…

HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING BOOTS CAME A LONG WAY 20 YEARS AGO, THEN DECKED OUT ABOUT A DECADE BEFORE NOW, WITH OTHER THAN A FEW EXCEPTIONS, VERY LITTLE PROGRESS. THEY DO WHAT THEY NEED TO, TO FILL A NICHE THAT IS 99% UNCHANGING, WITH THE NICHE TOO MONOPOLIZED TO ACCEPT MAJOR INNOVATION.

APPROACH SHOES HAVE FOLLOWED A SIMILAR CURVE, HITTING A PLATEAU OF NEED YEARS AGO, SPLITTING INTO TECHNICAL APPROACH SHOES THAT CLIMB 5.10, LO FI TRAIL RUNNERS FOR NICE APPROACHES ON TRAILS, AND LEAVING THE REST TO THE MARKET OF SUMMER WEIGHT BOOTS. ALL THIS WORKS – BUT NOT REALLY FOR US, AND OUR TRIPS USUALLY INVOLVE AN ARRAY OF APPROACH SHOE CHOICES AND EVERYONE SAYING NOTHING REALLY WORKS.

ALL THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL BANES OF OUR EXISTENCE, AS OUR TRIPS STRUGGLE TO SQUEEZE PERFORMANCE OUT OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THAT JUST DON’T DO WHAT WE NEED, AS ONE OF OUR GUYS SAID RECENTLY WHILST PACKING FOR TIBET IN A FEW WEEKS  “HAVE YOU NOTICED NEARLY EVERYTHING WE USE IS EITHER CUSTOM, PROTOTYPES OR MODIFIED?”, WHICH IS FINE WHEN WE HAVE COLLABORATIVE COMPANIES TO INNOVATE ON TENTS, PACKS, INSULATION, HARDWARE AND SPECIALITY STUFF, BUT WHICH LEAVES GAPING HOLES FOR THINGS THAT WE DON’T.

THE HARDEST THING TO MODIFY AND HAVE CUSTOMIZED IS FOOTWEAR – WE KNOW BECAUSE WE HAVE SPENT YEARS TRYING. YES, THERE’S THE SWAPPING OUT OF LINERS, FOOTBEDS AND CLOSURE SYSTEMS, BUT CONCEPTUALLY IT’S VERY HARD TO DO, A) BECAUSE VERY FEW BOOT COMPANIES ARE WILLING, WHICH MEANS, B) IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE. THIS MEANS BOOTS OF ALL SORTS ARE THE MAIN WEAKNESS WE SEE IN SYSTEMS AS IT GENERATES THE MOST NOISE, DESPITE BEING A LARGE AND DYNAMIC INDUSTRY.

ANYWAY…

WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN APPROACH SHOES, IT BEING A MAJOR WAY TO CUT WEIGHT AND SIMPLIFY THINGS ON TRIPS. BEING ABLE TO HAVE ONE PAIR OF BIG BOOTS FOR UP HIGH, AND ANOTHER PAIR FOR EVERYTHING ELSE FROM HOME TO THE GLACIERS, IS A BIG ADVANTAGE, AND IS AN ETERNAL SEARCH FOR SOME SORT OF GRAIL THAT HAS INVOLVED MANY CONTENDERS BUT FEW WORTH A SECOND CHANCE.

FOR US, THE IDEAL SHOE FOR EVERYTHING OTHER THAN CLIMBING IS LIGHT FOR PROLONGED WEAR, RUGGED AND STABLE FOR HARD USE, PROTECTIVE FOR USE IN COLD, ICY AND TREACHEROUS TERRAIN, AND KIND TO THE FEET AS A BREAK FROM RIGID DOUBLE BOOTS. THEY NEED TO HAPPILY TAKE MICROSPIKES, GRIP RELIABLY ON FROZEN RIVERS AND SHIFTING SCREE, AND ABSORB THE FORCE OF BIG LOADS CARRIED ON TIRED LEGS FOR BACK-TO-BACK DAYS OR WEEKS.

