The Altra Timp 5 is a highly-cushioned zero-drop path operating shoe with a large toe field that’s standard with hikers and backpackers. They’ve thick Vibram soles made with Megagrip rubber (new) that present wonderful traction on dry and moist surfaces with multi-directional lugs that help in turning and braking. The uppers are made with a porous nylon mesh with a positive weave for drainage with printed overlays that assist scale back abrasion. They’ve Altra’s “customary” measurement toe field that lets your toes splay out for enhanced consolation with a powerful quantity of toebox safety to assist hold your toenails intact. Like all Atra path runners, the Timp 5 comes with a gaiter entice on the heel to safe a gaiter and assist forestall path particles from coming into the shoe.
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Specs at a Look
- Greatest Use: Path Working and Mountaineering
- Path Runner Shoe Kind: Rugged Trails
- Cushioning: Most
- Waterproof/Breathable: No
- Heel to Toe Drop (mm): 0
- Heel Stack Top (mm): 29
- Forefoot Stack top (mm): 29
- Higher: Nylon Mesh
- Rock Plate: No
- Midsole: Altra EGO MAX foam (ie. foam)
- Outsole: Vibram Megagrip
- Vegan: Sure
- Extensive Sizes Obtainable?: No
- Weight: 1 lb 4 oz / pair (males’s measurement 10.5 US)
- Sizing: I discovered them true to measurement
The Altra Timp 5 is a closely cushioned path runner that gives noticeably extra consolation and shock absorption than the Altra Lone Peak 8 (see assessment) we reviewed just lately. Since they’re each zero-drop footwear, I believed it’d be attention-grabbing to strive each since I’m on the hunt for a brand new pair of path runners that I can replenish on for mountaineering and backpacking this yr. Quite a few readers have additionally inspired me to strive the Timp through the years and this newest mannequin, with a brand new Vibram Megagrip rubber outsole, sounded fairly promising. (Altra clients have been griping concerning the poor traction and sturdiness of Altra’s proprietary outsoles, that are nonetheless used on the Lone Peak 8, for years.)
Path Really feel
The Timp’s signature characteristic is an outsized toe field which lets your toes splay out as for those who have been strolling barefoot. Altra footwear can be found with toe field volumes of various sizes: the Timp has a typical measurement toe field quantity, the place the Lone Peak 8 makes use of Altra’s unique wider toebox. That is very totally different from many path runners, which nonetheless have slender toe bins that prohibit toe motion, though many manufacturers have expanded theirs in recent times to compete with Altra and reply to person preferences.
The Timp is a zero-drop path runner that means that the heel and the toes are an equal distance from the bottom. This enables for a extra steady foot strike and a extra pure and environment friendly stride, with impacts unfold out throughout the whole floor of the foot.
Certainly one of my favourite options on Altra Trainers is the gaiter entice, positioned on the again of the heel of the shoe. It’s a chunk of velcro that makes it quite simple to put on a Soiled Woman Gaiter which attaches to velcro in the back of the heel. A gaiter entice like it is a necessity in case your shoe’s outsoles are flat, with out a heel arch, which is the case with the Timp. I discover it mind-boggling that different manufacturers don’t supply the identical performance on their path runners since gaiter use is so prevalent.
Stability
The Timp 5 is a steady path runner, partially, as a result of it’s a zero-drop shoe the place your forefoot and heel are on the similar top. With its 29 mm stack top and flat outsole, it’s much less vulnerable to ankle rolling since you’re fairly near the bottom. That and the improved proprioception you get from strolling with spayed toes make it a lot simpler to sense and adapt to altering path circumstances and terrain.
Safety
As a path runner, you will need to have a shoe that’s going to guard the bottoms of your ft . You additionally need a breathable higher that permits your ft to ventilate whereas conserving out particulates of mud, sand, and grit that can wreak havoc in your socks.
The Timp 5 does each. The thick cushioning within the Timp sole supplies nice shock absorption with out being sloppy, significantly for mountaineering, despite the fact that the footwear should not have a rock plate. There’s additionally a considerable diploma of toe safety up entrance offered by the cushion, overlays that shield the toe field from abrasion, and a entrance toe kick.
The finely pored breathable mesh of the higher does a very good job of stopping coarse sand and grit from coming into the shoe. It is a huge deal since many path runners with large-pored mesh uppers fail miserably on this dimension, particularly in sandy desert terrain or when fording streams. The mesh additionally drains properly and dries rapidly, significantly on the entrance of the shoe the place there’s much less padding within the uppers. The heels, in distinction, take for much longer to dry as a result of the padding is a lot thicker within the heel cup.
Vibram Sole and Lugs
The brand new Vibram Outsole supplies nice traction on dry and moist surfaces and has grooved channels to channel away water. The lugs aren’t very giant however the rubber is gentle like a climbing shoe and offers good buy on exhausting irregular surfaces like rock. I’ve been carrying the Timps for the previous 2 weeks, so it’s too early to find out how lengthy the soles will final, however I believe they’ll put on out near the 300-400 mile mark, very like the Hoka Speedgoat 5, which makes use of the identical Vibram outsole materials. However the cushioning on path runners is normally the factor that wears out first, not the lugs.
Suggestion
Altra’s Timp 5 Path Runners are a terrific selection if you would like a zero-drop path runner with most cushion for mountaineering and backpacking. They’ve a big toe field that lets your toes splay out and loosen up with aggressive lugs underfoot which are positioned and oriented to offer enhanced traction and braking. The gaiter entice is a superb comfort for those who use gaiters which have a velcro patch within the again, whereas the footwear drain properly however forestall sand and grit from coming into the place they’ll chew up your socks.
How does the Timp 5 examine to the Altra Lone Peak 8? The Timp 5 is much more shoe: extra cushion, extra traction, extra safety, making them significantly better for mountaineering and backpacking (strolling) than the Lone Peak 8. I’ve additionally discovered that the Timp 5 is a bit narrower within the center and heel of the shoe and due to this fact much less sloppy when it comes to match than the Lone Peak 8. Attempt each and determine for your self.
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