Review: Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Hiking Shoes

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If you are looking for a lightweight large-toe box hiking shoe or trail runner then you need to take a look at the Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Hiking Shoes. My wife wears the shoes and loves them. She’s had them since 2019 and close to 60 natural surface trail hiking on them and some minor concrete walking.

Features

Taken directly from the Amazon Sales Page.

• Imported Rubber sole
• Go Further:
• Our original Altra EGO foam is designed to provide added energy return and a responsive, yet soft, comfortable feel.
• Get Comfortable: Signature Altra balanced cushioning and FootShape toe boxes allow your toes to spread and encourages proper, low-impact form throughout your run
• Stay Focused: With our MaxTrac outsole and multi-directional TrailClaw lug pattern for grippy traction, you can focus on the trail infront of you
• Stay Dry: A weather-resistant eVent bootie surrounding your foot keeps you prepared for even the wettest conditions

Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Hiking Shoes – Long-Term Review

Altra Lone Peaks and High Peaks have been on my list to get for trail runners for some time. I find that there are times when my heavy Oboz is just too heavy and uncomfortable for short hikes and easy day hikes and my street shoes are just aren’t good enough for a day of trail easy trail hiking (many people prefer a cross-trainer style shoe for basic trail hiking) .

When my wife and I were being fitted for hiking shoes at REI Dallas the sales team brought us several different boots and trail runners. Due to my feet not being used to minimalist (barefoot or minimal shoe between the feet and ground) zero drop shoes. They said it would be uncomfortable and painful at times until built strength in my feet and ankles. Basically, I would have to strength train and wear barefoot-style shoes to build up the needed tolerances. So I’m stuck with a traditional hiking boot. But at this point, I’m mostly wearing zero-drop shoes and Xero Shoes at the gym and casual wear.

My wife fell instantly in love with the Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Trail Runners. She did purchase a pair of traditional hiking boots. She wore those for one hike and hated them. I ended up returning the shoes to REI for her (gotta love the REI return policy).

I first noticed that the shoes were lightweight, flexible, and waterproof up to just below the ankles. The material is a lightweight waterproof material. Material is also strong enough that resists rocks and other things that can rip open a pair of shoes.

When it comes to gripping the ground they do great on slick rock, wet surfaces, and dirt tracks that can be slippery the rubber lugs do a great job at keeping your feet in place.

To help protect the bottom of your feet from rocks and rough surfaces Altra provides a stone guard that slips inside the shoes that creates a more rigid footbed. Trusty on a rocky trail these will help protect the bottoms of your feet.

Another cool feature is the built-end sand and mud gaiter mounts. For an additional cost, you can purchase Altra’s Gaiters which you can use to keep your pants from getting muddy or help keep sand out of your shoes.

The pair reviewed was an Altra Lone Peak 2  All-WTHR. This hiking shoe does come in mid-boot as well. There are also several new versions of the shoes available on the market but all about the same in features and in quality.

What We Like:

• Lightweight
• Water-resistant for most the shoe
• Large toe box
• Zero drop
• minimal barefoot design

We Do Not Like:

• The Price

Please Note (I mentioned this earlier): If you aren’t familiar with shoes with wide toe boxes, zero drop/minimalist, and then soled shoes they will hurt your feet the first few times you use them. I read several reviews from die-hard hikers that feel heavy traditional hiking boots are the way to go. They mentioned that the wide toe boxes and the extra comfort levels that these provide compromise stability and other things you need on a fairly technical trail. My wife wore these and is still wearing these shoes on easy to moderately difficult trails without issues. She likes the fact she can feel the ground under her feet and the shoes almost wrap around the rocks as she scrambles over them. Others have mentioned the shoes are a lot more slippery on slick and wet rocks. We found this wasn’t the case. She was able to wander around wet rocks and slick rocks a lot easier than I was than me using my Obos. I recommend a good break-in period and a trial run on easy trails similar to the harder more aggressive trails you plan on using these trail shoes before going on the official trail hike. I plan on getting a pair at some point and plan on wondering around easy trails for about a month before taking these out on a more difficult trail system.

If you are looking for a good lightweight minimalist trail runner that will keep your toes dry, you need to give the Altra Lone Peak All-WTHR Hiking Shoes a try. They can be purchased on Amazon, REI, and other outfitter shops.