Altra Vanish Carbon 3

The Altra Vanish Carbon 3 is a carbon-plated racer with an anatomical fit that is designed for speed and comfort. At $240, it competes with models like the Topo Specter Elite ($250) and the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4 ($250). Altra invested a great deal of time and consideration into this shoe in an attempt to stick with their ethos of developing a shoe that allows for natural foot movement while also making a competitive and fast race shoe for their athletes. In this version, Altra increased the stack height, just coming in under the World Athletics 40mm limit, raised the drop from zero to 4mm, and introduced a patent-pending split-toe design in the full-length carbon fiber plate. Out of the box and upon step-in there were two notable concerns: the weight of the shoe is still not competitive, as it weighed in at 250 grams in our Men’s size 10.5, and it fits noticeably short even though there is plenty of volume and width in the forefoot. Out on the run, the foam has some good torque and when you put power down into it, you get some good response. The foam feels dense, supportive, and protective and the geometry is aggressive, but it is not quite as energetic and responsive of a ride as you get in some of the other top-tier racers on the market. It is a nice shoe with a great geometry, but there are a lot of good marathon racers on the market. If you are looking for a good up-tempo shoe or if you need or want a race shoe with a wider, more high volume toebox, and a firmer foam, the Vanish Carbon 3 would be a great choice at $240.