Altra’s Vanish Carbon 3 Might Be the Unicorn IRONMAN Run Shoe for Everyone

There’s simply no getting around it: carbon plated shoes (or advanced footwear technology, if you prefer the term that most scientific studies are tossing around these days) are here to stay. There’s simply no denying the significant impact that they’ve had on running over the last decade. And although the jury is still out as to whether or not these shoes are increasing rates of injury, the marketplace is still growing. As of this writing, carbon shoes represent just north of $3 billion USD of sales in the running marketplace, or about 5.6% of the total running shoe market.

Not bad for shoes that retail, on average, for $250 USD.

It seems just about every brand on the market now offers some type of carbon racer. There’s your usual performance suspects, like Nike, Adidas, and ASICS. Then there’s your stalwart shoe brands that have been well established in specialty channels: think Brooks, New Balance, and Saucony. Then there’s your emerging brands that have challenged the status quo: HOKA, On, and now we see some of the Chinese brands moving in on the action. We’re talking nearly everyone.

But what if you built your entire brand on doing things “naturally?”

That’s the dilemma that Altra faces when we look at their racing shoes. The brand itself was founded in the minimalism marketplace of the early 2010s, trying to take the best of “natural” running and understanding that we might actually need some cushioning against unnatural surfaces like asphalt and concrete. And they grabbed marketshare out of the gate; those early Instincts and Provisions were popular enough that Altra soon after start-up was making appearances at the Boston Marathon. (It was via an Altra vendor bib that I got to run the Boston Marathon back in 2012).

Of course, the run shoe marketplace has changed a lot since the early 2010s — including with all that carbon footwear technology. So now we have two things very much at odds with one another: Altra’s brand identity of moving naturally, and producing a carbon racing shoe in the modern age. How Altra has managed to answer that is with the Vanish Carbon 3 — and it might very well be the shoe most triathletes should be looking at.

The Tech Stuff

As mentioned, Altra was founded on the identity of moving naturally. For the first few generations of shoes, that meant a couple of things. First, it meant zero drop; after all, there’s no drop when you’re barefoot, so there shouldn’t be any in your running shoes. Second, it meant enough cushioning to protect against the elements you were running on, whether on the roads or trails. And lastly, it meant a shoe with an extremely generous toe box. They called it FootShape, and it’s probably the single defining characteristic of Altra shoes that has remained the same over its roughly fifteen year history.

Let’s be clear: this shape means that your toes are meant to be able to spread out as wide as possible in the forefoot. If you are someone who grew up in cleats or ski boots, it is going to feel very foreign to you to have a sport shoe that fits this way up front. The rest of the foot is well wrapped, but that forefoot is unique to the Altra experience.

In order to create the Vanish Carbon 3, Altra took FootShape and made a platform around it. The upper features a seamless design and the traditionally wide toe box, with the added wrinkle of a unique set of eyelets for the lacing pattern. The theoretical result is a snug fit for the heel and midfoot so you remain locked in while at tempo, but then retain all of the benefits of the width in the toe box.

With fit settled, it was time to look at the platform and the four critical components of carbon footwear: the foam; carbon plate; drop; and rocker. Those four things have to work together harmoniously in order to give the type of ride quality runners are looking for. For the Vanish Carbon 3, Altra completely revamped their performance foam. Like most other carbon racers, Altra turned to a supercritical PEBA foam to create their midsole, which they’re calling FAST RCE; makes sense for a shoe that you’re trying to have a fast race in, eh? The unique part of this to Altra is that FAST RCE is actually two separate pieces of PEBA foam that come together, with slightly different tuning based on their location within the shoe.

Altra also takes a different approach to the carbon plate. Their full-length plate splits into two different pieces in the toe. According to Altra, that means the big toe may engage more powerfully (and thereby naturally) versus other plate designs, without losing the rigidity and pop that make plated shoes fast. It’s coupled with a rocker shape that is most aggressive after the metatarsal heads for a quick toe-off.

