How the World's Most Advanced Trail Running Shoe Was Made

norda often finds its high-end trail running footwear compared to luxury automobiles, and Lamborghini is a constant descriptor. Though co-founder and CEO Nick Martire appreciates the craftsmanship and prestige of the Italian sports car manufacturer, he sees it a little differently. "I like to think that we're making the Pagani of trail running shoes," he says. "There's zero compromise in our products."

And the brand is ready to bring the most advanced expression of that ethos yet to market after two years of development: the norda 005. Billed as the lightest, fastest and most stable trail running "super shoe" ever made, and designed to conquer the world's most grueling races like the Canyons 100K and Western States ultra-distance events that are elite tests of a runner's physical and mental fortitude. In short, the 005 is loaded with Superman-level tech that would make Lex Luthor salivate.

Chief among these is the 005's midsole, which features Arnitel foam, a thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE), that's regarded as one of the most advanced foam compounds in the world. Though Arnitel foam is used on other brands' footwear — a popular example is the adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra, a shoe that was lauded for its combination of road "super shoe" feel and trail-handling performance — most brands use no more than 30% Arnitel in their midsoles, and combine it with another, more standard foam like ethylele vinyl acetate (EVA).

The 005's midsole is built of 100% Arnitel foam.

Midsoles for almost every "super shoe" in the world, be it road or trail, are produced in a single factory due to the cost of the foam compounds needed to make them and the equipment required to produce those compounds. But, when the norda team went to the factory, they didn't go with demands. Instead, they arrived with questions. "The production manager asked us what we wanted: what kind of ride we were looking for, what parameters we wanted on our midsole," he says. "I just told him, 'You're the best midsole manufacturer in the world. Give me the best.' He didn't understand what I was asking, because most brands go to the factory and dictate instead of asking, but his face lit up when he realized he could create a midsole of 100% Arnitel, which had never been done before." The result of that ask, and a full year of midsole R&D resulted in a build with a whopping 80% + resiliency rate, meaning more than double the cushioning, support and responsiveness of most "super shoe" midsoles.

Technical innovation is core to the rest of the design as well. The 005 offers a bio-based Dyneema upper that Martire (half-jokingly) notes is strong enough to hang a car from, as Dyneema, a woven material, is up to 15 times stronger than steel by weight while remaining incredibly light (a men's size 8.5 005 weighs in at just 214 grams). The Dyneema weave is slightly looser than the weaves used on past norda models to eliminate "hot spots" and provide enhanced water drainage, as during trail ultramarathons, runners often have to cross streams and combat puddles. To round off the top half, laces offer their own custom Bio-Dyneema build as well, while the norda Fit Lock System, a proprietary blend of a micro-suede tongue and heel collar pods, aid with lockdown. Martire notes that Nike co-founder and legendary University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman would discuss lightening his shoes so they'd enable the wearer to lift 50 grams per stride less and wanted to apply a similar mindset to trail ultramarathons. "If you think about lifting 50 less grams per step, that works out to something crazy, like 15,000 pounds of energy efficiency saved over the course of an ultramarathon," he ponders. "You likely won't sense that as 15,000 pounds, but the lighter you can make something, the less weight the human body has to carry."

And, for a finishing touch, the 005's outsole offers another "first": it's the retail debut of Vibram's Megagrip Elite outsole technology. An ultra high-tack rubber spread across a custom sole pattern with 4mm lugs, Megagrip Elite is the evolution of Vibram's familar Megagrip technology, developed in partnership with norda. In 2024, norda's elite 665 trail racing team was given prototype iterations of the brand's 001 sneaker, upgraded with Megagrip Elite sole plates in place of their standard Megagrip construction. "After eight months of races, our athletes came back to us and said, unanimously, that the new compound was incredible," Martire says. "Vibram originally didn't want to roll it out until the tail end of 2025, but they were willing to move it up for the launch of the 005 — they said it was only fitting that the lightest, strongest trail shoe to date had their best technology."

To date, durability has not been a factor in many "super shoes." The adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 is a $500 road racing shoe that was designed for a single marathon. Nike states that its premire Alphafly 3 can last from 200-250 miles, but for pure race usage the benefits it offers begin to decrease after 50-100 miles due to its minimal build. norda, on the other hand, prides itself on models that can run up to (and beyond) 500 miles. "Our vision was making a 'super shoe' that can last across several race days," says Martire. "There seems to be this philosophy across the big brands to make these incredible shoes, but shoes that will run you 500 bucks a pop and might not even last more than one race. Our vision is to make a shoe that can last many, many race days."

A shoe that can last "many, many race days" like the 005 doesn't replace anything in the norda lexicon either — instead, the brand prefers to view its product line as a holistic range of offerings for various purposes, which it calls a "toolkit." As Martire tells it, the 001, norda's debut model, is an ultra-distance trainer, while the 002 is a technical trainer for shorter, faster distances — or runs with a significant amount of vertical gain as it's the sleekest, lowest-to-the-ground ride in the brand's lineup. The 003 is a laceless option apt for approaches, climbing, and casual use. (It's also jokingly called a "podium shoe," as many of the athletes in norda's elite 665 team will often change into it after finishing their races). And the 004 is on the way as well. It just so happened that the 005 was completed first.

The norda 005 will touch down on March 13, retailing for $325 USD, and more colors (plus, potentially even collaborations) should be arriving at the tail end of 2025 and into 2026. Just because it's a milestone moment for the brand, an amalgamation of the world's finest tech, doesn't mean Martire is done looking forward, though. After all, norda was founded on an ethos of always striving for the next peak.

"I've been making shoes for 25 years, and I'm still an apprentice who's learning every day," he says. "I'm biased, of course, but I think the 005 is the best trail shoe ever made. But that doesn't mean I'm unaware of the fact that someone else will come out with something 'better' in the future. We're always looking to make the best for today and for tomorrow. Innovation in footwear will never stop moving forward."

The norda 005 will release via norda's online store on March 13. It's priced at $325 USD.

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