Our reviews are 100% organic. We do not accept payment for reviews or bundle with advertising budgets. In most cases, the brand is providing the product to our reviewers free of charge. The Timp was introduced to the Altra lineup as a rugged trail running shoe built for long days on moderate to technical terrain. During a relatively brief tenure, it has alternately enamored and frustrated users with a variety of fit and functional changes from one version to the next. This year, the Timp 4 returns to that initial mission of the shoe, with extensive updates to the uppers, midsole and outsole that bolster its performance features and improve comfort, making these an attractive option for ultra-long distances on rough trails.
Standard last with rounded toe box
Primary changes to the upper are focused on the heel cup as well as forefoot drainage. The heel cup padding has been updated along with a softer interior lining and a slightly taller height on the ankle for a more secure and comfortable fit in the rearfoot. In the forefoot, exterior mesh webbing from the upper is integrated into the midsole to help with lockdown against the foot platform, and three drainage ports on either side of the forefoot help shed water with each foot strike after immersion. Altra has incorporated different types of drainage ports in various trail shoe models in recent years, and in our testing, the ports on the Timp 4 are the largest and most effective ones they have come up with to date. We also found the toe box to have slightly greater height than on version 3, and the protective overlays at the front of the toe box are much more flexible than on the Timp 3.
Close up of forefoot drainage ports
As with all Altra shoes, the Timp 4 has a rounded, FootShape toe box, and the last is classified as a standard fit. Altra has recently made extra efforts to specify the differences between the lasts of their shoes, which vary slightly in width. The standard fit is similar to most of Altra’s road shoe lasts, as well as the Superior trail shoe, and is slightly narrower overall than the “original” shape found on the Lone Peak and Olympus models. Both lasts have a similarly rounded toe box, but if you have particularly wide feet you might be better suited for the Olympus or Lone Peak models, as the Timp 4 won’t be available in wide options. From a cushioning standpoint, the 29mm Timp sits right between the 25mm Lone Peak and 33mm Olympus. Lengthwise, the Timp 4 runs true to size for our testers.
Altra foot shapes
The most noticeable change to the Timp 4 is the use of their EGO MAX midsole instead of the Quantic compound on version 3. EGO MAX is Altra’s premier performance midsole compound and will also be found on the company’s new speed trail and road models (Mont Blanc and Vanish, respectively) that we are currently testing. The difference from the old Quantic compound to the EGO MAX is pretty dramatic, as the Timp 4 has a lot of responsiveness and energy return that version 3 seemed to lack. The ride of the shoe gives a nice combination of softness on impact with rapid bounciness for forward propulsion, and the EGO MAX has greater resiliency and durability than the Quantic compound, so the performance benefit should last for a longer lifespan than any previous Timp shoe.
The outsole of the Timp 4 uses an upgraded version of Altra’s proprietary MaxTrac rubber compound, which has increased grippiness right out of the box and a more secure feel in wet conditions than with previous editions. The multi-directional outsole lug pattern and flexion grooves have been completely redesigned, and despite a relatively shallow lug height of 3mm, we were pleased with this shoe’s traction in a variety of trail conditions. The upside of shallower lugs is that the Timp 4 rolls smoothly on roads to trail transitions. Despite a lower lug height, we found the grip and traction of the Timp 4 to be comparable to other models like the Lone Peak and Superior with greater lug depth.
Updated MaxTrac outsole
Fans of early versions of the Timp should be pleased to see this shoe re-establish itself as a durable, secure and comfortable option for big training days as well as 100K to 100M races and beyond.
The Altra Timp 4 is available in men’s and women’s versions from www.altrarunning.com.
Features and Specs:
- Weight: 10.9oz men’s / 9.2oz women’s
- Stack Height (heel/toe, in mm): 29/29
- Heel-Toe Drop (mm): 0mm
- Upper: Reinforced mesh with TPU overlays and forefoot drainage ports
- Midsole: EGO Max foam compound
- Outsole: MaxTrac rubber with 3mm lugs
- 4 color options for men and women
- MSRP: $160