Altra Lone Peak Running Shoe – A Review

There are tons and tons of running shoes on the market today; everything from super cushioned shoes to ultra minimalist shoes. The Altra Lone Peak fits into the minimalist category but it is a different kind of minimalist shoe.

Background: A minimalist running shoe is a shoe that provides little support to your feet and allows you feet to function the way they were meant to as shock absorbers. When you run with a minimalist style shoe you are allowing you foot to spread out and absorb some of the shock as you run. You are also able to gather more feedback from the surface you are running on so that you can change your running style accordingly.

Review: As stated before the Altra Lone Peak is a minimalist shoe but it is a trail minimalist shoe. As a trail running shoe it is designed to take the abuse of running off road. These running shoes a very well suited for this. The Lone Peaks has a rock guard built into the sole and a lot of minimalist shoes don’t have that. This prevents rocks from coming up through the shoe and potentially injuring your feet. The small amount of padding on the bottom also helps with rock protection. This may make it sound like it isn’t a minimalist shoe but remember a minimalist shoe lets your foot spread out naturally, and these shoes do that very nicely. They also have a very aggressive sole to help with traction on the trail. One unusual feature that they have is a small “mudflap” on the back. It kind of seems strange to have it but it is supposed to be a throwback to the running shoes of yesteryear. The toe box on the Lone Peaks is very wide. It seems to be wider than a lot of the other minimalist running shoes, but this isn’t a problem. The toe box allows your foot to move naturally through your stride and absorb some of the shock.

These running shoes are not waterproof like some other trail shoes are but when these get wet is doesn’t affect your running. The water drains away very quickly so that your foot isn’t sloshing around. They dry out very fast as well even on overcast days the shoes were dry by the time I was done with most of my runs. The snow is also not a problem in these shoes. They don’t have any insulation so some thicker socks are needed to keep your feet warm but the shoes perform very well on the slippery snow and ice.

Conclusion: Overall these running shoes have been very good to me. I have been running on the consistently for about a month and a half and have had no problems with them. If you are just beginning to run the trails I would highly recommend this running shoe to you. The construction is great and the fit is even better.