Altra Escalante 5 Review – And Why I'd Still Take the Escalante 4

In short, the Escalante 5 has gone the wrong way — and it is still a good shoe.

Both of those things are true at once, and that’s what makes this one awkward to review.

The Escalante is one of the mainstays of the Altra lineup, and it has been for a long time. It’s one of the most minimal shoes they make, and it’s definitely the one that’s most foot-health forward. It lets your foot do what it should naturally do. That’s why so many people love it.

It has changed just a little bit since the Escalante 4, and every one of those changes nudged it away from what I want. None of them are big. All of them point the same direction.

If you’re here to work out whether the Altra Escalante 5 is worth it over the Escalante 4, skip to the head-to-head. Short version: same 24mm stack and same zero drop, but the 5 is stiffer and about 40g heavier, and I’d take the 4.

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At a Glance: Altra Escalante 5

• Best For: A do-it-all zero-drop trainer for long runs, daily miles and casual wear
• Skip If: You want a gym shoe, or you can still find the Escalante 4
• Stack Height: 24mm | Weight: 275g (9.7 oz) | Drop: Zero
• Overall: 7.5/10 — Still a genuinely good cushioned, zero-drop, wide-toe-box shoe. The full rubber outsole buys durability and costs flex and weight.
• Price: $140 | Prices on Altra

Fit

Does the Altra Escalante 5 fit true to size?

Go true to size on this one. In my normal US9 I still have that little bit of room at the end, which is exactly what you want — space for your feet to flex around and expand into if they need to.

That flexible toe box up top is forgiving too. If you get the wrong size, or you want to size down a little for a closer fit, the shoe will go along with you.

But remember: foot health first. Get the splay first.

How wide is the toe box?

The toe box is nicely squared off on the big toe side, and it tapers a little on the little toe side. The big toe side is the important one, and this is the shape you want there.

It allows you to get a good splay. And you want that when you’re thinking about foot health, because a good splay means a really good base to push off from.

Altra put the 5 on their Original FootShape fit, which they describe as their roomiest toe box with space through the midfoot. Hold that midfoot claim for a second.

Is the shoe made for a high or low-volume foot?

The midfoot narrows down a little, and that’s worth flagging. Some people have issues with Altras narrowing down too much through the midfoot. I’m one of them, even in the Lone Peak. So keep that in mind if it’s caught you before.

The upper saves it. It’s a little more flexible than the Escalante 4, and it does allow room for your foot to expand into. It just feels a bit more forgiving in that area.

If you have a deeper, more voluminous foot, you can switch out that insole to get a bit more depth. If not, that upper is flexible enough that it wraps around your foot quite nicely anyway.

All in all, the fit of this shoe is very, very good.

Does the shoe have a good heel lock?

That heel is still very nice and soft, which I’m really glad to see. It lets you sit into the heel cup properly and then cinch the lacing in to get a really good lockdown.

Altra list a redesigned collar as one of the changes for the 5. Whatever they did, they didn’t break it.

What’s the tongue like?

Here’s something genuinely positive, and it’s a really weird one to get excited about. The tongue.

It has become a lot more flexible — almost to the point where it’s like a little sock liner. And it’s got this loop in it. When you’re putting the shoes on you can put your finger through that loop and pull the tongue up.

I always found it seated very nicely. It’s little differences like that which make putting these shoes on kind of nice.

Inside, Altra have continued with their plush lining, and it feels really nice out of the box. I know some people have had problems with it wearing through a little quick in the past. I never find that. Altra shoes have always fit my foot very well, and that’s maybe why I don’t have the issue.

Just think about it if you’ve had slipping in shoes before.

Feel

Is the 24mm stack height good or bad?

The foam underfoot has stayed relatively similar to the 4. It’s quite soft, it’s not exactly a squishy foam, and you get some feedback from the ground. But it’s 24mm of stack height, so you’re never going to get full ground feel here.

