Customer Reviews Altra Lone Peak 4.5

I love my Lone Peak 4.0's. They are the perfect shoe and it seems to be a part of the reason why Altra is doing so well. They were a huge success and became the industry standard for trail running. Well, the 4.5 is a lot worse. They made them too narrow, and they added extra height to the back that rubs on your heels. I've tried everything I can to "break them in", but they just won't. My feet are constantly sore and full of blisters. What kind of leadership allows this to happen? Please go back to the 4.0's. If you have to change something, make them dry out faster. These do take quite a while longer than some other shoes to dry when soaked in river crossings.

These shoes looked awesome, both online and in person. When I tried them on, they felt great in the toe box, but more than a little snug in the back, above my heel. I went for about a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood and knew I couldn't keep them, the back of my feet hurt so bad. I had blisters from that short walk that took weeks to heal. I would try these again if they reduce the angle of the back in a future model, but for now I picked up a pair of Superior 4's that are much more comfortable.

I have been a Lone Peak fan for several years now. I started with the 3.0 and moved to the 3.5's. Although the sizing ran small and I had to go 1 size up than what I normally wear they were the perfect shoe for me and my feet on the trails. So many shoes are narrow and I thought I found my forever shoe. Well that is not the case with the 4.5's they are narrow and the size has gone to a standard sizing. I'm glad I purchased the shoes at my local retailer because I would have ordered the wrong size if I ordered them online. If you have a narrow foot these should work , but if you a have a wide foot these will not be your friend. Who needs pressure points on a long run or hike. No thanks. Please revert to the old design or you have lost a loyal Lone Peak user.

I went out and finally bought a pair after trying on LPs for nearly 4 years and being convinced to buy another shoe every time. I should have taken that as a hint. While the shoe felt good, with a secure heel cup, and wide toe box, it wasn't until I hit the trails that I realized that the midsole is unproportionately narrow and tight (due to lacing). I'll give them another shot and hope that they need to be broken in, but I'm not hopeful.

For years, I'd buy a pair of Lone Peaks, put 500-600 miles on them in 2 or 3 months, and then get a new pair. They always felt a little bulky and dried slow, but I could confidently do 20+ mile days with them fresh out of the box. I didn't have to strategically break them in, and I never got blisters. I loved them because I didn't have to think about them, they always just worked. Now, with my new Lone Peak 4.5s, despite taping my achilles and actually trying to break them in, both of my achilies have blisters. As someone who both loves running, and also backpacks as part of their job, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do now that I no longer have shoes that I'm confident in.

Love the feel of the footbed, and toe box shaped like my feet, Everything about this shoe seemed great quality. I thought for sure I had found a winner... sadly, not the case. These shoes are way too tight at the start of the laces, no flex there at all, even without laces the shoe cuts off circulation... My foot does not measure wide, only average width... perhaps my foot is more thick than most. This was my second attempt with Altra shoes, the first pair were a slip on model and they were so tight (in the same spot) that I couldn't even get my foot into the shoe.

I really wanted to like these; my wife surprised me w/ them at Christmas, However these are nothing like my earlier pair of LPs!! Last summer on a whim, I tried the Olympus 3s for longer runs & kept my LPs for shorter outings & hiking. Unlike my older pair of LPs w/ the new pair the sole is so thin i can feel everything, which after a few miles of hiking would have my feet hurting something fierce! I hate when show companies feel they need to change a shoe; most times they end up ruining a great shoe. will be calling CS to see about an exchange for a Timp or something else; unfortunately I can no longer wear the Lone Peaks. I tried uploading pictures of my shoes, but the site doesn't recognize my pictures??

The lone peak 4.5 was my first pair of Altras. I have wide, high-volume feet so the natural fit seemed really intriguing to me. I usually run in Salomon S/Lab Sense SG, but I wanted to try to support a new local running store and Altras were their main brand. The Lone peaks seemed to be the closest shoe to what I was used to. I'll be going back to my trusty Salomons after retiring these shoes. I mostly run on wet, technical single track here in the PNW. To summarize my feelings about this shoe, I would say it could work for really dry hard-packed double and single-track. However, at any sign of moisture or rocky technical trails, I would swap these shoes out for something else. Pros: I really wanted to love this shoe. I thought it was comfortable when trying it on in the store and my stride really opened up nicely because I'm a natural forefoot striker. The zero drop was really great. Minimal-drop shoes hard to come by these days and I loved the feel of these at first. Cons: - The outsole and upper of the shoe wore down really quickly: I'm retiring these shoes after 400km, but they were starting to fall apart after 250km. The upper has gaping holes in the sides from hitting sticks and rocks on the trail, and the rubber on some of the lugs is almost completely smooth. After about 250km, I was slipping off of rock slabs that had even the slightest bit of moisture on them. Overall, for most of the shoe's life I felt that I couldn't trust the tread on the bottom because I was slipping on the trail a lot. - the structure of the shoe is not rigid enough for my taste I often found that my foot would slide laterally inside the shoe because the sides of the shoe didn't hold my foot in place over the sole. This resulted in rolling my ankle way more than usual, and a general sense of unease on the trails. - heel felt a bit too wide What I love about the S/Lab line are the combination of narrow heel with slightly wider toe box.

What did they do to my beloved Lone Peaks? The fit on the 4.5s is dramatically different than the 4.0. No matter what socks I wear, on can't lock the heel on these. This was not a problem the 4.0s. Narrower width in the arch area will be uncomfortable after a day on the trail. I know everyone's feet are different, but they really screwed up this one!

