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Altra Torin 9 Review - 73 Miles

Name: Men's Altra Torin 9
Brand: Altra
Rating: 4.3 (1 reviews)

Scott Hilton

Posted Jul 19, 2026

I ran in a pair of Torin 7's and wore through the outsole in 190 miles. When I heard they teamed up with Vibram for the first road outsole by Vibram, my hopes were raised for an increased durable outsole on a zero drop shoe for my rotation.

Total

Form

Performance

Value

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Torin 9

4.3/5

(1)

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Pros

Vastly improved durability of outsole
Very comfortable step in feel
Improved underfoot feel of the midsole (P35X foam)
Drops some weight
Lowered drop does not reduce usability on longer runs
Nice looking design (personal like)
Really nice walking shoe in addition to the running
Great grip and performance of the outsole

Cons

Upper did not breath or wick moisture well in Houston heat/humidity
Feel the price is slightly above where it should be

Review Goal: Put enough miles to see if the durability has been improved on the outsole, see if the change (lower) in stack height to 28mm removes this as a longer run option, see if this is now a top choice as a zero drop rotation shoe for my type of training cycles. For clarification, I like having a low to zero drop shoe to randomly rotate into my rotations to move the pressure of mileage from the upper leg to the lower leg and balance out some of the stress within my gait cycle. I also enjoy a good foot shaped shoe.

Deets and Usage

My size 12's came in weighing: Left 10.7 Ounces, Right 10.6 Ounces
Sample size weight: (Men size 9) 9.2 ounces
Heel Stack: 28 MM
Drop: 0 MM
Upper: Engineered mesh features a revised heel shape, elevated tongue details, and all-day comfort.

Outsole: Vibram XS Run AW rubber is tuned for the roads, helping create a softer and bouncier ride, with impressive durability and world-class grip.

Midsole: P35X foam is a dual-density single unit of foam. It's a rim-and-core setup of a compression-molded OBC (olefin block copolymer) blend, created for a lightweight, balanced, and smooth experience.

MSRP: $160 USD

Usage:I have 73 miles and some change review miles in with running, plus some miles of walking. I have 2 long runs of 13 and 15 miles. The majority of runs were in the 6-8 mile range outside of that. I ran on concrete in dry and wet conditions, tarmac and light trail in dry conditions. I mostly stayed in steady to easy state runs as I wouldn't use this shoe for speed work, even though it does have some ability to pick up the pace.

Upper

Laces: Ribbed type of laces, had no issues with coming unlaced. Very nice laces strong laces
Tongue: While not gusseted, it does have a lace loop and the tongue is wide enough to nicely wrap around the top of the foot. I had no issues with tongue movement
Upper material: The mesh is a nice comfortable upper which has some breathability, but is not the most breathable and doesn't wick moisture well in the Houston, Texas heat/humidity summer.
Heel: Nicely structured, rigid heel system. I did not experience any heel slippage, rubbing or irritation and did not have to do anything unusual to get a nice lock down Collar: They have a medium large amount of padding around the collar which can hold some moisture if you are in the humid time of year.
Toe Room: The shoe has a nice forefoot foot shaped design, which is not overly big. My foot felt like it had toe wiggle room and room to plant and stabilize my forefoot, but not so big it was slipping around.
Fit: The shoes fit true to size to me and overall, the comfort at step in is on point. My foot shape matches up very well with design.

The upper is probably a bit warm for Houston summer and I had to wash them, but the upper is probably perfect for cooler temperatures. The upper is very comfortable.

Outsole

The Vibram outsole is a significant upgrade from my experience in the version 7's. With 73 miles in, I am starting to see some wear in my high wear area, but it is nowhere near what I saw in version 7. I would project average to above average durability with this outsole depending on your personal mechanics.

In addition to the improved durability, the performance on various terrains was great. I had no worries when running on wet pavement for traction, the outsole is thick enough to do some light trail work as well.

Midsole

Altra updated the foam from Ecomax to P35X, which is a dual-density set up. It has a firmer density around the rim of the shoe to provide some stability and then a softer density to enhance underfoot feel in the core. On foot, this has provided a very nice sensory feedback underfoot on the run.

I had an initial concern about using the 9's for long runs due to the reduction in stack to 28mm overall (Zero drop), but the shoe did very well on my 13 and 15 mile runs. I think the key is I used those runs as easy pace runs, which reduced the direct force into the shoe. It's probably not a shoe I would reach for to do long runs with up tempo work mixed in, but for cruiser miles the shoes worked very well.

The shoes are zero drop and I like mixing in zero drop shoes into my rotation to change up the pressure zones on my lower body. I used these shoes for 8 straight runs and I could feel that they worked my calves and achilles area more than the higher drop shoes. It's been a bit since I had a zero drop shoe I liked available and these are working great.

If you are thinking about going to zero drop or utilizing zero drop, I strongly suggest not jumping straight in, but rather working your way into it. Here is a link with some guidance on how to transition. https://www.paddypallin.com.au/paddysdiaries/outdoorlibrary/technical-library/transitioning-to-zero-drop-running-shoes.html

Final thoughts

I really enjoyed this shoe. While my main goal was to look into the durability of the outsole, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the update to the foam. I was a fan of the torin 7 underfoot at 30mm stack, but only that it provided nice protection. The current foam is much more dynamic underfoot than the 7.

Where I would like to see some additional improvements is with the upper and making it a bit more breathable and find a way to improve it's ability to wick moisture away. It did more absorption than wicking. In addition to the upper improvement, I feel like the pricing is a bit above where it should be. With the lower stack it is not really in a "high/max" stack category, but it is in the price range of that category.

To anyone who is looking for a zero drop shoe to use as a rotational piece or daily trainer, the Torin 9 is a shoe you should strongly consider.

This is an incentivized review

I requested this shoe specifically from WeeViews and they reached out to Altra to see if they would be wiling to send a pair for review, which they did. Thank you to Altra for the opportunity to test the shoe.