Hardwear
Product 2021
Lady
The Altra brand has developed products for a number of years that join the “minimalist” movement, shoes that reproduce a natural or barefoot stride with the aim of limiting trauma, optimising posture and therefore improving the athlete’s performance. Zero drop.
We tested the Altra RIVIERA for women, a road shoe designed for women. We tested size 40 weighing 204g.
This is a zero-drop shoe, no height difference between the front and the rear, which encourages forefoot running, yet there is a nice thick sole to give plenty of cushioning (26mm).
Altra has put reinforcements on the outside edge of the sole to give it a longer life span.
The design is flattering, the white look is more associated with road running shoes but here it looks striking!
The laces are basic, no “quicklaces” like other brands offer. We recommend doing a double knot because on a 10km run, the laces tend to slip and then loosen.
The has a pleasant lightness to it in its bounce.
The toe box is a rather wide fit yet with quite a narrow fit otherwise, we felt a slight sensation that it was heating up at the forefoot but no blistering or redness at the end of the run. Be careful though on multiple runs or a marathon format if your forefoot moves around a bit in the shoe.
The shoe’s wide shape at the front is the opposite of a ‘narrow’ shoe, especially at the forefoot, as explained earlier, yet when testing the product it isn’t sloppy. The Alta Rivera W gives a light stride and you forget the shoe very quickly once you’re running. On the track, however, in the bends you feel your forefoot slide inside the shoe. It is more suitable for a runner with a wide or standard width foot than a narrow one.
The shoe is dynamic and mesh’s upper gives nice breathability, no feeling of dampness or wet feet at the end of the run. You can even feel ventilation on some movements thanks to the thin and effective mesh. To our knowledge, the Alta Rivera W does not have a membrane, which explains the greater breathability for the spring/summer season.
The cushioning is thicker at the midfoot, very little under the toes to promote forefoot running, and intermediate cushioning at the rear.
The smooth sole is made almost exclusively for road use. It’s not designed to grip.
The shoe has torsional twist, just enough for controlled freedom of movement. It looks sturdy, except for its pretty white fragile looking mesh. The sole covering goes almost halfway up the shoe, useful if you charge through puddles on the track.
This Altra Rivera W is suitable for both training and competition. The most important thing is to manage your transition to zero drop properly, depending on the drop of your old pair, you will need to do adjustment sessions, so you don’t induce calf injuries.
We were pleased with this Altra Rivera W, a model designed especially for the road. It has a zero drop that not all brands have. Be careful of injuries if you’ve never used zero drop before, we recommend it to runners who are accustomed to minimalist running shoes. For others, you must convert with care, and learn to run forefoot.
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We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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