Article by Sam Winebaum
Introduction
Altra has collaborated with British high performance and highest of high end run apparel brands Soar Running on a head to toes trail racing kit. It includes: Altra Mont Blanc Carbon trail racer, short tights type Trail Race Shorts with Rheon muscle oscillation control tech, a Race Top, and Run Cap.
Everything is color coordinated in a beautiful Prism colorway. Stunning and cheery looks aside, this kit is high performing and designed for hot weather and long rugged miles on trail, or for that matter road.
I just received the kit and took it out for a first run on a mix of roads and trails in relatively warm 78 F / 22 C temperatures and about 80% humidity, the usual for summer temperatures here in New Hampshire and was delighted by the head to toe performance.
Altra x SOAR Mont Blanc Carbon Trail Shoe ($260 / £220)
Stats
Weight: 260g / 9.1 oz US8.5 sample
Stack Height: 29mm heel / 29mm forefoot, 0 drop
Platform Width: 80mm heel / 70mm midfoot /110mm forefoot
Our long time contributor Dom Layfied, a big Altra fan had previously reviewed the Mont Blanc Carbon concluding Of all the carbon-plated trail shoes that I’ve tried, the Altra Mont Blanc Carbon is my favorite to-date. The shoe feels light and fast, yet also cushioned and protective”. Other than the colorway my Altra X Soar version is identical.
The rear of the upper is a dense closed ripstop type mesh with extensive underlays visible to the rear but also extending forward with 2 more under the more closed super soft front mesh.
The tongue is unpadded and double layered and has more than adequate protection from the quite broad flat laces. It has no gusset but is attached with a mini gusset to the lace up area.
The rear collars are lightly padded with the heel counter semi flexible.
Of course the highlight of the upper is the Foot Shape toe box which is Altra’s not quite giant and insecure for me "Original" as in the Lone Peak but the Standard.
What a wonderful fit upfront. secure, very soft and pliable mesh and with notable foot splay or just feels right for a real foot and this fit in combination with the midsole and flexible Carbitex carbon plate translates to a broad and friendly front of the shoe on the trail.
They are true to size in length and volume for my medium to narrow foot.
Midsole
The midsole is dual density with an outer Altra EGO™ MAX (rim) & supercritical Altra EGO™ PRO (core), fairly standard construction for a trail shoe with the outer rim providing stability and the inner core energetic rebound. The PRO foam is nitrogen infused supercritical eTPE foam
While not springy in feel as say a PEBA based Nike ZoomX or adidas Lightstrike Pro is there is a pleasant energetic bounce. rebound here with the cushioning very forgiving and soft.
Embedded within the midsole is a Carbitex Monoflex carbon plate. I have not been convinced that carbon plates are the way to go in trail shoes as unless one is “full gaz” on smoother trails they tend to make shoes tippy and unstable for me and when one falls off a strong run pace, how about steep uphills their benefits go away.
Here the plate and shoe is notably flexible with a long flex and also moderately propulsive snap. As a “Monoflex” the Carbitex plate is designed to be flexible in one direction (toe off) while remaining stiff in the other (protection and stability)
This is one plated shoe one does not need to “fight” when tired. So far the combination works brilliantly providing plenty of stability and ground feel while clearly also propulsive but don’t come here looking for an aggressive and highly sprung ride..
At a 29mm heel / 29mm forefoot full stack height and zero drop we have a relatively high forefoot and lowish heel. The rear platform at 80mm heel / 70 mm midfoot is moderate in width and by keeping it from being super broad one does not get the low heel back weighting I often sense in zero drop shoes. As I have not been in a zero drop in a while I inserted a 2” cut old insole under the stock insole for a bit of lift but I don’t think I will need it for long.
Outsole
The outsole is Vibram Megagrip with 3.5mm lugs, fairly standard fare for an ultra race shoe. I note trademark Altra forefoot cut outs to match foot bones, a feature that helps with the flex and should agility on rougher terrain while also reducing outsole firmness on firm terrain and road. And indeed on some road segments they were quiet and smooth.
At the heel we see the outsole wrap up and around which helps keep the heel from feeling overly low in what is a zero drop shoe.
