Altra Torin 9 Review
The Altra Torin 9 is a running shoe designed for daily easy runs. Like all Altra running shoes, the Torin 9 is designed to allow the feet to function naturally inside the shoes, so you work your feet as you run and develop strong feet with a high level of function. This helps to avoid injuries and allows you to run faster as your feet get stronger and develop more spring.
The trend towards increased stack heights in running shoes meant that the Altra Torin was becoming a bit too stiff, with very little feel for the ground. The Altra Torin 9 has had a complete reset, moving back towards the more flexible, natural-feeling versions of the Torin that we have seen in the past.
The first noticeable change is the fit. All Altra running shoes have a broad, rounded toe box designed to give the runner’s feet enough room to spread and function inside the shoes. However, there are a few different lasts that give different levels of volume and width. The Torin 9 is made on Altra’s Standard FootShape last, which has less volume in the upper than the Original FootShape last used on shoes such as the Altra Lone Peak, Altra Olympus, Altra Via and Altra Escalante. This gives the Torin 9 a snugger fit and a more fitted feeling around the midfoot.
The gap between the laces is also wide, which allows for a lot of customisation. By that, I mean it is easy to pull the upper over the foot to create a snugger fit, but it is also easy to loosen the laces to create more room for a higher or higher-volume foot. The Altra Torin 9 is also available in two widths. The Torin 9 Wide isn’t necessarily wider underfoot, but it does have more volume in the upper to accommodate a higher-volume foot. If you find that Altra running shoes made on the Original FootShape last give you the best fit, then we would suggest trying the Wide version.
The heel cup is nicely padded. It no longer has the high, swallow-tailed heel tab of the last few versions of the Torin and has gone back to a more traditional height. The cup is firm enough to grip the heel, but it is still pliable, so it pulls in around the heel when the shoes are laced. The cuff is equally well padded. The tongue also has a good level of padding and is soft and pliable, so it easily moulds to the shape of your foot. There is a tab partway down the tongue that the laces thread through to hold the tongue in place. There is also an additional lace hole at the top, which can be used to make the heel fit snugger or to butterfly-lace the shoes.
I found the heel fit to be much snugger than in recent Altra shoes, and the fit through the midfoot was also quite snug for my lower-volume, average-width feet. In the forefoot, there was room for my feet to spread and function, but they didn’t feel like they were swimming in a lot of excess space. I wear a lot of running shoes and daily knockabout shoes with broad, rounded toe boxes, and I’m used to having a lot of room even though my feet don’t have the width or volume to fill all of the space. I find that having this space has allowed my feet to get used to spreading on impact and functioning better inside the shoes. However, the snugger, lower-volume fit of the Torin 9 didn’t feel like it inhibited foot function. The result is a running shoe that feels more like part of my foot but still has enough space for my feet to spread and function.
The breathable mesh upper is nice and soft. It is also pliable and, when the laces are tightened, it moulds nicely to the shape of the foot.
The midsole foam is Altra’s P35X in a dual-density construction that is firmer around the edge of the midsole and softer in the centre. This creates a midsole that feels soft and has a degree of bounce, but is also stable. The stack height has been reduced by 2mm to 28mm. The Altra Torin 9 is a zero-drop running shoe, which means that the midsole is the same height at the heel as it is in the forefoot.
This allows a more natural running motion and encourages more of a midfoot landing. This loads the foot correctly so that it spreads on impact. As the foot spreads, it stretches out the plantar fascia, which is like a large elastic band on the bottom of your foot. This then recoils and helps to spring the foot off the floor. In a narrow-fitting shoe that is stiff, the foot can’t function and becomes a passenger, getting weaker over time. In a shoe that allows the feet to function, the foot gets stronger over time and the amount of spring you get from the foot increases.
Also, when you land with your foot underneath your centre of gravity, there is less of a braking force, so the runner isn’t slowed down with every foot strike. The force is also absorbed by the feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back. In a running shoe with an elevated heel, the foot tends to make contact with the floor in front of the centre of gravity. This creates more of a braking force, and the foot isn’t loaded as effectively. What tends to happen is that the knees and hips then have to absorb an increased level of force.
If you aren’t used to running in zero-drop running shoes, then it is a good idea to gradually increase the amount of time you spend in them, alternating them with your current shoes. This gives your feet and lower legs time to get used to functioning without becoming overloaded.
The midsole is much more flexible than the previous version. There is still a degree of stiffness to help with propulsion and stability, but you can flex and twist the shoes in all directions. What this means is that the shoe bends and flexes where your foot does. This varies from person to person depending on the length of their toes and the general flexibility of their feet. Together with the improved heel fit, this has reduced any slippage at the heel and gives the Torin 9 a much more natural feel, as though the shoes are part of your feet.
