Discontinued · road · Daily / Long run · $150
Altra Experience Flow 2: 30 mm heel stack, 4 mm drop, 235 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Built for daily, long run, at a target pace of 7:30–10:00 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Altra Experience Flow 3.
Altra tuned this midsole firm (2/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 30 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as snappy at 4/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A low 4 mm drop encourages a midfoot landing and keeps the ankle working through a fuller range. The geometry is fairly traditional and flat, so the shoe follows your foot rather than steering it. The forefoot flexes easily, so the shoe adapts to slower, shorter strides. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is unusually roomy — foot-shaped rather than tapered, which suits splayed or bunion-prone feet. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 400 miles from the outsole, about $0.38 per mile at $150.
For the foams and plates Altra uses across its line, read the Altra brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
231 g / 8.1 oz
44 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
30 mm
6 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
4 mm
2 mm lower than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$150
10 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
2 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~400 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Altra line it is lighter than the brand's median (294 g / 10.4 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (30 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Altra Experience Flow
238 g / 8.4 oz · 32 mm · 4 mm drop · — · $140
Altra's low-drop (not zero) speed trainer — a gateway to natural running.
Altra Experience Flow 3
246 g / 8.7 oz · 32 mm · 4 mm drop · — · $150
Altra Experience Flow 3: 32 mm heel stack, 4 mm drop, 241 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Topo Athletic Cyclone 3
205 g / 7.2 oz · 30 mm · 5 mm drop · — · $155
Light, energetic tempo shoe that wakes up at speed.
Saucony Kinvara 16
198 g / 7.0 oz · 29 mm · 4 mm drop · — · $140
Saucony Kinvara 16: 29 mm heel stack, 4 mm drop, 207 g — specs from independent lab testing.