Altra has launched two new hiking boots that are lightweight, but don't compromise on grip. The Altra Timp Hiker and its waterproof counterpart, the Timp Hiker GTX, both have a Vibram Megagrip outsole to provide extra traction on wet and dry surfaces.
If you're not familiar with Vibram (pronounced 'vee-bram'), it's a brand of shoe sole licensed by an Italian company of the same name that was founded by Italian mountaineer Vitale Bramani, who lost six friends in an accident in the Italian Alps. Bramani blamed his friends' poor quality footwear, which was fitted with either leather soles or hobnails, and set about engineering a rubber sole with deep lugs as a safer alternative. For more details, take a look at our guide what is a Vibram sole and what's so special about them.