For most people, where they’re starting, that’s exactly where they want to be. You don’t want to go into something really, really minimal straight away, because it’ll be a stress on your feet. You have to ease into those things.

And you have to ease into this one too. Even in the Escalante 5 or the 4, I could feel my feet definitely working quite hard — which is interesting, considering I’ve been running in barefoot shoes for quite a while now.

Keep that in mind when you’re transitioning to zero drop. Even into these.

Is the shoe flexible?

Less flexible than the Escalante 4, and this is where the 5 starts going the wrong way for me. It’s a little stiffer through that midfoot.

I grabbed the Escalante 4 to check myself on camera, and I can flex it noticeably more. Yes, that pair has more miles in it. But I believe the real reason is the outsole rubber.

Look at the outsole on the 5 and it goes all the way down the full shoe. That’s what’s stiffening it up.

Does the Altra Escalante 5 have arch support?

Not officially — but I could feel something there, and I couldn’t in the Escalante 4. The Escalante 5 is a neutral shoe with no posting or medial support. What it does have is a guardrail of foam running along the side of the midsole.

Your foot sits down into the shoe, just below that line of foam, and on the Escalante 5 that guardrail extends quite far back. Not all the way, but a long way. On the inside it sits quite high through the middle of the foot.

That’s what I perceived as a little bit of arch support. It felt like arch support. I didn’t feel it in the Escalante 4, and I’ve got to say, that’s not the way I want this shoe to go.

Now the honest caveat. This is a really minor change, and it feels quite minor too. I wouldn’t over-index on it. This is me nitpicking, and I’m telling you that up front.

Does 275g matter?

It comes in at 275g (9.7 oz) for a US Men’s 9, against 233g (8.2 oz) for the Escalante 4. Call it 40g. Again, I’d say that’s the wrong direction.

We don’t want to be getting heavier. Especially not if we’re looking at longer runs, where a lighter shoe causes less fatigue on the body.

And you know what? It even feels good. I choose shoes sometimes purely because they’re lighter, because you just feel much better in them. It’s a feeling that’s hard to get from a heavy, bulky shoe.

That’s the trade Altra made here: the full rubber outsole is great for durability, and not so great for the weight.

Durability

How long before the outsole wears out?

This is where the 5 wins, and it’s a real win. That full rubber outsole will last a lot longer than a partial outsole.

Two reasons. It’s protecting that EVA foam a lot more, and it’s distributing the load across different parts of the rubber.

This is the single change I’d keep.

Will the upper develop holes?

The upper is quite similar to the 4, and the weave is very flexible. I don’t think it will wear through that quickly, because the flex points in the forefoot don’t actually flex that much.

So it’s not going to become a weak point for most people.

The exception is if you’ve got a very wide foot and your forefoot is blasting out the side of it. That constant expansion and stress is how you’d blast out the top of this one. But in general, I think it’ll be okay.

Will the midsole foam pack out?

The foam is the part that’ll break down quickest. The insole foam first, then the midsole foam underneath it.

Have a look at that insole — it is super thick. That plush feeling you get out of the box is mainly down to the insole, not the midsole. Once you run a couple of hundred kilometres in these, it’ll pack down, and the whole shoe will feel a lot flatter.

That’s not a bad thing. You can still run the shoe. Just remember it will not feel like it did out of the box in the long run.

The midsole will flatten out too. That’s common with these normal EVA midsoles, and it’s just something that happens.

It doesn’t mean the shoe is dead. You can transition it into an easy trainer, a short-distance shoe, or even just a casual shoe for yourself. Keep those shoes going as long as you can.

Altra Escalante 5 vs Escalante 4

If you already own the Escalante 4, the Escalante 5 is not an upgrade. Same 24mm stack, same zero drop, same wide FootShape toe box. The Escalante 5 adds a full rubber outsole, which makes it last longer but also stiffer through the midfoot and about 40g heavier. The Escalante 4 flexes better and runs lighter. I’d take the 4.

