Altra Torin 9 Review | A Massive Upgrade? — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hey everybody, your old pal Steve Moore
2. 0:01here, owner of Run Moore, this fabulous
3. 0:03brick and mortar running shop located in
4. 0:05Westminster, Maryland. Today we have a
5. 0:07big update on the Altra Torin, the new
6. 0:09Altra Torin 9. We have a lot to get into
7. 0:12on this big update from the brand, but
8. 0:14before we get too far along, if you
9. 0:16haven't already, like and subscribe to
10. 0:18our channel, it's a great way to stay up
11. 0:19to date on all things [music] running
12. 0:20retail from a running retail expert.
13. 0:27>> [music]
14. 0:27>> So, this is a big update on the Torin.
15. 0:29I've been thinking past I've been
16. 0:30carrying Altra since 2014. I feel like
17. 0:32I've probably carried every single
18. 0:34Torin. You know, going back to even when
19. 0:35they used to update on like the point
20. 0:36fives. If you remember there was like
21. 0:38the Torin 4, the 4.5, the Torin Plush.
22. 0:40There was all these different variations
23. 0:42of it. And I would say this is probably
24. 0:44the biggest Torin update we've seen in
25. 0:46many generations. We were sort of
26. 0:48probably the closest to like what used
27. 0:50to be the Torin Plush if you're an old
28. 0:51school Altra person, but even beyond the
29. 0:54mid-sole, which we're going to get into,
30. 0:56the biggest update really is the
31. 0:58out-sole. I know it doesn't seem all
32. 0:59that exciting at first, but this is
33. 1:01actually the very first Vibram out-sole
34. 1:04specifically designed for road running.
35. 1:07You know, obviously you think of the
36. 1:08Vibram out-sole and you think of all the
37. 1:09trail stuff and all the great things
38. 1:11that they do, but they have such a
39. 1:12relationship with the brand that they
40. 1:13wanted to try a whole new guy here, and
41. 1:15this is a 20% more grippy out-sole Torin
42. 1:20Vibram specifically for this shoe.
43. 1:22You're never going to see this or it
44. 1:23hasn't been introduced on any model from
45. 1:25any brand anywhere [music] else out
46. 1:27there. And truly like if you've been a
47. 1:28long time Altra fan, like if you've gone
48. 1:30back ride or die or a long time, some of
49. 1:32the durability, some of the rubber stuff
50. 1:34has plagued the brand, especially years
51. 1:36ago. Like that was sort of like knock on
52. 1:38that brand. And so this was a strategic
53. 1:40update to like, "Hey, we are really
54. 1:42focused on making sure that our products
55. 1:44are more durable." And this is going to
56. 1:46be a very durable out-sole. And you can
57. 1:48hear it walking around. At first I was a
58. 1:50little apprehensive that it was going to
59. 1:51be like annoyingly grippy for a road
60. 1:53shoe because obviously you You want to
61. 1:55walk into every department store that
62. 1:56you go into, hopefully you're shopping
63. 1:58local, or grocery store and hear your
64. 1:59road shoes
65. 2:01It's enough that you can hear it, but
66. 2:03it's not like a trail shoe outsole if
67. 2:05that makes any sense. But, you can
68. 2:07definitely feel it that you're
69. 2:08definitely sure-footed on this outsole.
70. 2:11That's a big to do in and of itself. The
71. 2:13midsole is completely different as well.
72. 2:15We've seen, you know, the Ego midsole
73. 2:17was like Altra's claim to fame forever.
74. 2:19It was their first bouncy charged
75. 2:21rubber. We saw it in the original
76. 2:23Escalante and like we've seen brands
77. 2:25that are now implementing these type of
78. 2:27midsoles, but again, tip of the cap,
79. 2:29Altra is one of the first brands that we
80. 2:30worked with that really started making a
81. 2:32more lively midsole. And so, the Egos
82. 2:35had tons of updates around the years.
83. 2:37This is now the first Ego P 35X midsole.
84. 2:41[music]
85. 2:41We have a dual density midsole now. So,
86. 2:44it has like a softer feel and then a
87. 2:46more bouncy [music] feel. And it has
88. 2:47different tones to it, so you can feel a
89. 2:49little more push off to it, a little bit
90. 2:51just again, a little bit more lively the
91. 2:53way that they that worked with the
92. 2:55density of this shoe. Also has just, I
93. 2:57don't know, it feels a little bit more
94. 2:58forefoot cushion than the last one.
95. 3:00Still a zero drop, which I guess we
96. 3:01should also touch on, but it's still a
97. 3:03zero drop, but it just feels a little
98. 3:05bit more plush through the forefoot in
99. 3:07like a really nice way. So, if you are
100. 3:08somebody who wants to have that
101. 3:10luxurious feel, you have that in this
102. 3:12shoe.
