The North Face’s Off-Road Running Shoe Takes an Experimental Route
The North Face Summit Series, the pinnacle technical product line from The North Face, has a new, experimental-looking running sneaker.
The North Face Off-Trail Running Shoe doesn’t keep to the same formula as the American outdoor brand’s other rugged running footwear. In fact, it's unlike most outdoor running shoes altogether.
Developed to handle going off-road on the mountains, beyond the constraints of predetermined trails, the rugged outdoor running shoes have a laceless, sock-like construction.
Easily adjustable through a premium BOA® Li2 dial, a system normally found on workwear shoes, the sneaker consists of an inner sock and an integrated gaiter to help keep debris out of the shoe (necessary for when you’re on really tricky terrain).
Elsewhere, the shoe has all the additional bells and whistles you would expect from a hi-tech mountain running shoe: EVA cushioning, a grippy sole, and a reinforced toecap for protection. This shoe was developed in close partnership with The North Face® athlete team, so it has everything a professional runner could need.
The product most synonymous with The North Face is its jackets, you can hardly go ten minutes without seeing one during the winter months, however, it’s recently been putting extra focus on its sneaker line.
Between its beefy sandal-sneaker hybrids, Salomon-esque outdoor shoes, and surprisingly stylish zip-up sneakers, The North Face is claiming its stake as a leading outdoor sneaker brand.
Its new line of Off-Trail shoes, available now from the North Face’s website with this laceless running model retailing for $199, shows the brand pushing the boundaries of off-road performance footwear.
The new era of super-shoes is likely going to be laceless and TNF is bringing the benefits of slip-on sneakers to mountain running.