Altra Superior 7 Review: I Found The Ultra Shoe Triad

Altra Superior 7 review

Living in Southeastern Idaho, there’s snow on the ground for the majority of the year. Making trail and road running for 6-7 months quite difficult. But when the snow and ice finally melt, I excitedly get back to it all.

This year though, I wanted to find a pair of shoes that could handle both types of running. Road and trail.

This seems like an uncommon request to me, since brands typically stick to designing shoes specific 3 types of running. Track/treadmill, road, and trail. But this year, Altra has the new Superior 7s that seem like they could do both. And boy oh boy can they!


Road

I’m usually back to road running around mid to late March, since snow on the asphalt melts first. After 5-6 months of plowing, there’s a lot of debris left over. So much so that the roads are more gravel like than concrete like. I can usually get away with road specific shoes but running in the Superior 7s is so much nicer!

These shoes are designed for the trail. But with softer materials on the upper, and less pronounced lugs on the out sole, they’re surprisingly comfortable on the road.

Altra Superior 7 out sole

For context, I have a pair of Lone Peak shoes too. They’re way more intense with thicker fabrics and beefier lugs. You can run on the road with them, but they’re just not nearly as soft and smooth as the Superiors though.

I’ve shared before how the first gen Altra Escalante Racers are my favorite road running shoes. Their biggest weakness is the holy threaded upper. With all of the road debris at this time of year, it’s very easy for small rocks to make it into the shoes. No bueno.

This never happens with the Superior 7s!

Even after the street sweepers came through, these shoes never feel uncomfortable on the road.

Trail

You might expect that these shoes are great on trails since they’re made for it. And you’re absolutely right!

I’m still amazed by how capable these things are. After 40+ miles in them, they’re still surprising me. Altra made these seriously thin, light, and fast, especially for trail shoes.

However, these aren’t as specialized as the current Lone Peak 9s.

For example, the toe cap on the Superiors is more like a piece of thin rubber tape. So, my goodness does it hurt when you inevitably slam your toes into a rock jutting out of the ground.

Altra Superior 7 toe cap

I wouldn’t call the toe cap on these an actual toe cap. If anything, it should be called a reinforced toe wrap.

The material is strong and doesn’t show any signs of being kicked into rough surfaces, but your toes are pulverized every time this happens. Meanwhile, the Lone Peaks actually protect your toes with a thick rubber buffer.

Another major difference between these two shoes are the lugs. The ones on the Superior 7s are softer and slimmer. They do a great job, but they don’t perform as well as the lugs on the Lone Peak shoes.

On one of my go-to trail runs, there’s an area where there’s just solid flat rock with bits of sand on top. A combination like this is super slippery that 99% of all shoes struggle with. In the Superior 7s I only slip a couple times, compared to endless sliding in regular shoes.

Altra Superior 7 back view

The Ultra Altra Triad

I love the Escalante Racers because they’re perfect on the road. I love the Lone Peaks because they’re perfect on the trail. I love the Superiors because they’re more than capable on both types of terrain.

The Superior 7s feel like they were made for me. My feet, knees, and hips never hurt in them. Even on long 10+ mile runs.

Altra Superior 7 laces

They’re equally great as casual hiking shoes too.

The only place they struggle is in the most extreme conditions. Aka, crazy steep and sketchy trails.


The Recap

My sister recently started running again. Beginning with sessions on treadmills and occasional runs outside. As she becomes stronger and increases in endurance, she might run on gravel roads and trails again.

(We had an unforgettable time running a Ragnar a few years ago with our family.) If she does, then she’ll likely prefer shoes that can go on roads and trails. And the Altra Superior 7s will be the first pair of shoes I recommend.

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