The Altra Timp 5 is a highly-cushioned zero-drop trail running shoe with a wide toe box that’s popular with hikers and backpackers. They have thick Vibram soles made with Megagrip rubber (new) that provide excellent traction on dry and wet surfaces with multi-directional lugs that assist in turning and braking. The uppers are made with a porous nylon mesh with a fine weave for drainage with printed overlays that help reduce abrasion. They have Altra’s “standard” size toe box that lets your toes splay out for enhanced comfort with an impressive amount of toebox protection to help keep your toenails intact. Like all Atra trail runners, the Timp 5 comes with a gaiter trap on the heel to secure a gaiter and help prevent trail debris from entering the shoe.
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Specs at a Glance
- Best Use: Trail Running and Hiking
- Trail Runner Shoe Type: Rugged Trails
- Cushioning: Maximum
- Waterproof/Breathable: No
- Heel to Toe Drop (mm): 0
- Heel Stack Height (mm): 29
- Forefoot Stack height (mm): 29
- Upper: Nylon Mesh
- Rock Plate: No
- Midsole: Altra EGO MAX foam (ie. foam)
- Outsole: Vibram Megagrip
- Vegan: Yes
- Wide Sizes Available?: No
- Weight: 1 lb 4 oz / pair (men’s size 10.5 US)
- Sizing: I found them true to size
The Altra Timp 5 is a heavily cushioned trail runner that provides noticeably more comfort and shock absorption than the Altra Lone Peak 8 (see review) we reviewed recently. Since they’re both zero-drop shoes, I thought it’d be interesting to try both since I am on the hunt for a new pair of trail runners that I can stock up on for hiking and backpacking this year. Numerous readers have also encouraged me to try the Timp over the years and this latest model, with a new Vibram Megagrip rubber outsole, sounded quite promising. (Altra customers have been griping about the poor traction and durability of Altra’s proprietary outsoles, which are still used on the Lone Peak 8, for years.)
Trail Feel
The Timp’s signature feature is an oversized toe box which lets your toes splay out as if you were walking barefoot. Altra shoes are available with toe box volumes of different sizes: the Timp has a standard size toe box volume, the same as the Lone Peak 8. This is very different from many trail runners, which still have narrow toe boxes that restrict toe movement, although many brands have expanded theirs in recent years to compete with Altra and respond to user preferences.
The Timp is a zero-drop trail runner meaning that the heel and the toes are an equal distance from the ground. This allows for a more stable foot strike and a more natural and efficient stride, with impacts spread out across the entire surface of the foot.
One of my favorite features on Altra Running shoes is the gaiter trap, located on the back of the heel of the shoe. It’s a piece of velcro that makes it very simple to wear a Dirty Girl Gaiter which attaches to velcro at the back of the heel. A gaiter trap like this is a necessity if your shoe’s outsoles are flat, without a heel arch, which is the case with the Timp. I find it mind-boggling that other brands don’t offer the same functionality on their trail runners since gaiter use is so prevalent.
Stability
The Timp 5 is a stable trail runner, in part, because it’s a zero-drop shoe where your forefoot and heel are at the same height. With its 29 mm stack height and flat outsole, it’s less prone to ankle rolling because you’re pretty close to the ground. That and the enhanced proprioception you get from walking with spayed toes make it much easier to sense and adapt to changing trail conditions and terrain.
Protection
As a trail runner, it is important to have a shoe that is going to protect the bottoms of your feet . You also want a breathable upper that allows your feet to ventilate while keeping out particulates of mud, sand, and grit that will wreak havoc on your socks.
The Timp 5 does both. The thick cushioning in the Timp sole provides great shock absorption without being sloppy, particularly for hiking, even though the shoes do not have a rock plate. There’s also a substantial degree of toe protection up front provided by the cushion, overlays that protect the toe box from abrasion, and a front toe kick.
The finely pored breathable mesh of the upper does a good job of preventing coarse sand and grit from entering the shoe. This is a big deal since many trail runners with large-pored mesh uppers fail miserably on this dimension, especially in sandy desert terrain or when fording streams. The mesh also drains well and dries quickly, particularly at the front of the shoe where there’s less padding in the uppers. The heels, in contrast, take much longer to dry because the padding is so much thicker in the heel cup.
Vibram Sole and Lugs
The new Vibram Outsole provides great traction on dry and wet surfaces and has grooved channels to channel away water. The lugs aren’t very large but the rubber is soft like a climbing shoe and gives good purchase on hard irregular surfaces like rock. I’ve been wearing the Timps for the past 2 weeks, so it’s too early to determine how long the soles will last, but I suspect they’ll wear out close to the 300-400 mile mark, much like the Hoka Speedgoat 5, which uses the same Vibram outsole material. But the cushioning on trail runners is usually the thing that wears out first, not the lugs.
Recommendation
Altra’s Timp 5 Trail Runners are a great choice if you want a zero-drop trail runner with maximum cushion for hiking and backpacking. They have a large toe box that lets your toes splay out and relax with aggressive lugs underfoot that are positioned and oriented to provide enhanced traction and braking. The gaiter trap is a great convenience if you use gaiters that have a velcro patch in the back, while the shoes drain well but prevent sand and grit from entering where they can chew up your socks.
How does the Timp 5 compare to the Altra Lone Peak 8? The Timp 5 is a lot more shoe: more cushion, more traction, more protection, making them much better for hiking and backpacking (walking) than the Lone Peak 8. I’ve also found that the Timp 5 is a bit narrower in the middle and heel of the shoe and therefore less sloppy in terms of fit than the Lone Peak 8. Try both and decide for yourself.
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