The Vanish Carbon 3 is a 4 millimeter drop shoe. For some Altra loyalists, that might seem blasphemous, considering how much the brand has been tied to zero drop (you can see that in some of the reviews on Altra’s storefront). Overall, though, that puts the Vanish Carbon 3 on the lower side of carbon racers. It’s a millimeter less drop than you find on the ASICS MetaSpeed series shoes, and four millimeters under what you get from the likes of Nike, Puma, and Saucony.

Taken altogether, Altra claims this generation of Vanish Carbon 3 is 2.6% more efficient than the prior one, and according to their lab testing, is now “rivaling current super shoes in the market.” Sample sizes weigh 7.7 ounces. Given that published weight, my size 13s felt extremely light; I would have expected a sub-7 ounce published weight.

Running in the Vanish Carbon 3

It’s been easily a half decade or so since I’ve tried on a pair of Altra’s. I think the last pair I owned was a set of Torin’s back when I still worked run specialty retail. In other words: it’s been a while.

Slipping the Vanish Carbon 3 for the first time, and my initial impression was “yep, this is still an Altra.” The roomy toe box, the relatively slender in-step in order to secure the foot, all felt exactly like my last pair of Altra’s. If you’ve ever worn a pair of Altra’s, this one fits exactly the way you think it is going to.

Now, that being said, it’s very much a different material than before. That seamless upper experience gives off a premium vibe that is unmistakably unlike most prior Altra’s. Altra has always been more utilitarian in its approach to upper construction. This feels more akin to what you find from other $200+ shoes on the market. Which is a good thing, considering that you’re spending $240 USD in order to get into a pair of Vanish Carbon 3’s.

That FAST RCE midsole is also shockingly soft on try-on. It’s HOKA-esque, if I’m being quite honest. It’s marshmallow when walking around. I think part of that is likely the split in the heel and the channel that runs along the split for the toe plate; it allows the show to billow out a little more and have more room to give. In all, it feels like an expensive shoe could.

And then you go for the run. And this is where I think Altra has hit an absolute home run — particularly for the long distance triathletes in the audience.

This shoe absolutely flies when you get after it. The FAST RCE midsole still has plenty of give, but it somehow does not feel as soft as it does when you’re just walking around. That 4 millimeter drop I think is a perfect blend of creating platform stability while still not overloading the Achilles, calves, and hamstrings. And you can definitely feel the plate helping propel you forward.

But it’s the combination of the split toe plate and the rocker that, I think, are the biggest trick up the Vanish Carbon 3’s sleeve. Because unlike many other carbon shoes that are too stiff or degrade the uphill running experience, the Vanish Carbon 3 is still flexible enough to fly uphill like a traditional racing flat. It is by far the fastest shoe on the uphill sections of my local running loop, and that’s without really trying in terms of effort. It’s not as speedy downhill as, say, a HOKA Cielo X1, but it’s still plenty quick across the entirety of the platform.

The other interesting part of the Vanish Carbon 3 is that it is quite happy at just about any speed. Other carbon shoes we test are one-trick ponies; you either run fast in them or you aren’t going to enjoy the wear experience. The Vanish Carbon 3 can just soak up some run miles in a lightweight package for you, just as happily as you can pushing the absolute speed boundaries it offers. I find that it improves my run pace across the entirety of my pacing spectrum — which is a good thing, as I suspect I’ll be *ahem* taking my time on the marathon in a couple of weeks in California.

Concluding Thoughts on the Vanish Carbon 3

I am shocked that this shoe came from Altra. It’s easily one of my favorite carbon racers I’ve ever worn. And it’s one that I think most triathletes should be looking at.

Look. Most of us are going to positive split our runs. Some of us like to fly to close to the sun (hi, I’m the problem, it’s me). Some of us are undertrained for the distance we’re doing. And some of us are also intentionally going to be utilizing run-walk intervals during the course of our race. You need a shoe that is going to set yourself up for success in those situations. The Vanish Carbon 3 ticks all of those boxes with aplomb.

When you want to go fast, it excels at that. When you want to keep the pace more casual, it’s really good at that too. And the Vanish Carbon 3 also undercuts the pricing of most of its competition by at least $10, with some (including the recently reviewed Diadora) more than $80 more expensive. What more could you want?

Altra Vanish Carbon 3
$240 USD
Available: Now
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