Altra Instinct 2.0

Name: Altra Instinct 2.0
Brand: Altra
Rating: 4.4 (13 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 10.2 oz · 19/19mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Altra Instinct 3.0 replaced it

How it ranks

The Altra Instinct 2.0 sits about average for daily trainers in our data. Comfort and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating rests on 13 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Instinct product line.

Decent

77/100

Overall

Decent 77

Comfort

Good 87

Cushioning

Decent 78

Value

Decent 71

Durability

Bottom-tier 58

Appearance

Bottom-tier 49

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

78/100

Moderate 78

What runners say

“It doesn't curve at the top. This allows your feet to splay out naturally and your toes have room to be a bit mobile.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“Zero drop allows me to find a good running form quickly and the huge toe-box is exactly what my foot-shape needs.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw

“Incredibly soft shoe, perfect for mileage runs and long runs.”

4/5 Full review 82 mpw training for a half marathon

“The shoes can be a bit slippery in the rain (on concrete) and slick in mud as well.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“A little too squishy for speedwork or racing.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw came from the Inov-8 Road-X 233

“The mesh on top of the shoe has torn, though only the outer layer—the real mesh is still intact after about 150 miles.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“The mesh on the upper has ripped on the sides due to a lack of flexibility/forgivability.”

4/5 Full review 80 mpw training for a half marathon

“The toebox is built to D width, so contrary to first glances the shoe itself is not a wide shoe.”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

“My toes can splay and forefoot is not cramped.”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw came from the Inov-8 Road-X 233

“This shoe is lacking in the response area.”

4/5 Full review 82 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

33% 3/9

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Reviewers value the wide toe box that lets the toes splay naturally.
Reviewers use the zero-drop ride for base and long runs, and the one who rated cushioning gives it 5 out of 5.

Cons

Appearance draws 2.4 out of 5 across thirteen reviewers, the lowest mark of any dimension, with one calling it a clown shoe.
Several reviewers report the mesh upper tearing fairly early.
Reviewers find it too soft and unresponsive for faster paces.

Instinct 2.0 rates 77. This shoe has moderate certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Altra Instinct

Each dot is one version of the Instinct, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

77 2014 87 2015 94 2017 61 2012 88 2018

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Instinct 4.5

2018 · 3 reviews

88 Good

54 Confidence
Instinct 1.5

2012 · 12 reviews

61 Below average

82 Confidence
Instinct 4.0

2017 · 3 reviews

94 Excellent

76 Confidence
Instinct 3.0

2015 · 7 reviews

87 Good

80 Confidence
Instinct 2.0 This shoe

2014 · 13 reviews

77 Decent

78 Confidence

Reader Ratings

13 ratings

5/5 6

4/5 6

3/5 1

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 10.2 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $105
Stack Height: 19mm heel - 19mm toe

Runner reviews

Write a review

Good zero-drop for wide feet

5/5

Overall

Pros -Wide toebox -Plenty of cushioning -Doesn't feel too heavy Cons -Got holes in the mesh upper pretty easily

lewruns · Feb 7, 2018

45 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Mizuno Wave Precision 13

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 3/5
Value: 5/5

Reader review

3/5

Overall

Very roomy. Lots of cushion. It's a breathable shoe but just feels sort of like a clown shoe. There is quite a bit of flexibility and it has a zero drop which is nice.

John_norelation_Wayne · Sep 10, 2015

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam 980

Comfort: 4/5
Durability: 2/5
Appearance: 1/5
Value: 3/5

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Aug 23, 2015

75 mpw

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 1/5
Value: 5/5

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Very comfortable, my toes can splay and forefoot not cramped. Good for basic training, a little too squishy for speedwork or racing. Coming back from pregnancy, I needed a little more cushioning than I would normally want, so they have fulfilled that requirement, but again, a bit too squishy to go fast. Also, they look stupid.

Anonymous runner · Apr 14, 2015

20 mpw came from the Inov-8 Road-X 233

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 2/5
Value: 4/5

Reader review

4/5

Overall

I bought these from Seven Hills Running Shop (Speciality in trail running) on a clearance. I wanted to try them out before I purchased them for slightly cheaper online. The shoes themselves do not look great, but I chose to get two in the black because they don't particularly clash with casual wear and also, they do not look like a typical running shoe. The toebox is build to D width, so contrary to first glances the shoe itself is not a wide shoe. This works great for me and is the only shoe were I can say that I will keep shopping with Altra. My foot was considered wide by some shoe "specialists" but after going to a credible specialty store (i.e. not Road Runners) I was educated that my foot is wide at the forefoot but not at the heel...so buying a wide shoe won't fix my problems since wide shoes still curve at the top. That's the biggest thing about this shoe! It doesn't curve at the top. This allows your feet to splay out naturally and your toes have room to be a bit mobile. This means two things (that I am non-scientifically claiming): allows your foot to disperse force from big toe (metatarsal one) throughout the foot, allows your toes to "grip" better allowing them to stretch out and "assist" in toe-off. Also, (even better) the shoe is zero-drop. I used to stretch my calves for several minutes a night on staircases because I read that one of the theories to Kenyan superiority was the elasticity of their achilles tendon from being stretched out by running up steep inclines barefoot. Well, Altra's at least allow your achilles to stretch to the individuals length. It may make you sore the first couple days, but it did not for me even though I did notice the lower to the ground feel. So far, I have been mostly doing base runs and some light tempos, which these shoes are good for. Once (in rural China) I was chased by a small dog and without thinking about it broke into a sprint and felt fast! The shoes themselves are around 10 oz. (size 9) but they do not feel that bulky due to the zero drop. The one or two cons to the shoe is that for me, I have an overly aggressive pinky too, the mesh on top of the shoe has torn. Though this is only the outer layer and the real mesh layer is still intact after about 150 miles. I normally don't track my shoes as I normally three pairs of shoes a season. Also, the shoes can be a bit slippery in the rain (on concrete) and I don't particularly recommend them for trail running (slick in mud as well). I did try the trail version though and those felt like they were hugging the ground. (I would have got them if I was not primarily running roads now).

RancidCupNoodle · Apr 3, 2015

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31