The outsole rubber is Vibram XS Run, which is a new rubber designed by Vibram for road running. It offers 20% more grip on wet and dry road surfaces. This is something you can feel even in the current heatwave that the UK is enjoying. The result is a much more positive feeling at push-off. The outsole does make a noise on some surfaces, a bit like you are running on the road in your football boots. I find that trail running shoes with a Vibram outsole make a similar noise on the road. I didn’t find it annoying, and it doesn’t put me off running in the shoes.
The rubber is configured in strips running from the toe down towards the heel. As the rubber is stretchy, this helps to give the shoes a bit more snap at toe-off.
Altra shoes are a similar length to Topo, Brooks, Saucony and 361°. If you use Hoka, New Balance, Karhu, Inov-8 or La Sportiva, then we would suggest trying half a UK size smaller to get a similar length. The Altra Torin 9 is available in two widths in both men’s and women’s versions. These are not high-volume running shoes, so if you have anything approaching a high-volume or wide foot, then we would suggest trying the Torin 9 Wide.
I spend a lot of my running time reviewing shoes with different variations of rockers, heel-to-forefoot differentials, responsive and bouncy foams, or soft and absorbing foams. Each time I come back to reviewing a pair of Altra running shoes, it is almost like I am transitioning into the brand again. I do walk around in low-drop shoes with broad, rounded toe boxes, and I have a lot more foot function than I had when I first ran in Altra running shoes, but I find that I can’t just drop straight back into them.
On the first run, I notice that there is no heel or rocker. My knees have forgotten how to bend, and my feet don’t push off. The second run is better, but it feels like I am breathing harder to travel at the same easy-running pace. By the third run, I feel much lighter on my feet and feel like I am properly running again.
In running shoes with rockers or elevated heels, the shoe does some of the job of lifting your heel off the floor, so your legs can get weaker. After only a couple of runs, I found that I could squat much lower and my knees felt much more fluid and flexible. The blockage in my lower back that had been stopping me from touching my toes had gone. This was because those joints were moving again and the nerves were coming alive.
The Altra Torin 9 is built for easy runs, and the midsole is soft, but it does have a degree of bounce. The shoes also felt fine at a steady or tempo pace, or while doing pickups in the middle of longer runs. A women’s UK 6.5 weighs 228 grams, and a men’s UK 9.5 weighs 278 grams. This light weight, together with the more efficient running gait that the zero-drop platform promotes, makes the Torin 9 feel very light on your feet while running.
In summary, the Altra Torin 9 is a more flexible, snugger-fitting running shoe than previous versions. This makes it feel more like part of your foot and helps it promote a more natural running gait.
Alternatives to Altra Torin 9
Hoka Clifton 11: Hoka running shoes are designed to do the work of the foot where as Altra running shoes are designed to allow the foot to function. The result is that you must run in Altra running shoes whereas you ride a Hoka shoe as it guides your foot from impact to toe off. The sensation is very different. The Hoka Clifton 11 is a softly cushioned running shoe designed for everyday easy runs. The toe box is much narrower than the Torin 9 and there is a rocker/curve shaped midsole that carriers the foot from impact to toe off. Which is best depends on what you are looking for in your running shoes. The Hoka Clifton 11 is available in two width men’s and women’s. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/hoka-clifton-11-review/
Brooks Ghost 18: An elevated heel that is 10mm higher than the forefoot of the shoes promotes more of a heel strike. You do have to push off so the foot isn’t quite as much of a passenger as it is in a running shoe with a rocker but, it isn’t loaded to allow it to spread and re-coil as it would be in a lower drop shoe with a more spacious rounded toe box. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-ghost-18-review/
Saucony Ride 19: An 8mm heel to forefoot with a bit more feel for the ground than a lot of daily trainers. You do feel like you are running in the shoes. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/saucony-ride-19-review/
Inov-8 RoadFly Max: A broad rounded toe box gives the feet the space to function. The 6mm heel to forefoot drop allows a midfoot landing but, you don’t feel like you have missed the step if you land heel first. The midsole is initially firm but, does soften up and become more flexible. There is no rocker so you must run generating your own forward propulsion in these. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/inov-8-roadfly-max-review/
Topo Phantom 4: A broad rounded toe box gives the feel the space to function. The 5mm heel to forefoot drop allows for a mid foot landing. The midsole has a good level of bounce which takes away some of the ground feel but, does allow the feet to get stimulated enough to function in the shoes. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/topo-athletic-phantom-4-review/
Topo Magnifly 5: There aren’t a lot of zero drop road running shoes to compare with the Altra Torin 9. The Topo Magnifly 5 is one. The Magnifly has a similar broad rounded toe box and snug fit. Where it differs is that the midsole is firmer and the Magnifly is initially stiffer. Once broken in it does get more flexible. The firmer and stiffer midsole makes it feel a much faster shoe and it does feel better at steady run pace then it does at an easy run pace. The softer feel to the cushioning in the Torin 9 makes it more comfortable at slower paces. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/topo-athletic-magnifly-5-review/
Comments are closed here.