Continuing our ongoing coverage of iconic footwear designs and the people who brought them to life, we’ve turned our attention to the new Arc’teryx Vertex Alpine to learn how athlete testing and Vibram sole technology helped create a light and capable approach shoe unlike any before it. Though the Canadian brand commonly receives credit for their industry-leading outerwear, for several seasons now its shoe program has steadily gained traction with highly-technical running, hiking, and alpine climbing footwear.
While planning its first Vertex shoe in 2023, the Arc’teryx footwear team set out to design a running shoe inspired by climbers by combining a lightweight upper, a deeply-lugged outsole, and an integrated knit collar to keep out debris. Now in 2024, the brand has flipped the script to bring the next generation Vertex Alpine to market by injecting climbing DNA into the original shoe concept—the result is the first alpine shoe to use Vibram XS Flash 2 rubber and an approach shoe slash trail runner in a category all its own.
“The definition of the word ‘vertex’ is both the summit and an intersection of two points,” Arc’teryx Senior Director of Global Footwear Design Josh Herr reminds us, “for us that’s where ascent and speed meet.” And where this innovative new shoe is defined.