Hey everybody this is Steve Moore owner of Run Moore this fabulous brick-and-mortar running shop located in Westminster Maryland.
Today we’re going to be talking about two versions of the very popular Altra Lone Peak that have come out this year, the Lone Peak Special Edition 10 year shoe and the Lone Peak Alpine. I wanted to start off with the Alpine because this is a fun, casual shoe that replaced two other we thought awesome shoes from Altra.
What is the Altra Lone Peak Alpine?
The Alpine is their casual everyday shoe, but it has the guts of the Lone Peak. It has the ego midsole, which is Altra’s really soft proprietary bouncy midsole, which makes for a sneaky cushioned shoe with more of a canvas and hemp upper.
While you might not want to go and run in this shoe. It is an awesome shoe to walk around in, maybe do a little bit of light hiking because it doesn’t have the same material as the other trail shoes. It’s not going to be great if you get it wet. It does not have great drainage and it is not going to have the same protection as if it has a stone guard in it, but it does have the MaxTrac outsole. It also has well-made hemp and canvas upper to it.
It’s not something I’m going to see rip and tear if you are going through some shrubs that has maybe thorns and such, but it’s not a shoe that I would want to maybe do a stream crossing in. This shoe has replaced two shoes that I mentioned before, one called the Wahweap and one called the Grafton. Both shoes were in that sort of casual line that Altra had that put out over the years.
What is the Altra LP Alpine Good For?
We’ve seen more of these kinds of shoes every year. Altra will come out with a shoe with a different feel that is different and outside of a traditional running shoe. They have plans to keep this shoe going, so hopefully going to be around for a while. But like as I said with the Grafton two years ago, if I was going out and playing disc golf, frisbee golf (which I’m a big fan of) this is the shoe for me. It is fun and casual but it’s going to give some grip when I’m trying to approach and that kind of stuff. It’s going to be good for walking through grass or through the woods, but I’m not necessarily running or going through stream crossings in this shoe.
I like the casual look of this shoe and I like the feel of the Altra with the rounded toe box. So, this is that perfect shoe to throw on with jeans and a pair of cargo shorts and go walk through the woods that kind of stuff. I often get compliments on this shoe because it’s just a cool-looking shoe.
It’s just a sharp-looking shoe, in my opinion, and as you can tell with my Lone Peak shirt I’m pretty into fashion (lol). So again, this is the Lone Peak Alpine it’s great ego midsole nice max track outsole based on the original Lone Peak.
Details:
- Weight: 11.3 oz / 322 g
- Midsole: Altra™ EGO midsole
- Outsole: DuraTread™
- Cushion: Moderate
- Stack Height: 25mm
- Upper: Hemp canvas vamp with suede overlays
Shop Men’s LP Alpine | Shop Women’s LP Alpine
What is the Altra Lone Peak Special Edition shoe?
Now we’re going to get into the brand-new shoe that is a throwback to the old shoe. This is the Lone Peak 5 special edition. So, it’s a little bit confusing, this is a throwback to the original Lone Peak which came out 10 years ago. It is hard to believe that Altra has now been around 10 years. This is what the original guy looked like; this is sort of the shoe that sparked a movement.
When this shoe came out if you don’t know the whole story, about the guys and Golden they started melting shoes together and making these cool zero-dropped rounded toe box shoes. This is what started it. So, this is sort of a throwback to it and while it looks like how it used to be when it first came out, it’s got all the bells and whistles that you would expect in the new shoe, so that’s why it’s called the Lone Peak 5 Special Edition.
I think when we first heard this was coming out, my immediate thought because I’m a dullard is that it was going to be just like a fresh run of what the original was. But no, you’re going to get all the things that you expect out of the performance of the new Lone Peak 5 just in this cool retro look.
What’s different about the Special Edition?
The other thing that I like about this sort of retro look, I think the upper is better so the upper on our traditional Lone Peak five. The normal lone peak, is laser engraved. It’s got some nice scratchy scratch to it, so it’s very protective it’s not going to rip, it’s not going to seam. It’s helped to be more breathable and to kick out moisture better. You can tell it’s a little gruff, it’s not quite as flexible as this Special Edition.
This new one is more of like a woven knit upper that has some flex to it, and it feels good under my foot. You can slide around from side to side, you feel like you have nice play there but not so much that you’re going to be falling out of the shoe. I just think it feels and flexes a little bit better, which I very much enjoyed.
It doesn’t come in wide like the current Lone Peak does. The current Lone Peak is the only trail shoe that Altra has that has a standard and a wide. This just comes in one just comes in the one color.
A Pleaser for Shoe Dorks like Me
This is exactly the color scheme that came out 10 years ago when Altra first launched with the Lone Peak. I like the fact that they kind of did this shoe. Me being sort of a shoe dork, you know if I was walking, I saw somebody in this shoe I would do like a hey wait a minute, is that the original guy or is this the new the newfangled special edition shoe? I think it was neat that they tried something different and the fact that you can kind of have like an homage to the old version while still getting all the bells and whistles with your stone guard with your fantastic drainage and with your ego midsole.
You’re going to be able to go out there and do the exact same things you wanted to do and, in my opinion, perhaps feel a little bit better with the way this upper feels underfoot.
What is so great about the Altra Lone Peak?
That’s just the way that I’m looking at it. I’m always surprised by the Lone Peak I know this is what Altra’s number one shoe road or trail is the Lone Peak but when I pull this for somebody who says they’re going backpacking, going on the at all that kind of stuff, when you pull it, and you compare it to like an Altra Olympus or something it looks so low profile. It has that look of like the Escalante where it’s got not a lot of stack height to it, but this ego midsole that they use in this shoe.
Some of their Altra stuff is so sneaky how much cushion is it’s amazing how much softness and cushion they kind of jam-packed in this small stack height at 25 millimeters. It’s impressive and you put it on your like man I feel good in cushion in this shoe, and I don’t need to have a shoe that’s 10 feet tall to feel like I’m protected. Especially knowing that you have a stone guard in there, so if you are going to step on something sharp, you’re going to be protected. It’s just a great everyday shoe and now you can kind of play a homage to the old guy and pop on the retro guy.
Conclusion
So again, the Lone Peak five special edition ten-year anniversary. This is a very short-run shoe, so this shoe is going to be around for a limited time. It’s a one-and-done kind of thing and only a few stores out there in the country are going to be able to have it. So, we’re very happy to have this.
Shop Men’s Special Edition Lone Peak | Shop Women’s Special Edition Lone Peak
Thanks for supporting our small business
If you’ve been around with Altra since the beginning leave us a comment down below. If you’re one of those people that have been here for a while, and you remember or maybe you even have a beat-up version one Lone Peak let me know down below. I think that’s kind of cool and as always stay safe out there and happy running thanks, guys.
