Sole Searching is an ongoing series of deep dives into past, present, and future icons of the outdoor footwear world, supported by Vibram. Earlier features go inside the history of Bedrock Sandals, Kílian Jornet's NNormal, Arc'teryx’s innovative Vertex Alpine, and more.
There's an arms race happening in the field of trail running footwear. The theatre of engagement: Western States, UTMB, and a string of other elite trail running events where a win can propel any runner to glory—via grueling effort of course. The competition is equally fierce behind the scenes, where R&D departments vie to make sure their brand's shoes end up on the podium. In Big Outdoor, the little guys seldom win. But Norda, a newcomer to the fray that launched in 2020, continues to punch well above its weight with sleek styling and innovative materials no other company is using. If the 001 turned heads, the all-new race day ready Norda 005, with the world debut use of Vibram Megagrip Elite, is poised to break barriers.
The Norda 005 is the brand's fourth shoe ("We skipped the four—the five was just too fast," Norda Co-Founder Nick Martire tells me). Yet already, the 005 has accompanied Jason Schlarb to third place at the Hardrock 100 race, Jean-François Cauchon to a first place finish at the Québec Mega Trail, Rich Lockwood to first at the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, and Matt Seidel to third place at the JFK 50 Mile. How does a company that debuted its first shoe less than five years ago achieve so much so fast?