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Backpacking Light

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You are here: Home / Gear Reviews / SpotLite Gear Reviews / Altra Lone Peak NeoShell Review

Altra Lone Peak NeoShell Review

by Chase Jordan on April 1, 2016 SpotLite Gear Reviews

Introduction

The Altra Lone Peak Neoshell (Gen 2.0) is a zero-drop, wide toe-box shoe designed to keep feet dry by preventing environmental moisture from permeating the shoe and by allowing breathability, thereby mitigating cold, wet feet. The obvious application in the context of our audience is for ultralight backpacking during the fringe seasons of fall and spring.

Altra Lone Peak Neoshell Review for ultralight backpacking

Consider the Altra Lone Peak Neoshell for ultralight backpacking in fringe seasons. Aggressive sole, zero-drop, wide toe-box, durable outer. Photo: Altra.

Features and Specifications

  • Weight: 11.9 oz (337 g)
  • Key Features:
    • Toebox: wide;
    • Cushioning: moderate;
    • Midsole: dual layer EVA;
    • Outsole: sticky rubber with aggressive tread lugs;
    • Insole: minimally supportive (no meaningful arch);
    • Fabric: Polartec NeoShell (waterproof-breathable);
    • Rock plate: yes;
    • Gaiter attachment: yes.
Altra Lone Peak Neoshells with Northern Lites Snowshoes | Photo: Stephanie Jordan

The author wearing Altra Lone Peak 2.0 NeoShell shoes with Northern Lites Snowshoes while hiking Mt. Ellis near Bozeman, MT. Photo: Stephanie Jordan

Performance Notes

My initial experience with the Altra Lone Peak 2.0 Neoshell shoes was taking a winter day hike in New World Gulch near Bozeman, MT, with the family and the dog. The daytime high was in the low twenties and snow flurries were persistent throughout the day. We strapped on our trail spikes and gaiters and proceeded about two miles to a viewpoint overlooking the south buttress of the Bridger Range. There were no stream crossings, and most of the hike was over a relatively good boot pack. The bootpack became lower in quality as we progressed to our turnaround point and temperatures cooled into the teens. Snowfall intensified on the return hike to the vehicles. My feet remained isolated from outside moisture, without sacrificing breathability. I had warm, dry feet. Granted, this isn’t a robust test of the shoe’s worthiness for extended backpacking, but in the context of this type of review (a SpotLite review, which provides a cursory overview of a product based on limited field use), it didn’t reveal any dramatic inconsistencies with manufacturer claims.

Update: Since I wrote the initial draft of this review, I’ve had the chance to hike several dozen miles in the Altra Lone Peak NeoShells, including several miles of overnight backpacking in winter (snowy) conditions, and my experience to date remains consistent with my initial performance notes.

Performance Highlights

  • The Altra Lone Peak 2.0 NeoShell shoes in combination with merino wool socks and gaiters have kept my feet warm and dry, even in subfreezing conditions while hiking over snow.
  • Because these are a low-top running shoe, optimum moisture sealing requires that these shoes be paired with a well-sealing gaiter (and a high gaiter at that, for snowy conditions) to prevent moisture from penetrating the shoe through its collar.
  • The shoes mate well with most snowshoe bindings that we’ve tried. Trail spikes (e.g., Kahtoola MicroSpikes) do not seat well on the front of the shoe due to the wide toebox. For most conditions, this isn’t a problem. For steep side-hilling, microspikes tend to slide off the toe of the shoe.
DSC_0279

The author wearing his trail spikes while hiking in Altra Lone Peak 2.0 NeoShells on the Mt. Ellis Trail near Bozeman, MT. The shoes have deep, widely-spaced lugs for reasonable grip in soft snow and dirt. The lugs aren’t deep enough for reasonable traction in mud. Photo: Stephanie Jordan

Summary

Strengths:

  • The shoe fabric is waterproof and seems to breathe as well (or as bad?!) as any Gore-Tex fabric shoe.
  • The shoe sole provides good grip in loose snow, dense mud, and mixed conditions, extending its applicability to fringe seasons.
  • Heavily cushioned platform provides extra insulation during winter and allows for comfortable trekking while wearing a heavy pack.
  • Even when not using the Altra gaiters, one can use most gaiters with the product, as long as the gaiter seals well around the shoe’s relatively low ankle cut – test your gaiter fit.
  • The shoe is light – at less than 12 oz, it’s lighter than most waterproof-breathable trail shoes.

Limitations:

  • The laces that come with the shoe become loose in the cold and stretch significantly when wet. Replace them!
  • Without gaiters, waterproofing is less than adequate as a result of a poor seal between the tongue and the rest of the shoe. A gusseted tongue would be a valuable change.

Recommendations

I’ve been wearing Altra Lone Peak shoes for several years (since Gen 1) for all of my training, hiking and backpacking (including in the winter). So, I have to admit a little bias towards the NeoShell model, particularly as it gives me warmer, dryer feet during the eight months of the year I spend outside in Montana’s fringe and winter seasons!

