Anyone tried the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 NeoShell Mid?

[Jeff McWilliams]

So I’m in the market for a new pair of hiking footwear for this season.  I wear a size 13 WIDE, and I have flat feet.

I managed to wear holes into the sides of my Merrell Moab Ventilator Mid light hikers, probably because they were not the wide version as much as anything else.

Current short list includes:

New Balance 910v3 (I have used their trail runners in the past and like them)

Altra Lone Peak 3.0 (I have a somewhat worn out pair of 2.5’s)

Altra Lone Peak 3.0 NeoShell Mid

Altra Olympus 2.0 (ooooh.  I like the idea of more cushion. Does it sacrifice stability?)

Another pair of the Merrell Moab Ventilator mids, but in wide

While I’ve become comfortable wearing trail runners for day hikes and trail running, I haven’t quite gotten over the mental barrier of trying to wear them for longer multi-day backpacking where my total pack weight is in the low to mid-30’s.  (I’m often the trip leader, and I tend to be guide-ey and carry more than my fair share of group gear.)

I like the idea of trying the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 mids, but but I’m not a fan of having the WPB neoshell membrane in there.  I have a pair of Gore Bikewear WPB socks that I can slip on when I need waterproof.

 

[Ed Tyanich]

Jeff,

i love my Lone Peak Mids. I also wear a 13 and my feet are fairly wide and flat.

The Neoshell breathes better than GoreTex. So far I have used mine mostly hiking and snowshoeing with only a couple runs.

[Garrett McLarty]

I haven’t used the mids, but I have the neoshell low.   And it works awesome when it’s a bit damp or cold.  I have used them a lot including in snow with low gaiters.   They are a bit warm if it’s not cold out.   For me, it’s has to be faulty cold to want to wear them.

[John Brown]

I used a pair of NeoShell mids while snowshoeing for 4 days, then 3-4 days of around town snow use, and a week or so around town in the rain. They leaked immediately at the seam where the tongue meets the upper, and I felt like the NeoShell was soaking through after an hour or so. Was using gaiters in the snow, so it def wasn’t snow coming over the top. Either feet sweating to the point of sopping wet, or the neoshell soaked through. I returned them. Too bad, I liked the wide footbox.

 

[Justin Baker]

I ended up with dampness around the toe area in my lone peak mids after a few hours of hiking in above freezing snow. If I could identify a leak point, I could slap some seam seal on it maybe.

[Link .]

Here is Heather Anish’s Altra Lone Peak 3.0 Neoshell Mid Review .

[Brian Curtis]

I’ve got wide feet, but I find that wide shoes are either not wide enough or they have too much volume. The Lone Peak 2.5s were a revelation. I quickly bought a pair of NeoShell 2.0s. They didn’t fit quite as well as the 2.5s but still worked well for me. I was really looking forward to the 3.0 mids and I ordered a pair as soon as they were released. They had very clearly addressed all of my concerns with the 2.5s. I think the 3.0 is a far better shoe. But not for me. They were narrower and no longer fit.

But if you could hike in a pair of Merrill Ventilators they might work for you. I have a pair of wide ventilators which are still a bit too narrow, but I made them work by removing the lace from the first set of eyelets. So I can tighten them over most of my foot while not squeezing my toes.

[Christopher *]

Funny. I feel the same about the Neoshell 3.0 low tops. The 2.0 and 2.5 mesh were a good fit for my PITA to fit feet.

The 3.0 Neoshell uppers (lowtop mind you) feel tight against the sides of the balls of my feet. I have wondered if this might be that the Neoshell material has less inherent stretch than the mesh.

I’m going back to mesh, so I’ll know soon enough.

[robert courson]

I have a pair of the mids. Love them. I wear them in cool and wet/muddy conditions.

They do seem to get a bit wet, but that is ok as a trade off for me. I still wear them, they are that good.

BUT, I have worn them with snowshoes for two winters and have noticed that the waterproof membrane is too fragile for snowshoes. The straps on my snowshoes wore the material too thin, and in fact a small hole was created by one of the straps … and they now leak like a sieve. I do not recommend these for snowshoes that are designed with straps that fit over boots. Bummer.

I just put Seam Grip all over the toe box of the mids in hope that I will still will be able to wear them. I am waiting for some snow. Of course they are no longer breathable and look funny.

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