Not stoked on these. Less than 100 miles and I have seams are coming loose and the soles are delaminating at the toe. Bummer because they're comfortable and provide great grip. I don't know how thru hikers use these, if go through 20 pairs for an AT hike at this rate. Reached out and was told to deal with the retailer....not the product support one would expect with an expensive trail runner, these issues started in the first 40 miles

Let me start by saying I am not a runner but a walker. These are the third pair of Loan peaks that I have owned and I loved the other two pairs. The last pair were the Loan Peak 3.5's and they were fantastic. I am a school teacher and I wore them everyday for about 3 months. Then I went to Colorado and did 250 miles on the Colorado Trail in them. When I got home I threw them in the wash and wore them another 3 months! I've had the 4.5's for 2 months now and I admit I didn't research the 4.5's before ordering them. I had had such good experiences with the other 2 pairs that I just expected another great shoe. When I got the new 4.5's right off the bat I noticed they didn't have the same amount of cushioning. They felt as if the cushioning was already compressed. Plus, the shoe is bigger than the 3.5. I wore them to school thinking that I would just get used to them but I have to say my heels started hurting when I would wear them. I really wanted them to work so I ended up sliding in some Dr. Scholl's thin inserts under the Loan Peak inserts. This made the 4.5's feel more like the 3.5's in width and cushion, but not quite. Now today I noticed that the sole is coming unglued from the upper! Yes I wear them everyday, but there is no way I walk more than 2 miles a day. This shouldn't be happening this soon. Really disappointed in the 4.5's.

I have full feet. Have enjoyed the midfoot and toe freedom of Altra. The new Lone Peak got narrow. It is your thing forefoot and toe room. Please bring back the freedom.

I loved the LP 4 and want to be excited for the LP 4.5. But after a 11 mile run I had a bad blister and bruising on the outside of my foot. I've never had any of these problems with the LP 4. It seems Altra decided to depart from their "wide toe box" and move towards a more narrower shoe. Why? The new upper is more restrictive.

I found the Lone Peak 4 to be just about the perfect trail running shoe for me. I've bought and burned through about five pairs so far. My local running shop was out of inventory, so I ordered the new 4.5 in size 13 Men. I'm returning it today. The 4.5 has two design changes that irritate me. 1 - The heel loop. It's been stitched to the back of the shoe, then stitched again... creating not just one big loop, but two small loops, neither of which are large enough for me to get a finger into, so it's no longer useful for pulling the shoe on. This isn't a huge issue. It's only annoying when putting the shoes on, and doesn't impact comfort or performance. 2 - Tongue stitching across the top of foot. This is why I'm returning this shoe. The new 4.5 changed the upper construction slightly so that there seems to be a discernible ridge/seam where the tongue is stitched to the top of the shoe. As a result, the top of the shoe is now really restrictive for me, and it feels like an uncomfortable band across the top of my foot. No amount of loosening / re-lacing improves this fit. Taking this pear back, and ordering as many LP4's as I can while older inventory exists...

Second run, a piece of gravel punctured through the sole and right into my foot, very bad experience. No protection against rocks even though there is a built in "rock guard". I wish I could like them because of how comfortable they are.

I've run in Altras for 15 years. I've come to count on a wide toe box. These Altras were so narrow through the midfoot and toe box, my feet hurt for two days after a break-in trip to the grocery store. I sent them back the next day.

Trail running - hiking on average 20 - 30 miles per week. I have bought a variety of Altra shoes and have enjoyed over 12 pairs of these shoes. I'm 6' 3" and weigh ~220 and wear a size 14. The Altra wide toe box was a God send after years of struggling to find a shoe that fit properly. The 4.0 version of the Lone Peak was great. The 4.5 is NOT. The shoe is cramped and the heel counter cut my heel on the second wearing, so much so that I took off the shoes and walked the last two miles of a six mile hike in socks to avoid the increasing pain and blood with each additional step. Hopefully, this will be corrected in the 5.0 version.

Only 2 months old wont wear because of lack of support

I would never purchase this product again. I have owned previous Lone Peaks in the same size, but I'm super unhappy with the 4.5 version. Within a mile of the first wear (just light walking), I developed achilles tendon blisters because the shoe pinches the area.

Felt tightness when I tried them on. Re-laced them; walked around the house and found them to be tight in the mid-foot around the bottom lace area. I searched Altra's web-site to see if the model had a wider width option which could have been the solve but no wider option available. Historically I have never needed to order a wider width in shoes. This was my first Altra brand purchase so I can't speak to past experiences but I will need to return them. However I did love the look of the shoe and feel of the sole. No issues with the length. I found these shoes to be narrow in the mid-foot in the area of the bottom lace. After a few miles of hiking the discomfort was almost unbearable even after relacing leaving the bottom loops empty. Does Altra make a trail shoe that is wider in this area? I have read many reviews delineating this same issue.

I found these shoes to be narrow in the mid-foot in the area of the bottom lace. After a few miles of hiking the discomfort was almost unbearable even after relacing leaving the bottom loops empty. Does Altra make a trail shoe that is wider in this area? I have read many reviews delineating this same issue.

I've been wearing nothing but lone peaks for the last few years, low, mid, mesh, rsm...and never had an issue with rubbing, pain, hotspots, blister, etc. Less than 2 miles in the 4.5's and I had to stop and figure out what was causing paid in my archilles. The shoes have been redesigned so that useless loop in the back is sewn directly into the top of the heel with no padding on top. I had bleeding cuts in the back of both archilles. I was really bummed, as I rave about my lone peaks all the time and these looked like they were going to be an improvement on the durability of the 4's. Too bad such a small, preventable design flaw ruined a good shoe!!