500 miles on them. You can see from one photo that I am a mild SUPINATOR. This is common in all my shoes.The major problem, that started in January before I had worn them for 50 miles, is that the padding of the shoe behind the Achilles was rubbing off (see photos). My heel sits nicely in the heel cup, but the top of the heel padding curves too much into my Achilles.You can see in the side view photo that this is a design issue, where the upper heel cup portion of the shoe comes too far into the Achilles space. I provide a second photo with another common shoe side by side and you can clearly see the other shoe has an upper heel cup that does not impinge, where the Altra clearly is impinging in the space.To my knowledge, under no circumstances would you want to have structure and padding pressing on your Achilles.You can also see the detail in the photos that this has left a sharp area where the padding has worn away.The wear in the shoe itself has been otherwise very even. The tread has lasted. Some of the decals are peeling off. Other than the mentioned issue of Achilles space impingement, the structure is sound throughout the shoe. There is nice arch support that is not excessive. The extra padding of the sole has helped with the transition to zero-drop. I can not find any serious breakdown other than what I show/tell above.The ample toe space is great for me.I would buy Altra Running shoes again and would love to recommend them.However, I want a shoe like this that does not rub on my Achilles!The company responded to this issue and says I should try the TORIN 2 or the PARADIGN 1.5 - both for normal foot placement and with no impingement in the Achilles space.I am looking at these and will chose one of them for my next shoe.

This year I tested out a few different shoes over a few brands including Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15, Ghost 7 and Asics GT 2000 2. I had my likes and dislikes but mainly had an issue with the comfort level. This is when I decided to try the Altra Provision 2's ( I had already been running trails in the Lone Peaks 1.5) and I was quickly impressed....I had finally found shoes that my feet did not feel imprisoned in. Note that I hate wearing shoes and if I'm not somewhere that requires footwear then I am usually not wearing them. Coming from running minimalist/barefoot made the Zero Drop and wide toe box platform great as I decided I needed more cushioning as I was racking up the mileage. After wearing Altra's for multiple races trail, road and OCR's I am fully confident of the brand and wearing almost exclusively. Now for the likes and dislikes...Likes.1. I like the bright colors - I like being as visible as possible so when it comes to running gear I tend to look for the bright colors. With that being said I appreciate that Altra tends to release a darker/less flashy style of each of it's shoe...at least for men I haven't really compared the shoes for the ladies.2. Zero Drop/wide toe box minimalist feel with the added cushion.3. Comfort- My feet don't feel as cramped as they have in other brands.4.durablity - I have nearly 400 miles logged on these shoes and I think I could get another 100. I have talked to another fan of the shoe (an Ultra runner) who logged about 600 miles before retiring them. So the life on these shoes with good running form can exceed the average life of a good running shoe.5. This is more for Altra as brand but the 30 day guarantee on all their shoes is quite awesome. They don't care if you ran if you ran 5 or even 30+ miles in them on road or trail. They stand by their product so if you have a problem they will help get you in the right shoe. (note* their shipping from the website is a bit slow but free)Dislikes:1. They could stand to shed some weight.2. Not a big dislike because I haven't noticed it affect the performance but the tongue is stitched into the upper with some light threading which came on done early into using it. (partly due to I re-laced the shoe in an odd fashion). It had not effect on the shoe that I noticed...I'm just trying to think of any dislike I had.After 400 miles, I don't really have a lot of dislikes for this shoe aside from the weight.

These are more of my opinion rather than hard testing. Caveat that my 1.5 have a few miles on them and might skew my impressions a little bit since I am comparing a broken in pair of shoes vs a new pair. I have gone through 4 pairs of the 1.5s.I looked for reviews comparing the two shoes, and couldn't find any., so my attempt at one will have to do.The 2.0 feel like they are more firm, less give in the soles. Which I am liking so far, the 1.5 flexes a lot more.They are a little larger than the 1.5. I wear a 9.5 and the 2.0 were noticeably longer (planning on getting a picture to show the difference). My toes have a gap at the end, though running in them my feet tend to fill up the void easily without rubbing. I like the extra room, my feet seem to be growing since I started running.The 1.5 doesn't have much in arch support, the 2.0 does, well it is noticeable over the 1.5The 1.5 doesn't have much in the way of traction, even on wet pavement it is a slippery shoe. The 2.0 is considerably better, had no problem tromping through some hilly mud.HOT! I've yet to have a shoe that my feet sweat in, until this shoe. This is about my only complaint, it is a very warm shoe. This is why it doesn't get 5 stars from me. I have a feeling once the weather gets warmer, my feet are going to be ending up being drenched in sweat. I will be tempted if I stay with them to use a leather punch on the toe guard for some airflow.I think that is all I remember for now.

Me gustó mucho el diseño.. quizá un café un poco más obscuro hubiera quedado mejor

Sole of the shoe broke away from the shoe and cracked within four weeks of wearing them! Bought them July 17th - started wearing them August 1st and at the end of August this is the the sole looked like

got them today, the second i saw them ... very unpleased with the finish dried glue everywhere on and around the seems bad craftsmanship.the worst is there are multiple place on the sole where the tread is glued that is detached so like the other review it is never been worn and already starting to detach...

Took awhile to get used to the larger fit but now love the shoe. Will continue to buy Altras and use them extensively

Die Schuhe passen mit sehr gut und fühlen sich sehr angenehm an beim laufen und gehen.Es ist sehr komfortabel vor allem vorne bei den Zehen.Habe bis jetzt einen Halb-Marathon hinter mir.Und ich fühle mich ganz gut bzw. die Muskeln sind nicht so verspannt wie bei anderen Schuhen.Also ich kann die Altra Provision 2 sehr empfehlen.