If you spend lots of time outdoors snowshoeing or spiking in the winter, you will find that the Altra Lone Peak NeoShells, in combination with a pair of gaiters, keep feet warmer and dryer than non-waterproof models.

A low ankle collar and poor tongue seal render them prone to leakage at shallow stream crossings, or in deeper snow, especially without a very tight-sealing gaiter.

altra, trail running shoes

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Comments

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  • Author
    Posts
  • Apr 1, 2016 at 4:03 pm #3393346
    Chase Jordan
    Moderator

    @chasemilo99-2

    Locale: Northeast US

    Companion forum thread to: Altra Lone Peak NeoShell Review

    The Altra Lone Peak Neoshell: light, zero-drop, wide toebox, waterproof-breathable. An ultralight backpacker’s shoe for the fringe season?

    Apr 2, 2016 at 5:19 pm #3393588
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    Neoshell is supposed to have a CFM of 0.5. That makes me wonder if these shoes dry out in a reasonable time. If that’s the case, these shoes could eliminate the major disadvantage of a waterproof shoe. But the other consideration is neoshell has 10k hydrostatic head and drops to 5k after a good amount of use, would be that sufficient for walking around in puddles?

    Apr 3, 2016 at 9:52 pm #3393790
    Mitchell Ebbott
    Spectator

    @mebbott-2

    Locale: SoCal

    Justin, I think a 5K HH would be plenty for puddles. Stepping in a puddle puts very little water pressure on the fabric—far less, I’m sure, than a falling raindrop in a heavy storm. And 5K is more than enough to stop a raindrop.

    Apr 4, 2016 at 5:12 pm #3393937
    Mark Baker
    BPL Member

    @blewkitty

    Was that 12 oz for a shoe or the pair.

     

    Thanks

    Apr 4, 2016 at 7:44 pm #3393960
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Per shoe

    Apr 6, 2016 at 2:47 pm #3394344
    NFN Scout
    BPL Member

    @scoutout

    I’ve had my version of these shoes since they first arrived and have put hundreds of miles on them. Let me add some more info to the spotlight review:

    • I’ve been using them lots with Hillsound Trail Crampons (we shy away from Kahtoola on the White Mountains, because Hillsound have sharper spikes for the steepest ice). I find they work great. (see pic for a really steep ice section) But they are not as easy to use fixed crampons with, the sole is too flexible. Also fine for my snowshoes.
    • I’ve used them on 12 hr hiking days with pack and don’t need to take them off at end. Really nice.
    • With wet from bottom (puddles) they are very good.
    • With foot sweat… moderate to good. Had some sweat in my socks after longest days.
    • With heavy rain? Horrid. Tongue soaks up the water. (but they survived the light rains of Ireland fine)
    • Overall? Light and I find I use them as my main hiking shoes in all but very coldest weather. BUT???? I find these shoes among my most slippery on wet rocks. Kinda crazy for a waterproof shoe. I still just deal with it… but it’s an odd weakness. 
    Apr 22, 2016 at 9:03 pm #3397532
    Ryan K
    BPL Member

    @ryan-keane

    Thanks for the review!  These look pretty good – the only other ones I’ve found comparable are the Merrell All Out Terra Ice Waterproof.  After some hikes/trail runs this mild winter in wet, sloppy snow and massive puddles (and complete fails using plastic bag WPB), I was considering getting something waterproof, but I just love my Trail Glove 3’s too much and don’t think I can handle having more than double the stack height and loss in ground feel.  I’ve been debating instead trying a pair of waterproof socks like Dexshell.  Ice is still a problem – I’ve tried every type of microspikes available at REI and they all just crumple my shoe and foot, very uncomfortable.  Once I need to get a new pair, I think I’ll try inserting some metal screws in the bottom of my old pair, although I’m sure they won’t handle anything like the picture above.

     

    Apr 23, 2016 at 7:57 am #3397566
    Iago Vazquez
    BPL Member

    @iago

    Locale: Boston & Galicia, Spain

    @ Ryan K,

    Not sure if these would be of any interest to you… https://gearjunkie.com/altra-golden-spike-track-shoe-review

    Apr 23, 2016 at 9:20 am #3397578
    Ryan K
    BPL Member

    @ryan-keane

    Thank Iago!  Those look pretty nice – reasonable prospective price too.  The article seems to emphasize these are only for sprinters, but seems like they would work fine long-distance for barefoot-style forefoot runners/hikers.  Not waterproof like Neoshell or Terra Ice, but I’m still not sure if having waterproof on a trail runner is ideal anyways for cold, wet conditions vs waterproof socks.  We had such a mild winter this year in Boston, there were only a few weeks I was stomping through slush puddles and trying to crawl up icy rock ledges.

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