I’ve been a big fan of zero drop shoes for a long time, but for some reason until recently I hadn’t tried a pair of shoes from Altra who are possibly the best known brand of zero drop shoes.
I’d read lots of good things about the new version of the popular Timp and was expecting great things, but how would they stack up against the other trail shoes in my current rotation.
Straight out of the box the Timp felt comfortable, but the upper did feel stiffer than I was expecting. I must say that having now done over 200 miles in them, the upper hasn’t softened up at all, but despite this, isn’t uncomfortable, it just doesn’t flex as much as most other trail shoes I’ve tried.
I am slightly biased because I will generally buy anything the colour green, and with the Timp I have being what Altra call the colour ‘dusty olive’, I was always going to like the look of these shoes. But despite that, I do think that these shoes look great, but if you’re not used to it, the wide toe box does take a little getting used to when looking down at your feet. But we all know that it’s far more important on how the shoes feel than what they look like……
The Timp 5 comes with the Altra EGO Max midsole and the Vibram Megagrip outsole. If you’ve looked at any trail shoes recently the chances are you’ve seen some with the vibram megagrip on, which is proving popular at the moment, and rightly so as I think it is setting the standard in grip. There are 4mm lugs on the outsole, which despite not being the deepest, don’t cause too many problems with grip, and I didn’t have any problems with grip during a recent 45 mile ultra in the Peak District. As with a lot of trail shoes nowadays these aren’t designed for heavy mud, and I would recommend going for something like the Lone Peak if you thought this would be a problem. I have also done quite a few road miles in these, and they have felt reasonably comfortable and the tarmac doesn’t appear to have worn down the lugs too much.
Features –
- Midsole: Altra EGO™ MAX
- Outsole: Vibram® Megagrip
- Stack Height: 29 mm
- Drop: 0 mm
- Footshape: Altra’s Standard Fit
- Cushioning: High
- Weight: 9.8 oz / 277 g
Conclusion –
I have really enjoyed running in the Timp, and have enjoyed the better ground feel that the zero drop has given me. The Vibram megasole grips well to most things, and although doesn’t cope with serious heavy mud, is more than enough for the majority of our Nofolk trails. Although this is one of Altra’s more cushioned trail shoes, if you are used to cushioned shoes from other brands you might find the ride hard, but all in all the Timp has become one of my favourite shoes in my current rotation and one that I will continue to wear a lot.
N.B these shoes were paid for by myself and not gifted. The Timp 5 is available for purchase from Sportlink