Ride and Conclusions
The ride surprised me. Very friendly, soft and energetic for a race type trail shoe. Not overly aggressive and hard to tame as many elite ultra shoes are (for example Terrex Speed Ultra, Metafuji Trail, or Nike Ultrafly, it is the type of shoe I would want on my feet for many hours on trail, on the run or even at hiking paces.
The heel did not feel overly low or firm as Altra’s sometimes can be for me with overall a very balanced feel. I like Altra’s for hiking paces given the stability of zero drop and here I don’t think the zero will keep me from also running them regularly.
At 9.1 oz / 260g they are quite light for their substance although at $260 they are priced up there alongside other carbon trail super shoes but are a friendly foot and riding option for long (and short) hauls on all kinds of terrain.
Altra x Soar Trail Race Shorts ($285/ £230)
Made in Portugal ( the go to place for the highest end run apparel) theTrail Race Shorts are by far the priciest shorts I have ever worn. When I saw they had built with NASA-developed RHEON tech that stiffens under force to absorb energy (which I was first introduced to in adidas top end Adizero marathon shorts ) and that they have tons of waist band storage in a very light package, I knew they were more than the usual short tight.
A bit more on Rheon: “Integrated RHEON™ technology works with the body to manage muscle oscillation at speed, reducing fatigue without restricting movement. By stabilising the large muscle groups of the upper leg, it helps maintain efficiency when the effort peaks.”
The short is unusual in construction as instead of a thick (and hot) highly compressive knit or a slick mildly compressive fabric, the Trail Race essentially has the more airy and light ripstop type fabric (non very stretch) of a regular trail short with the Rheon bands providing the adaptive compression. The center back and front is a denser very thin somewhat stretchy material, There is no brief here but the extensive center and crotch gusset panels made them fine “as is” during my first run.
The overall construction and the breathablity made them notably comfortable on my very humid run. That said, in my medium with a 32” waist they are for sure snug to pull on but once underway I pretty much forgot I was wearing them but for the sensation of reduced leg vibration from the Rheon tech.
Storage:
I look for storage in all my shorts, road or trail and there is plenty here in the quite snug but comfortable waistband area. We have a just under 4’ deep front mesh pocket for a phone or flask, 2 side pockets each should hold several gels, and a deeper rear zip pocket that is unfortunately not large enough for my iPhone Pro 16 to easily be stowed and removed with the shorts on.
Finally, we have a rear two sided draw cord for poles, Move both sides to and from the center to secure and remove poles. I will test this soon.
As we are Road Trail Run, I will not dwell on the label Trail Race Shorts. The Soar will be my go to for all longer races due to its combination of comfortable fit, storage, and Rheon tech.
Altra x SOAR Trail Race Top ($200/ £160)
Top is a Large. I am usually a Medium but the fit is perfect here with enough room for air and movement
This very light and elaborate top uses 3 different fabrics. The shoulders, upper arms and center back have a UPF 50 and pack ready more abrasion resistant smooth and more more closed fabric,. The underarms and lower front have a very open mesh for maximum ventilation with the down to the Prism colored lower chest a slightly more closed mesh.
Soar claims the construction “actively” cools and that is what I felt on the run in the humid heat. The Top got thoroughly drenched in sweat but never got "overwhelmed" by hat clammy sensation of suffocating wet heat. Any breeze gave a cooling effect It dried very quickly. Will it replace my summe heat go to S/Lab T with 37.5 tech? A few more runs will tell!
As with the Trail Shorts the Top is beautifully crafted of top notch materials in Portugal.
Altra x SOAR Printed Run Cap ($65 / £50)
Finally the topper, the Printed Run Cap. Ultralight and super soft it felt great on the run. It evaporated or at least kept sweat out of my eyes and glasses almost the entire run. It’s a balance between its super thin and light materials and how much sweat it can handle before it can’t keep up.
It did remarkably well but a wide brim “bucket” often can do better in big heat and humidity. Kudos for including prominent blackout reflective Soar and Altra highlights.
One size I wish it was a big bigger for my “big” head.
The Altra x Soar Trail Collection is now available
Altra Running
SOAR Running
Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is in his 60’s with 2025 Sam’s 54th year of running roads and trails. He has a decades old 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range if he gets very, very lucky. Sam trains 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah be it on the run, hiking or on nordic skis. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 160 lbs, if he is not enjoying too many fine New England IPA’s.
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