Hey everybody, this is Steve Moore, owner of Run Moore. Today we are here to talk about the brand new Altra Vanish Carbon. This is the new carbon racing shoe coming out in mid-April of 2022. This is a big shoe release! As you can tell, I got a little more dressed up than I usually do just for the occasion. I have had a pair of these in my office for a little bit, and I have been super excited to talk about it.
Foot Shaped Carbon Plate
I got a chance to put this on my feet to do a little bit of running just on the treadmill, and I can tell you I have run on a bunch of carbon-plated shoes, and so far, this is one of my favorites. A couple of things right out of the gate, as they are Altra shoes, they are zero-drop shoes with a rounded foot-shaped toe box. The Altra Vanish Carbon is an interesting shoe, especially in the carbon world, because this carbon plate is also foot shaped. This is called their Propel Carbon plate.
Many of the carbon plates you see, and some super shoes and other brands out there, use a full piece of carbon. But sticking with Altra’s vibe of foot-shaped shoes, the Vanish Carbon provides a more natural, a little more unique, a little more personalized experience. I think this will be helpful, especially for long-distance racing.
What does the Altra Vanish Carbon shoe feel like?
When running in this shoe, I felt like I was flying. It has a nice landing feeling, but it also wants to rip you through your stride. As I said earlier, I am excited that this shoe is coming out in mid-April. I have a race that I am getting ready for in May, and I will be taking a pair of these out to do my marathon. I anticipate that it is going to be light, and it will be fast.
Weight & Stack Height
How light? Great question. On the women’s side, this shoe will be coming in at 6.3 ounces in on the men’s 7.2 ounces. It is a high cushion shoe as well. While it is exceptionally light, it has 33 millimeters of stack height. It is also super breathable and has an engineered breathable upper mesh that feels good underfoot. It feels nice, light, and breathable, precisely what you want in a racing shoe.
Purpose
This is going to be your go-fast racing shoe. I do not think you will want to run every day in this shoe. While it feels great and fast, I do not believe that is what its intended purpose is. You will want to put this on your race day and go out there to PR and crush your goals in it.
Sizing
As mentioned earlier, it has a rounded foot-shaped toe box to it, but it is a racing shoe, so it falls under Altra’s slim-fit sizing category. I do think the sizing on this is great. Sometimes with Altra shoes, the sizing can be slightly up and down, but this fits my foot right where I would want it to be. It is not super wide. If you wear a wide Torin or other Altra models that have a more traditional original sizing be aware that this is on the slim fit side and is narrower. If you are dead set on trying this shoe, you might want to try sizing up a half size to see if that is going to work for you. I think a half size will give you a little bit of extra wiggle room through the toes but otherwise, it fits true to size. Just keep that in mind if you have a big Fred Flintstone foot this might be a bit narrow for you.
How far can I race in the Altra Vanish Carbon?
This shoe will be a great option for somebody doing anything racing-wise. You can be doing this from a 5k to something longer. I got a chance to talk to Zack Bitter, and he had been wearing the Vanish Carbon and had done some super long races in it. But I think this will be a great option for up to a marathon for the average runner.
EGO PRO Midsole
You should feel comfortable going out and running some fast miles. This is a higher price point, but it is in line with the other shoes in the carbon racing category. The Altra Vanish Carbon is coming in at $240. And I know that is a bit of a “whoa” price point, but keep in mind there will be other racing options out there. If you are looking for something fast like this but do not want to spend that much of a high price point, keep an eye out for the Altra Vanish Tempo, which will be the everyday training version of this carbon shoe. It will have the same super high cushion super light EGO PRO midsole without the carbon plate. It will be more of a digestible price point.
I quickly touched on that, but this shoe features Altra’s EGO PRO midsole. This is only used in high-end shoes like the Vanish Carbon and the Altra Vanish Tempo. It is super light. It is super squishy soft, and super bouncy when you are running. If you are looking for something fast underfoot or a new carbon shoe that has a customized, efficient feel, this will be a great shoe for you to try. I know many people have been excited about it, and you can count me in that group.
Promo code
If you are interested in this shoe, please check out our website. Also, if you have any questions, please leave them on our YouTube channel, and we will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
Please use promo code: “RUNMOORE” for 10% off + free shipping (some exclusions may apply).
Shop Men’s Altra Vanish Carbon | Shop Women’s Altra Vanish Carbon
I hope everybody has an excellent fast racing season coming up. It is nice to finally have some live races where you can hopefully go out there and crush your PRs with some awesome new shoes, including Altra Vanish Carbon! Thank you, so much, and happy running!
