We trust gear more when we know it’s been tested by the best. It’s reassuring to know that the designs we wear and rely on outdoors weren't just forged in a boardroom (and it's usually easy to tell when that's the case). Far better when they've been proven in the elements and at the highest level. You'd think every brand operates this way, but they don't. Norda does, and its new Trail Team capsule is built on this concept of athlete-informed design.
The collection was developed with feedback from Norda’s new Trail Team athletes. It includes a new colorway of the brand’s 055 trail running shoe, the Luster Cap, Podium Shirt, and, most notably, the Aura 12L, the brand’s first-ever hydration vest. The collection drops globally on 12 November, 2026 at 6 AM ET.
Norda's First Trail Running Vest
The Aura 12L is a lightweight hydration vest built for the extremes. It was designed to meet the demands of some of the world’s toughest ultras, like UTMB and Hardrock, drawing direct insight from athlete experiences at those events. Development included use by Norda's athletes as they prepared for these races. “From training in the San Juan Mountains to racing the Hardrock 100, I put the Aura vest through some of the most demanding conditions in mountain running,” said Jimmy Elam, a Norda Trail Team athlete, in a press release.
The storage is strategic, seamless, and sweeping, totaling nine pockets and anchors for a pole quiver, without sacrificing its lightweight build. Open mesh fabric on the straps and back keeps the runner’s comfort in mind, while a whistle and reflective detailing shows up for safety (requirements for the major trail events the vest was imagined for). For all of its features and storage, the Aura 12L shapeshifts to provide a close, no-bounce fit. “The vest feels like an extension of my body, with moments I forget I’m wearing it at all,” Elam said.
Built By The Team
The Trail Team capsule demonstrates Norda's continued dedication to making products that are proven by the athletes who ask the most of their gear. The Quebec-based company's catalogue is still relatively limited, yet Norda footwear has an outsized presence on podiums in trail running's biggest events. (Rachel Entrekin won the 2026 Cocodona 250 and placed 2nd at UTMB wearing the 055.) Even the 000, a shoe developed to kick off a partnership with Black Diamond that isn't explicitly for racing, was developed with Joe Grant's specific style of mountain running in mind.
Similarly, the Aura 12L was shaped by the people who push it hardest. Don't be surprised to see its lime green flash by you on a trail somewhere in the Alps before long.
