Since its launch in 2021, Canadian footwear firm, norda, has been persistently pushing the boundaries of trail-running footwear by mixing excessive efficiency with sustainable supplies. With their newest revolutionary launch, the 005, they’ve created a race-day shoe that isn’t solely light-weight and delicate, but in addition designed to final you 1,000 kilometres (a racing season or two)—an idea nearly unheard-of within the trade.
As norda’s founder and CEO, Nick Martire (who’s keen on automobile analogies), places it, “We’re right here to construct Lamborghinis. If it’s not the best, it can not bear the norda title.”
The inspiration behind the norda 005 stems from a obtrusive difficulty: most tremendous (racing) footwear are usually not designed to final–they carry out nicely for one, or probably two, races. This method didn’t sit nicely with norda, an organization dedicated to creating merchandise that prioritize each efficiency and longevity. By leveraging revolutionary supplies like bio-based Dyneema—the strongest and lightest fibre on Earth—and incorporating Arnitel’s cutting-edge tremendous foam midsole cushioning, norda aimed to craft a shoe that may redefine what’s doable in path operating.
The 005 took practically two years to develop, and concerned numerous iterations, athlete suggestions and a dedication to perfection. The 005 was constructed from scratch, that includes completely new expertise and design parts. “Every thing was new,” explains Louis-Martin Tremblay, norda’s head of design. “We wished it to be the lightest, strongest and most sturdy shoe ever made.”
The 005 has already confirmed its velocity and functionality on the worldwide stage. Canadian ultrarunner Ray Zahab and American ultrarunner Jason Schlarb had been the primary athletes to check the 005 extensively, with Schlarb attaining podium finishes on the UTMB Oman and Hardrock 100 whereas carrying the prototype. And Quebec’s Jean-François Cauchon wore the 005 en path to his course-record-setting efficiency on the 2024 Quebec Mega Path 100-mile race.
Superior supplies make a superior product
The shoe’s energy begins with the higher, which is made virtually completely of bio-based Dyneema, an ultra-strong and tremendous light-weight polyethylene fibre utilized in bulletproof vests, bike helmets and fishing strains. Weight for weight, Dyneema is about 15 occasions stronger than metal and is designed to permit pure foot splay whereas offering distinctive sturdiness and breathability–good for tackling among the hardest ultra-trail races on the planet like Hardrock 100, Western States 100 or Badwater 135. With Dyneema, there’s no want for overlays, as a result of the fabric is extremely sturdy. It’s extremely abrasion-resistant and gained’t puncture or tear, giving racers the arrogance that the higher gained’t allow them to down midway via their 100K race.
When Martire and Tremblay started designing the midsole, they knew Arnitel’s TPEE foam could be good for the challenge. (Arnitel is a brilliant foam that delivers the best rebound and resilience within the trade. Whereas most conventional racing footwear contain some compromise between power return and longevity, the 005 excels in each, because of the Arnitel midsole.) Relatively than a carbon-fibre plate embedded within the midsole, Martire determined to make the 005’s midsole 100 per cent Arnitel. (Beforehand, the best proportion of Arnitel utilized in a racing midsole was 30 per cent.)
The explanation manufacturers haven’t made a shoe of 100 per cent Arnitel previously comes down to 2 issues: price and availability. Arnitel foam is costlier in comparison with conventional supplies like EVA, which many manufacturers use on account of decrease manufacturing prices. Arnitel foam may also not be as available or broadly used within the trade as different foams, making it tougher for some manufacturers to supply. Just like footwear with a midsole plate, the 005’s midsole is extremely responsive, and likewise protecting: “Our athletes have by no means felt rebound like this,” says Tremblay. “And the restoration time after racing with a shoe like that is a lot quicker.”
In a path shoe with probably the most superior higher and midsole on the planet, the outsole needed to be equally good. The 005’s outsole options Vibram’s most superior rubber compound so far–Vibram MegaGrip Elite. “We wished the outsole to be as reliable as a seatbelt,” Martire says. This revolutionary materials offers glorious, dependable traction, notably on descents and in unpredictable situations. As Martire places it, “If you’re so assured that you simply gained’t slip or slide, that’s the place the 005 modifications issues.” Lab assessments by norda present that this outsole is 15 per cent grippier than the 002’s.
