No-Carbon, Lower-Stack Super Shoe: Norda 005 First Look Review

Every time I’ve met with Norda founder Nick Martire, it’s as if I’m Mark Cuban and we’re on the set of Shark Tank. The pitch is always passionate and intense. He is an entrepreneur straight out of central casting; each interaction is superlative-laden and memorable.

Norda is a darling of the trail running scene, but there isn’t a line of marketing or PR people shielding Martire from the media. He answers emails directly and always willingly addresses any product feedback you have.

It’s incredibly rare and refreshing in footwear to have this relationship with the person who invents the product. From the barn in Canada where the brand is based, Martire has created some world-class shoes, none more exciting than their latest, the Norda 005 ($325).

I first saw the 005 at a special showcase in Boulder, Colo., at Vibram’s headquarters last August. Thirsty for them ever since, I finally got a pair to test in time for today’s official launch.

In short: This is a self-proclaimed super shoe, but unlike others in that category, the Norda 005 has no carbon fiber plate. Instead, a mix of very high-end materials, a lower stack height, and a sub-8-ounce weight makes this a much more logical racing shoe option compared to the flashy, but unstable, trail super shoes from adidas, Hoka, and Nike. With similar performance numbers but at around 35% less weight, Norda is challenging the still-nascent status quo of trail super shoes.

Norda 005 Running Shoe Review

Materials

Compared to previous Norda models like the 001 and 002, the 005 is distinctly lightweight. The large slab of midsole foam gives the shoe a slightly chunky appearance, but in your hand and on foot, the shoe defies its appearance.

Norda gives the shoe its racing weight by using some of the most expensive materials available. Collectively, the materials help give the shoe its $325 price tag, but it is expensive for good reason. Besides the outsole eventually wearing out, the other components should be virtually indestructible against almost all trail elements.

And, thanks to its partnership with Vibram, this is one of the few trail running shoes to have a resoling option through Vibram’s shoe repair program. (Kilian Jornet’s Nnormal brand is another running shoe company that works with Vibram’s outsole repair program.)

In the 005’s upper, Norda uses Dyneema, a material I knew in the past only from rock climbing backpacks, never shoes. In practice, it’s a brilliant idea — the open-mesh is not only ultra-lightweight and strong, but it’s also breathable to help with water drainage and moisture transfer. Dyneema reportedly has a strength-to-weight ratio 15 times greater than steel.

Norda 005: Testing on Foot

Admittedly, this is an extremely early review, as I’ve only had the shoes for a few days and for a few runs.

Martire’s enthusiasm about the midsole is justified. The shoe is cushy but not damp, and it was interesting to compare the rebound against the other shoe I’ve been running in the most, the new Tracksmith Eliot Racer (a true road super shoe).

I immediately took the 005 to the same gravel roads where I’d been doing intervals in the Eliot Racer to compare how efficient and effective the 005 is at speed. If it weren’t for a stiff headwind blowing off the Continental Divide, I’m confident my splits would have been comparable.

The 005 feels exceptionally light on foot, even in the men’s size 13 (EUR 47) I’m testing. I won’t have to swap a fast road shoe for the 005 for non-technical offroad workouts. It feels that fast, and you’re not sacrificing performance. Though the 005 has been billed as a capable shoe for long and technical ultramarathons, I’m confident it will perform perfectly for the shorter and faster trail races I prefer.

Midsole Foam, Stack

The technology behind the 005’s midsole is Arnitel TPEE; this is a foam that reportedly offers an 80%+ resiliency rate. Norda chose Arnitel after 2 years of extensive testing by its athlete team.

This is energy efficiency that competes with carbon-plated shoes, while the absence of a plate means better ground feel and maneuverability.

In the hyper-stacked world we live in, the 005 is refreshingly moderate. The shoe has a 7.0mm drop, with a 28mm stack in the heel, and a 21.5mm stack in the forefoot. This is right around the golden ratio that you need for fast, responsive running.

Ground-feel seems to be a notion that is lost on trail super shoe manufacturers in general. After being over-stoked for the first couple of years of trail super shoes, I’ve since come back to non-plated, lower-stack shoes much more often. I simply can’t go fast downhill in the super shoe styles.

For reference, the current crop — like the new The North Face Summit Vectiv Pro 3 with its 37mm heel stack, the 42mm heel stack of the adidas Agravic Speed Ultra, or the Hoka Tecton X 3’s 40mm stack in the heel — has made those shoes wildly unproductive for me on technical trail descents.

All of the straight-line or uphill speed they generate is lost on the downhills when the max-stack heights and stiff plates force you to too gingerly navigate uneven terrain to avoid rolling your ankles or worse. The 005 feels nimble and spritely and so far, it grips like no other shoe I’ve tested.

Sole

The 005 is the first trail shoe in history to use Vibram’s Megagrip Elite. What many are calling a “tetris” lug pattern is a departure from trail shoes’ typical chevron-style lugs.

Vibram calls this the grippiest and lightest formulation it has ever created. While running the roads to get to the trail head, I felt a distinct stickiness that I could only liken to Velcro. I’ll avoid using these shoes on pavement to prevent wasting any of the super-tacky 4mm lugs.

Norda said that the lug depth, pattern, and Megagrip Elite is ideal for transitions between technical trails and fire roads. By Norda’s own admission, the 005 may be best suited to the terrains on West Coast races like Western States, Black Canyons, and other events that have huge portions of fast, flat surfaces with technical ascent and descent. East Coast runners may be disadvantaged by the rooty and rugged terrain typical of trails there.

Who Should Run in the Norda 005?

Norda is an investment. One of the ways the company justifies the cost is by highlighting its sustainability mission, primarily through the very long lifespan of the shoes.

Like many companies before it, the use of higher-quality, longer-lasting materials might add cost, but it also adds usable life.

Since the Bio-Dyneema upper should virtually never rip, the outsole can be fully replaced. And with the midsole’s resilience rated so highly, the investment in the 005 sets you up for a much longer relationship with these shoes over lesser-quality shoes.

Miles-to-Dollar Math: Is $325 Too Much? 

The conundrum with super shoes is they are so fun and fast to train in that I almost never relegate them simply for racing. Because I receive test shoes from brands, I don’t face the difficult choice of whether to invest in such a promising (and expensive) shoe designed specifically for racing.

Ultimately, you’re unlikely to find a faster and more comfortable trail running shoe than this exquisite new offering from Norda. I will continue testing and offer GearJunkie readers a longer-term review — hopefully to help make that decision a little easier.