What changed between the Escalante 4 and the Escalante 5?

Four things, and three of them went the wrong way for me.

• The outsole went full-coverage. On the Escalante 4 the rubber is partial — Altra dropped coverage under the midfoot to save weight. The Escalante 5 puts rubber all the way down the shoe. Better wear life, stiffer ride.
• The weight went up about 40g. 275g against 233g in a US Men’s 9.
• The foam guardrail extends further back. On the Escalante 4 it dips down around the heel, which means less foam, less rigidity, and a little more flex. On the 5 it runs a long way back and sits high on the inside.
• The tongue got better. It’s a lot more flexible now, almost like a little sock liner, and it has a loop you can hook a finger through to pull it up. That one is a genuine improvement.

The upper is also a little more flexible on the Escalante 5 than on the 4, which makes the fit slightly more forgiving. And the foam underfoot has stayed relatively similar between the two.

Is the Escalante 5 or the Escalante 4 better?

The Escalante 4, if you can still find it. The 4 was heading in a really nice direction again for the Escalante line, and the 5 feels like we just pulled back a little bit.

Here’s the honest counterweight, though. These are minor differences. Most people are never going to notice them, and the Escalante 5 is going to work absolutely fine. If the 4 is sold out in your size — which happens fast once a new version lands — buying the 5 is not a mistake.

Buy the Escalante 5 over the 4 if outsole durability is your priority. That full rubber outsole is the one change I’d keep. It protects the EVA foam a lot more and spreads the load across the rubber instead of a few patches, so it will outlast the 4’s partial outsole.

Buy the Escalante 4 over the 5 if you want the flex and the lower weight. That’s the cushioned, wide-toe-box feel at its best, and it’s $10 cheaper too. Stock is the only catch — once a new version lands, the old one goes fast.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, I feel like the Escalante 5 has gone the wrong way — and that’s purely comparing it to the Escalante 4. Is it still a good cushioned, zero-drop, wide-toe-box shoe? Yes. It still is.

It’s those minor differences between the 4 and the 5. The 4 was heading in a really nice direction again for the Escalante line, and it feels like we just pulled back a little bit. There may be a reason for that, and I don’t know it, and that’s fair enough. This is just exactly what I’m seeing right now.

If you want a daily trainer you can take on super long distances, as I would, or run at a fast pace, then it’s a good option. If you just want a casual shoe, it’s a good option too. Honestly, this is more of a do-it-all shoe.

The only time it fails is on some of those faster-paced efforts. The upper is quite flexible, so you can slip off the top of it a little.

And it’s not a gym shoe. I’ll always say go barefoot or as near to barefoot as possible in the gym, but if you’re specifically looking for a gym shoe, this probably isn’t it. It’s too squishy. It’s too sloppy on the upper. Look for something else instead — the Altra Solstice XT 3 is maybe a better option for you there.

Now let me check myself, because maybe I’ve been a bit harsh. For most people, they’re not going to see these tiny little differences. This is going to work absolutely fine for you.

Choose the Altra Escalante 5 if:

• You want one zero-drop shoe that covers long runs, daily miles and casual wear
• You want a wide, squared-off toe box with real cushioning underneath
• You’re transitioning to zero drop and 24mm is the right place to start
• Outsole durability is what has put you off Altra before

Skip the Altra Escalante 5 if:

• You can still find the Escalante 4 — it flexes better and is around 40g lighter
• You want something faster and lighter, where the Escalante Racer 2 is a pretty nice shoe
• You want a gym shoe — too squishy, too sloppy on top
• Altra midfoot width has caught you out before, because it narrows here too

If you want that cushioned but wide-toe-box feel and you can get the 4, go for the 4. Otherwise, have a look at my other content, because there’s a lot of wide, zero-drop, barefoot-style shoes in there that may interest you.

Also, do you have a different experience? Share it!