GEAR NEWS
THE NORTH FACE – VECTIV
Making strides on the trail.
Words: James McCormack
(This story originally featured in Wild #179)
If you’ve been following the world of elite competitive running over the last year or two, you’d be aware of the huge strides (pun intended) that have been made in athletic footwear. As records all the way from the marathon down to the 5K have been shattered, attention has turned to the carbon fibre plate technology that’s been incorporated into the shoes worn by the athletes involved.
Until recently, those carbon fibre plated shoes were restricted to road runners and track athletes. But The North Face has just introduced its VECTIV line of trail-focused footwear, the first company to incorporate the technology into trail shoes. And the records have begun to tumble, even here in Australia. Wearing the Flight VECTIV, three TNF athletes—David Byrne, Blake Hose, and Victoria Beck—went to Kosciuszko NP in February 2021 to tackle some of Australia’s highest peaks and hunt for FKTs (Fastest Known Times). Beck ran the 8.47km, 837m elevation gain route from Thredbo Village to Kosciuszko’s summit in just 1 hour, 13 minutes. Blake Hose set the FKT from Charlotte Pass to the Sentinel and back (if you’ve never been there, the trail finishes with a beautiful but technical route along a knife-edged ridge and saddle). David Byrne, meanwhile, went for the granddaddy of them all: Hannels Spur to Kossie’s summit. It’s Australia’s biggest climb with nearly 2,000m elevation gain. The route is long, steep, and punishing, and bushwalkers frequently split the trip into two days, but Byrne ran the 16km in just 2 hours, 38 minutes.
Not only does the Flight VECTIV apparently offer the potential for faster times, TNF says third-party research indicates VECTIV technology reduces downhill tibial impact by 10%. It means a longer trail runs with less compounding impact. Interestingly, however, TNF isn’t restricting the technology to running shoes. There’s a range of VECTIV hiking shoes landing in Australia shortly, too, along with amid-height boot called the Exploris that has a Futurelightwaterproof/breathable membrane. Look for the hiking shoes and boots in April, while the trail runners became available in March.
Get more info at: thenorthface.com.au.