Altra Torin 8 Review | A Lightweight Zero Drop For the Masses

The Torin series is a popular zero drop middle distance road trainer from Altra, the brand known for its roomy foot shaped shoes. The latest version, the Altra Torin 8, is another step in the right direction from what many dedicated Altra fans considered missteps with versions 5 and 6. 

The Torin 8 doesn’t have a high-tech midsole foam or carbon fiber plate sandwiched between two layers of foam, tuned to the exact durometer that will maximize the energy return of each stride. And that’s fine because it’s not what you need more an everyday running shoe, which is exactly what you’ll find here!

Altra’s EGO MAX midsole formulation is a good blend of protection and energy return, plain and simple. The EVA/TPU blend does a nice job of absorbing the impact of your landings and with just enough responsiveness to get you through your stride. 

Who Is It Good For?

Who is the Altra Torin 8 made for? Let’s break it down by some common categories

• Wide Feet: Unless you have extremely wide feet and flat arches this should work for you
• Heavier Runners: The EVA/TPU midsole did hold up well for this heavy runner
• Long Runs: Absolutely, assuming you’ve worked up to long distances (the exact opposite of what I did)
• Front of the Pack: Could be used for some tempo work, but not big speed workouts.

This is a great lighter weight moderate cushioned trainer for up to the half marathon distance. Enjoy the benefits of the wide toebox in a shoe that delivers a solid ride. 

The Altra Torin is a shoe that you’re going to find on many of our best of lists. It’s one of our favorite zero-drop running shoes.

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Altra Torin 8 Overeview

While I’ve run in just about every major brand of shoe over the last few years I was always hesitant to try out Altra’s running shoe offerings. For one, the horror stories you hear about people jumping into zero drop shoes and ending up on injured reserve gave me pause.

Second, when I look down at my feet in a wide toe box I feel like I should be making balloon animals at birthday parties, not logging miles.  But I’m a believer in keeping my rotation packed with variety so adding in an Altra seems to fall in line with my “I’ll try anything once” ethos.

As Coach Amanda has pointed out many times, there are studies proving that variety in our running shoes (cushion level and heel drop) can have up to a 35% injury reduction!

The midsole is right in my wheelhouse; firm but not brick-like. I’ve found that while I love the feeling of a soft cloud-like landing, I feel like I’m digging out of each stride if a shoe’s midsole is too soft. Such is the curse of being a larger mammal.

With “only” 30 millimeters of foam underfoot, this might be considered somewhat minimal by today’s standards.

I only went as far as 9 miles and I felt like the half marathon distance might be the limit for larger runners. I regularly work to strengthen my feet and they felt like they needed a hot soak after 9 miles.

The ride of the Altra Torin 8 is nothing to write home about when running at easy and recovery paces. Some may refer to it as boring, I like to call it “utilitarian”. Running at higher speeds does breathe a little life into the shoe.

I did a few miles at steady and marathon paces, and while I didn’t feel like I was getting a ton of assistance, my watch wasn’t beeping at me telling me I’m going too slow. 

The ride feels quite stable, natural, and free. The midsole is thick enough to keep the shoe from being excessively flexible but not thick enough that it restricts the flexibility of your foot. The Torin 8 handled turns and corners fairly well. The conservative toe spring and flatter profile don’t really offer much transition assistance, but I never felt like I was struggling through my strides.

You’ll find more exposed midsole foam under foot than in previous versions, but I wasn’t ever truly unsure of my footing. The only time I found the grip lacking was when running over sandy patches on my local beach path, but even the Adidas Boston 12, a shoe known for its sticky grip, fails me in the same situations.

Coach Amanda: This is why I love having multiple testers and bringing in Tim to help give us that “heavier runner” perspective. The Torin is a lightweight running shoe, which is one of the reasons we can do those speed pick ups surprisingly well and yet…it’s not a shoe I’d think of for speed.

For me it remains in the easy run category, maybe not recovery run. And if you loved the 7 this is going to be a great option. Like Tim noted they have fixed issues like the tongue and some cushioning things that happened in the 6.

Altra Torin 8 Specs

While not available in wide, the shoe is fairly accommodating..

• Brand: Altra
• Usage: Daily Trainer
• Previous Model: Altra Torin 7 
• Weight: 8.4 oz Women’s, 10.15 oz Men’s
  
• Heel to Toe Drop: 0mm drop
• Stack Height: 30mm
• Available in wide sizes
• 7 colorways available
• Available at Altrarunning.com for $150

I generally go for the loudest and brightest colorways available, I like to look like a pack of highlighters out on my runs. The gray colorway I received looks surprisingly stylish.

The darker gray at the bottom of the midsole fades seamlessly into a lighter shade as it crawls up the shoe, and the black accents offer a bit of visual pop. I found that this shoe looked good with just about any of my loud outfits.

Altra Torin 8 Fit

The Torin 8 fits true to size in my men’s size 11. It should go without saying that my toes had plenty of space up front. The height of the toe box is not as accommodating but I didn’t notice any toe irritation.

Running in the 45-65 degree Southern California winter weather my feet were comfortable with light socks. This leads me to believe the warmer summer months might bring about some sweaty socks. The tongue is not gusseted but is padded enough that I never felt it shifting around.

The ankle collar appears to be lower than last year’s Torin 7, and coupled with the molded heel counter I did not have any heel slippage. If you do experience heel slippage the laces are long enough for heel lock lacing. 

I found the laces to be a bit too slick, however. I had to stop to tie them a few times during my first mile but a double knot solved that problem…up to a point. I only went as far as nine miles in the Torin 8 and had to tighten up the double knot at around mile 6 or 7.Coach Amanda: The heel doesn’t come up quite as high, which is appreciated. For some that could mean a minor loss in feeling locked in…but I think that will be rare.

And I know Tim mentioned it, but seriously the grey is just not my jam. Nothing to do with the fit, but you’re welcome for that insight.

Similar Shoes to the Altra Torin

Not sure you’re ready for zero drop? You know how hesitant I was! Here are some similarly cushioned shoes with a heel to toe drop.

• Saucony Ride – (Similar EVA/TPU foam compound, but much more narrow and with an 8mm drop)
• Topo Cyclone – (Similar toe box shape, but bouncier, lighter PEBAX midsole, more pronounced arch support, and 5mm drop)
• Adidas Adizero SL – (Similar EVA/TPU foam compound, lighter, and 9mm drop)

Looking for more running shoe info?

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