Not sure. I don’t worry much about zero drop, arch support, or some other things. I rotate shoes nearly daily from Brooks to Topo to M2C and so on. With Altra I liked the grip and weight, which for trail are my primary concerns. I’ve found comparable grip and weight in other shoes now. My Altra Timp 2’s were my favorite shoe, and they died of natural causes and didn’t fail. That was years ago. Everything after fell apart. Why? I’m sure what you said is a big part of it. In any case I’ll not ever use them again, it’s just not a good ROI for me.
The M2C T1 is my closest Lone Peak style shoe that’s not a Topo I guess. But it’s not the popular big ass flipper/paddle shaped shoe that’s folks like. I have a wide-ish foot, but I don’t necessarily sweat the shape unless it’s squeezing my foot in an extreme way. I just use the dual lacing setup to relieve some pressure up front.
My surprising find was that my glutes got really sore when starting the zero drop journey. They did help against PF, so that was great. Now I just wish they made Timps/Olympus' in wide versions as I may need more cushioning than what LP's have.
I love Altras as well - have done many CO hikes in Altra Timp - very comfortable yet not bulky. I’ve also hiking in ordinary Nike running shoes, no problem!
I have hyper-flexible feet and tendency toward supination. I have been wearing Altra Timp trail running shoes and Chacos (Z / Cloud) for hiking, and find these are well cushioned, comfortable and stable.
Have you tried the Timp? To me they have a little more squish than Lone Peak, but not quite as much as my moon shoes (Olympus, lol)
I’ve also become interested in trying the MtC shoes but just haven’t branched out yet.
Once upon a time I was around 200lbs (as a 5’2”ish girlie) and never had any complaints about my Altra Timps. This year I lost 75lbs and found that I like the Altra Olympus for a cushier ride on long runs. 10/10 for both shoes, but Altras do seem to wear faster than my Nike Wildhorse used to (I loved the 5 and every model since has been a flop for me). I get 300-350ish miles on them before the tread starts coming apart. If they change the Timp radically when they update it they will rue the day (and I’ll prob finally try out Mount to Coast).
Look at the Mount to Coast H1. It’s a hybrid shoe. I’ve worn it on the treadmill, rail trail, and normal east coast mountain trails (rooty & rocky) with no issues at all. I just switched in the last month or so after years consistently running in the Timp & Olympus because I was starting to have some plantar fasciitis issues. Fell in love with MtC and now run in the H1 & just scooped a pair of T1s. I think it’s a 6mm drop, but worth eyeballing.
I have trouble finding the right zero drop/wide toe box shoe. I am happy with my Altras on the road, like Paradigm 6 and Torin 8. I currently run on Lone Peak 9+, which fits perfectly fine, but I just wish it had more cushioning. I tried Timps, Mont Blancs, Olympus 6, Opympus 275…either issues with heels or too narrow.
Then again I wonder if I would be happy with more cushioning at all on technical trails. I just finished my first self sustained marathon (43km/1500m vert) and it didn‘t feel bad, there is just the little voice that tells me that I might be wrecking my joints too much in the long run (pun intended).
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
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