Timp 2

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.

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).

Altra Timp has been my go-to shoe for a few years. Recently switched to the Speedland GL:PDX and really like it.

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). 

Huge vote from me for the Altra Timp.

fellow PA rock walker here - I’ve had similar achilles issues with all the hiking shoes that actually fit my foot shape but have been happiest with Altra Timps for fit and padding. doubling up on socks has helped with the achilles pressure issues somehow, i use low cut injinji socks as an inner and darn tough hiker socks as an outer.

Be aware that the timps have a different foot shape. Took me too long to figure out why they didn’t fit like the lone peaks.