Altra's Vanish Carbon 3: A Super Shoe with a Natural Foot-Shaped Fit

The Altra Vanish Carbon 3 is a new addition to the brand's racing shoe lineup, offering a fast and stable design with a rocker profile and PEBA foam. This shoe is a significant departure from Altra's traditional zero-drop trainers, but it still maintains the brand's focus on natural foot shape.

## Developing a Super Shoe with Integrity

Altra's global product and merchandising executive, Kylee Barton, faced a challenge when developing the Vanish Carbon 3. The brand is known for promoting "natural foot shape" with its zero-drop trainers and wide toeboxes, but it needed to create a super shoe that would compete with other brands. Barton said, "How are we going to build a super shoe that doesn't go against everything that is the brand?"

To address this challenge, Altra partnered with All Triangles, a footwear creative agency, to develop a shoe that would meet the brand's standards. The team worked for 13 months to find the best combination of foams, upper construction, and carbon-plate shape with the most competitive advantage.

## Key Features of the Vanish Carbon 3

The Vanish Carbon 3 features a supercritical PEBA midsole foam, a split-toe carbon plate, and a rounded toebox that upholds Altra's belief in natural foot-shaped shoes. The shoe also has a short, hidden heel counter and wide heel for stability, and an aggressive rocker profile that makes the shoe feel like it has a much taller drop.

In a running economy test, Altra compared the Vanish Carbon 3's performance to the previous Vanish Carbons and three unnamed top competitor models. The Vanish Carbon 3 performed 2.6 percent better than the Vanish Carbon 2 and on par with competitors, according to Altra's metrics.

| Feature | Vanish Carbon 3 | Previous Vanish Carbons | Competitors | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Midsole Foam | Supercritical PEBA | PEBA-EVA blend | | | Carbon Plate | Split-toe | | | | Rocker Profile | Aggressive | | | | Heel Counter | Short, hidden | | | | Heel Width | Wide | | |

## Testing the Vanish Carbon 3

Altra's Runner-in-Chief, Jeff Dengate, and Editor, Amanda Furrer, tested the Vanish Carbon 3 on a rooftop track in Denver. They found that the shoe felt great at goal marathon pace, but got squirrelly on tight turns at half marathon pace.

Dengate also noticed a slight tightness in his calves due to the shoe's 4mm drop, but felt that the shoe's intense forward roll made it feel like it had a much taller drop.

## First Impressions

The Vanish Carbon 3 is a super shoe that combines a fast and stable design with a rocker profile and PEBA foam, while maintaining the brand's focus on natural foot shape. The shoe's low drop may be more noticeable for some runners, especially those with sensitive calves and Achilles, but the intense forward roll makes it feel like it has a much taller drop.

Altra plans to make the Vanish Carbon even lighter with the fourth version, while preserving the features that make the Vanish Carbon 3 a unique and compelling option for runners looking for a slightly different kind of super shoe.