103. 3:13And obviously, it's an Altra, so we
104. 3:14should talk about the drops. The Torin
105. 3:16is one of the still the true ride or die
106. 3:18zero drop Altra shoes. You know, in the
107. 3:20last year, 2 years, the biggest
108. 3:22increases that they've seen from like a
109. 3:24share perspective from the brand has
110. 3:26been those experience models that have a
111. 3:284 mm drop. From the Flow to the Flow ST
112. 3:32to the Wild to the Via, you know, they
113. 3:34all are in that category and that's
114. 3:35where the brand has seen some of their
115. 3:37big pick up and growth, but there's a
116. 3:39lot of those ride or die Altra fans that
117. 3:40are feeling a little bit like, "Hey,
118. 3:42what about us? We still want a true zero
119. 3:44drop shoe." And the Torin is like you
120. 3:46know, there's a couple models that you
121. 3:47really think of that are zero drop like
122. 3:49the Lone Peak and the Escalante and the
123. 3:51Paradigm. And so, that has not going to
124. 3:53change. You still have your zero drop
125. 3:55Altra. It did shave down 2 mm, though.
126. 3:57So, it went from a 30 mm zero drop down
127. 4:00to 28. So, in doing so, it also shaved a
128. 4:03bunch of weight. And so, you can feel
129. 4:04that this is about an oz lighter than
130. 4:06version 8. So, it's a little bit
131. 4:08lighter, a little bit bouncier. It feels
132. 4:10a little more plush, which is nice
133. 4:12because you know, typically if you're
134. 4:13lowering some cushion, it might not feel
135. 4:15it. So, they actually increased a little
136. 4:16bit of the cushion step-in feel,
137. 4:18lowering the stack height, lowering the
138. 4:21weight. Also did away with my my old
139. 4:23torn here. We also kind of did away
140. 4:25with, you know, the the heely cup, which
141. 4:28I like. You know, there's there was a
142. 4:29fad and a phase where like so many of my
143. 4:31brands behind us were doing these high
144. 4:33heel backs to it, which is fine. So,
145. 4:35they got away from that, which I think
146. 4:37is good. It feels a little bit more like
147. 4:39a lower profile shoe. And I don't know,
148. 4:41[music] when I'm when I'm especially on
149. 4:41the zero drop Altra stuff, I I think
150. 4:43that's what I like. I like stuff that
151. 4:44just feels a little bit more lower to
152. 4:46the ground, more casual. Don't need all
153. 4:48the bells and whistles. Um it's a little
154. 4:51bit more true to where it used to be, in
155. 4:53my opinion. So, I think they did a nice
156. 4:55job of kind of making people that are
157. 4:57long-time ride or die Altra fans happy,
158. 5:00but still making sure that people that
159. 5:01are kind of a customer now coming from
160. 5:03the 4 mm drop, if they wanted to swing
161. 5:05down to a good zero, this shoe does
162. 5:07that. And I think with the new updated
163. 5:08[music] mid-sole, it feels a little bit
164. 5:10more fun. And really, going back to the
165. 5:12Altra's zero drop rounded foot shape toe
166. 5:14box that they started with, I think they
167. 5:16did a nice job on the width of this as
168. 5:18well. It does come in a wide, but really
169. 5:20the standard width with the new uppers
170. 5:22that they used, it feels a little bit
171. 5:24more roomy, just a pinch, than version
172. 5:268. And like, that obviously is a big to
173. 5:28do with people. They want to make sure
174. 5:29that it has enough width to it. And my
175. 5:3212 fit me perfectly. Um I've been quite
176. 5:34happy with it. I was I was pretty happy
177. 5:36in the 8, too, obviously, but running in
178. 5:38my 12s, I I I actually felt a little bit
179. 5:40wider in the new version, which I
180. 5:42thought was good as [music] well. And
181. 5:43you know, it it's interesting because
182. 5:45it's a brand that runs so wide, but like
183. 5:47with bunions, not all ultra shoes work
184. 5:48for me. Sometimes I get like a little
185. 5:50bit of my foot knuckle bugs me here on
186. 5:51my bunion on ultra shoes, but I had no
187. 5:53issues with this. So, I thought the
188. 5:55sizing was good. The mid-sole felt good.
189. 5:57I think they kind of made the changes
190. 5:59they need to to make this a nice shoe to
191. 6:01pick up. It's $160, so it did go up by
192. 6:0310 bucks, but I think with the new
193. 6:05design mid-sole and I and having a much
194. 6:08more durable outsole is a really nice
195. 6:10moderate price increase to a shoe that
196. 6:12brought more value. A 20% more
197. 6:14durability, a more grip from the
198. 6:16outsole, 14% more bounce from this
199. 6:19updated mid-sole. Like these are all
200. 6:20like check, check, check. Fits better.
201. 6:23This should be a Torin that makes people
202. 6:24happy. And even even like they have a
203. 6:26little bit more structure around the
204. 6:28outer ring to give just a pinch more
205. 6:30stability. I think I think really they
206. 6:31did a nice job on this update. So, there
207. 6:33it is, the Torin 9. It's out July 1st of
208. 6:36this year. If you wanted to pick up a
209. 6:37pair, we'll have a link down below. And
210. 6:39if you're into promo code watchmoor, w a
211. 6:40t c h m o o r e, you'll save 10% and
212. 6:43we'll ship it out for free. If you're in
213. 6:45the greater Westminster, Maryland area,
214. 6:46stop on by and say hello. There's a good
215. 6:48chance you'll catch me while I'm here.
216. 6:49Happy running. Happy summer. See you
217. 6:51around town.
218. 6:52Thanks for watching. If you want to stay
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