SAM: I can’t assist however get just a little excited when a brand new carbon-plated path shoe reveals up for testing, but when I’m going to be completely sincere, that pleasure was as tempered because it’s ever been after I pulled the Altra Mont Blanc Carbon out of the field. A few of that’s as a result of, as extra plates go into extra footwear, I’ve began to doubt their goal on the paths (particularly right here on the East Coast) exterior of particular use instances. That’s a me factor and possibly has so much to do with the paths I often discover myself on. The remainder of my reluctance is because of us, nicely, simply not liking the unique Mont Blanc.
The unique Altra Mont Blanc is enshrined in path shoe infamy, so far as I can inform. In the event you aren’t acquainted, it wouldn’t be a foul concept to click on via Taylor, Alex, and Matt’s overview from 2022, however the abstract is as follows: nice midfoot lockdown, racer-like match, unbelievable underfoot expertise, and a heel as wobbly as a type of horrible dancing balloon individuals they toss up exterior used automobile dealerships. Later that 12 months, the Altra Mont Blanc Boa addressed among the match and upper-to-midsole discrepancies brought on by that heel for a premium however didn’t wholly repair any of them. I’ve heard greater than as soon as from our reviewers who obtained these two footwear {that a} good heel would transfer the Mont Blanc manner up their listing of favourite path footwear.
And right here, two years later, now we have the subsequent within the Mont Blanc sequence: the Altra Mont Blanc Carbon. The naming conference means that they only caught a carbon fiber plate proper into that juicy Ego Max, however the Mont Blanc Carbon is sort of fully reworked. For certain, there’s that plate — a full-length monoflex plate made by Carbitex, no much less — however the 30mm of Ego Max of the opposite variations is swapped for a 29 mm of Ego Max round a core of Ego Professional, Altra’s supercritical racing foam.
The Vibram Litebase outsole has barely extra protection, primarily within the heel and midfoot, and is blended with Vibram Megagrip for enhanced traction. The split-material higher is roughly the identical, however the location of the seam between materials is totally different, and the lacing construction and underlays are all subtly totally different. Most significantly, these underlays wrap the heel, together with some strategic padding. As with the Mont Blanc Boa, all of this additionally comes at a premium value level. Right here, it’s a hefty $260. Is it value that? Effectively, sure, and no.