The 005 combines three of probably the most superior applied sciences within the operating shoe trade—Dyneema, Arnitel and Vibram MegaGrip Elite—for the primary time. If you mix three of one of the best, you get a shoe that delivers on efficiency, sturdiness and sustainability.
Challenges and breakthroughs
Creating the 005 didn’t come with out hurdles. The crew encountered important challenges, notably with the Dyneema higher, which had by no means been utilized in a efficiency operating shoe. Tremblay tells Canadian Working they wished to work with the world’s strongest materials to develop a seamless and blister-free higher that might face up to powerful situations and terrain. However the course of required intensive trial and error: “We needed to scrap virtually every little thing a yr into improvement,” Tremblay reveals. “We had been studying as we had been constructing it, so we needed to get again to the roots and work out what we had been attempting to perform.”
The midsole additionally introduced a novel problem; Tremblay says it went via greater than 100 iterations earlier than they discovered the right formulation, balancing rebound, density and sturdiness. The crew wished path runners to have the ability to really feel the terrain underneath their toes, which meant they didn’t desire a stack top that was too excessive. It was difficult to seek out the candy spot between cushioning and floor really feel.
However they evidently hit the candy spot; Martire recollects asking Schlarb to make use of the prototype whereas coaching in Oman, with out racing in it, in order to not spark curiosity in regards to the shoe earlier than it was prepared for market. Schlarb ignored Martire’s request–and completed on the rostrum. “I had a rocket in my bag,” Schlarb texted. “So why not use it?”
The design philosophy
The event course of for the 005 concerned seven prototype iterations earlier than the crew agreed on the ultimate design. Tremblay knew the shoe didn’t have to be flashy; its cutting-edge options would communicate for themselves and make it stand out on the planet of trail-running footwear. “When norda designs a shoe, we aren’t simply what’s in entrance of us within the path trade,” he says. “We’re conscious of what different main manufacturers are doing, however we’re largely impressed by adjoining industries and don’t look to footwear, as a result of our innovation objective is a lot greater than what at present exists from the most important manufacturers.”
Norda’s dedication to sustainability can be evident within the 005’s design. Whereas Martire notes that no shoe might be completely recycled into one other, the Arnitel midsole makes use of as much as 30 per cent recycled compounds, and the supplies’ sturdiness ensures the shoe lasts considerably longer than the rest in the marketplace. With a lifespan of greater than 1,000 kilometres, the 005 gives unmatched worth, permitting most severe ultra-trail runners to get via a yr of racing with simply two pairs.
Norda’s broader mission is to create efficiency merchandise that go away a optimistic legacy. “There are 22 billion footwear despatched to landfills yearly,” says Martire. “The perfect factor we are able to do at norda is create a product that lasts longer.”
The market
Designed primarily as a race-day shoe, the norda 005 might help any path runner attain new heights. “This shoe is for anybody who needs to realize their full potential,” says Martire. “Whether or not you’re competing at elite ranges or pushing private limits, the 005’s mixture of cutting-edge expertise and sturdiness makes it as much as the duty.”
Greater than only a path shoe, the 005 is a press release from the Montreal-based model—a daring proclamation that efficiency, sustainability and design excellence can all coexist in a shoe that appears like a bit of artwork.
For runners who’re able to tackle the top of innovation, the 005 will probably be out there worldwide in mid-March on norda’s web site (nordarun.com), priced at US$325 and C$325—a nod to the model’s Canadian roots. This can be a “high of the road” shoe; Martire says the worth displays a model that’s pushing efficiency and duty, premium supplies and premium craftsmanship.
The launch of the 005 alerts a pivotal second for the operating footwear trade and invitations different manufacturers to rethink their method to sustainability and efficiency. By setting new requirements, norda not solely enhances the athlete’s expertise but in addition contributes to a extra conscientious future for footwear design.
Produced in partnership with norda