I’ve been a fan of Altra for years now. I started with their Escalante series (2.5, then Racer, then Lone Peak 5, and 7). I currently have two pairs of the Escalante 4, and two pairs of the Torin 8. I’ve been rocking the Altra Torin 8 since last summer. Last fall I purchased the Torin 8 GTX – Gore-Tex version. They’ve become my new standard shoe.
The waterproof aspect of these shoes is a game changer. Whereas I can usually wear wool socks (generally from Injinji) and not be bothered by my feet getting wet, the Torin 8 GTX actually keeps my feet dry. I have been using these for my daily runs and long runs nearly non-stop for the last several weeks, as I’ve been in snowy or rainy environments for most of the month of February. When it’s icy outside, I’ve been strapping a pair of YakTrax Run on the bottom for sure footing.
The GTX model weighs about 1 oz more than the non Gore-Tex model. So if you are sensitive to this you may want to skip them on dry days to avoid that whole extra ounce of weight. Other than that, I haven’t really detected any difference in the shoes.
Both boast zero drop – so the toe and the heel are the same height. While I have backed off on my “barefoot” or “minimalist” requirements, I insist on zero drop for almost all of my shoes.
For my long runs (longer than an hour) on pavement, I generally default to the Torin. They have a generous amount of cushion without feeling wobbly.
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