Shoe Review: Altra Torin 7

Picture this: you’ve just made it home after a long day at work. You can’t wait to shed your stiff, constricting work clothes and slip into your cozy sweats. Maybe you’ll turn on some Netflix or order UberEats. Your body feels happy and content, enjoying the room to move around within your most comfortable clothing. For Fleet Feet reviewers, sliding into the Altra Torin 7 felt akin to putting on your sweatpants after a day spent in formal clothes.

The Torin 7 has been updated with more cushioning and more comfort, featuring more EGO MAX midsole foam, a redesigned tongue and a molded heel collar. Like all Altra running shoes, it’s built on a balanced platform, leaving your heel and forefoot at a level height from the ground. This is also known as a zero heel-to-toe drop, designed to encourage low-impact landings.

Fleet Feet reviewers put the Torin 7 to the test during long runs, recovery miles and even a few gym workouts. Here’s why we think it’s the best version of the Torin yet.

When we say the midsole of the Altra Torin 7 is balanced, we mean two things. First, the shoe has a zero-millimeter heel-to-toe drop, leaving your forefoot sitting level with your heel. Second, the midsole foam compound offers a perfect balance between soft and responsive, keeping your feet comfortable without sinking into the shoe.

The zero-millimeter heel-to-toe drop (also known as zero-drop) keeps your feet in a natural, neutral position throughout each phase of the gait cycle, which can help stabilize your ankles, activate the muscles in your feet and lower legs and reduce pressure on your knees and hips.

“I was having hip problems and certain shoes would really aggravate it,” says Travis. When I started running in the Torin 4, I felt my hip flexors relax for the first time in a while. It provided a solid base for my hips and knees. I’ve been running in the Torin ever since and, in my opinion, the 7 is the best one yet!”

While Travis is a die-hard Altra fan, even some of our more skeptical reviewers fell in love with the plush, responsive EGO MAX cushioning underfoot.

“I’m not fully aboard the zero-drop train just yet, but the first thing I noticed when I put the Torin 7 on was the dreamy cushioning,” Caroline says. “It’s the kind that feels soft but doesn’t leave my feet sinking all the way down towards the ground. It’s soft and flexible with enough responsiveness to keep my feet engaged throughout the run. Flexible is a key word here because having shoes that move with me as I run makes a huge difference!”

The Torin 7 features two additional millimeters of Altra’s proprietary midsole foam, creating an even softer, plusher ride than previous models. Plus, durable rubber covers the outsole, helping you stay grounded on slick pavement.

Remember when we said that sliding into the Altra Torin 7 feels just like changing into your comfy clothes after work? A big reason is due to the spacious yet locked-in fit the Torin 7 provides. Rather than feeling constricted, your feet have room to breathe, relax and maybe enjoy some of that Netflix we mentioned.

Altra calls this their FootShape™ toe box, and it’s much roomier than comparable shoes from other brands. Rather than taper inward toward the toe, the toebox accentuates the natural shape of your foot by allowing your toes to splay out.

“The toe box steals the show in the Torin 7,” Max says. “I’ve been told I have narrow feet so sometimes a wide toe-box scares me. But, while my toes have a lot of room, it doesn’t feel like they’re swimming around in excess material. It feels so good to have that extra space.”

While the toe box is plenty spacious, the midfoot and heel offer a secure fit to keep your feet from moving around within the shoe. Plus, the Torin 7 features a new molded heel collar to prevent slippage.

“I love the heel in the Torin 7,” says Mandy. “It’s slightly structured, yet soft. It’s flared, too, which makes the shoes super easy to put on my feet in a hurry. Even with my narrow heels, I didn’t have to use the marathon loop to hold them firmly in place.”

The entire upper is crafted with an engineered mesh upper that brings breathability to your next run—a crucial component as we approach the summer months ahead.

The Altra Torin 7 maintains all the features that made the 6 so popular with a few tweaks to improve the fit and ride. First, it has an added two millimeters in stack height, giving it an even cushier, softer ride.

“The added two millimeters of cushion in the midsole made for a nice surprise in the Torin 7,” Max says. “They definitely feel softer than any Altra shoe I’ve run in.”

The Torin 7 also has a slightly redesigned upper, complete with a new tongue to reduce friction and a redesigned heel cup to hold you firmly in place.

“The Torin 5 had an uncomfortably thin, sharp tongue, but Altra addressed this with the Torin 6 and then made the tongue incredibly comfortable in the Torin 7,” says Travis. “It sits atop my foot perfectly and hardly feels like it’s there!”

The Torin 7 hosts all of these upgrades while also shaving weight (about a half ounce in the women’s model and almost a full ounce in the men’s model), likely due to the updated engineered mesh upper that feels incredibly light and airy.

We took a look at some comparable shoes and how they stack up against the Altra Torin 7. Here’s what we found.

Reviewers noticed right away that the cushioning in the Torin 7 offers a similar feel as the HOKA Clifton 9 and the New Balance 1080 v12—soft but substantial enough to prevent your feet from sinking into the midsole.

“The EGO MAX foam in the Torin 7 strikes the balance that I look for in midsole compounds these days,” says Max. “It’s soft but not too soft that I feel slow, firm but not too firm that my feet feel sore.”

All three shoes offer a similar stack height and fall into the same places within their respective brand’s lineup, right below the most maximally-cushioned shoes (the Altra Via Olympus, the HOKA Bondi and the New Balance Fresh Foam X More).

Thanks to a spacious toe box, the Altra Torin 7 offers an accommodating fit that’s well-suited for runners with wide feet, bunions, hammertoes or those who just enjoy some extra breathing room. If you’re not sure about the width of your feet, be sure to head into your local Fleet Feet for an expert one-on-one outfitting.

The zero-drop platform in the Torin 7 makes it ideal for those seeking a level stable platform for landings and toe-offs. If you’re not used to wearing zero-drop shoes, we recommend gradually easing into the Torin 7 over the course of a couple of weeks, allowing your body to adapt to the change.

“I’ve tried on a lot of Altra shoes over the past two years and the Torin 7 is my favorite,” Caroline says. “It offers the perfect combination of softness, flexibility and just a touch of responsiveness.”