VARIOUS SHOES WILL DO SOME OF THIS – WITH LOTS OF CAVEATS, LOTS OF COMPROMISE AND LOTS OF WISHING YOU HAD SOMETHING ELSE – BUT NONE REALLY PULL IT ALL TOGETHER WITH ENOUGH OVERLAP TO CALL IT GOOD. THIS DOESN’T MATTER MUCH FOR APPROACHES THAT HAPPEN OVER EASY OR TAME TERRAIN WHERE EASY AND TAME BOOTS ABOUND, BUT IT TAKES A SERIOUSLY NICHE COMPANY TO ADDRESS SOLUTIONS TO THINGS FEW EVEN SEE.

…

ENTER NNORMAL

WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH NNORMAL, SO NOTHING TO LOSE SAYING WHAT WE WANT. THEIR STAR FACE, KILIAN JORNET, GAVE UP SALOMON FOR THIS WHICH IS A SIGN OF SOMETHING WE SUPPOSE, AND HE DOES ALL SORTS OF GREAT STUFF IN THEM, THOUGH ANY RELATION TO WHAT WE WANT FROM THEM IS CLEARLY IRRELEVANT. NNORMAL HAS EMERGED FROM THE BALLOONING ULTRA SCENE, WHERE MORE PEOPLE RUNNING MORE MILES IS CREATING A MARKET OF NICHES WORTH INVESTING IN. WHILST ULTRAS ARE NOT NEW, THE EMERGENCE FROM THE LUNATIC FRINGE IS, SOMETHING STILL IN IT’S FIRST DECADE WHICH IS WHERE THE STEEP UPWARD CURVE OF INNOVATION HAPPENS.

WE DO LIKE THESE NICHE COMPANIES THOUGH, THAT DO ONE OR TWO ONLY, AND DO THEM REALLY WELL. NNORMAL IS PRETTY HIPSTER OUT IN THE ULTRA WORLD AS PART OF THE NEW GENERATIONS OF SHOES AIMED AT THE SMALL SCENE THAT RUN ENORMOUS MILES AND THE LARGE SCENE THAT LIKES TO LOOK LIKE THEY DO, AND IN THIS CASE, NNORMAL HAS BYPASSED SOME OF THE WEAKNESSES THAT SIMILAR SHOES FALL FOR.

NNORMAL SHOES ARE SIMPLE, FOCUSED ONLY ON WHAT COUNTS, HYPER-SPECIFIC, RUTHLESSLY DESIGNED, AND WITH ALL THIS TOGETHER, SOMEWHAT AWKWARD IN THE MARKET BUT NOT ON THE FEET. THEY LACK THE WOO OF DYNEEMA NORDA HAS, THE SPACE ODDITY NOVELTY AND EXPERIMENTATION OF HOKA AND THE ‘BIONIC MAN’ ATHLETE AESTHETIC OF SALOMON AND NORTH FACE, TO BE A NO BULLSHIT SOLUTION TO COVERING DISTANCES, CANDIED UP WITH JUST ENOUGH COLOURS AND GRAPHICS TO AVOID LOOKING LIKE REMEDIAL FOOTWEAR. 

…

THE NNORMAL TOMIR 0.2 BOOT

THE NNORMAL TOMIR 0.2 BOOT IS AS CLOSE AS ANY HAVE COME. IT’S NOT PERFECT, BUT IT’S CLOSE ENOUGH, WITH SOME SWAPPING OUT PUSHING IT TO THE FRONT. SOLD AS WINTER RUNNING OR ‘FASTPACKING’ SHOES, WITH A FEW TWEAKS THEY SCALE UP EASILY, WITH THE MAIN ATTRIBUTES OF BEING TRUE ULTRA DISTANCE SHOES COVERING THE MAIN FACTORS.

WEIGHT THESE BOOTS ARE REALLY LIGHT, BEING EFFECTIVELY A HIGH TOP ULTRA SHOE. THEY ARE NOT ‘RACE LIGHT’ ie MEANT TO THROW DOWN JUST FOR EXTREME OCCASIONAL USE, BUT COMPARED TO ANY OTHER LIGHT BOOT MADE FOR SERIOUS TERRAIN THEY ARE BY FAR THE LIGHTEST OPTION.

STABILITY THESE LOOK LIKE FAT SOLED, HOKA-STYLE MAX CUSHIONED ULTRA SHOES BUT THEY ARE NOT, AND HAVE A SURPRISINGLY SOLID FEEL, NOTHING OF THE CLOUD-LIKE QUALITY FOUND IN SUPER SHOES. THE FOOT SITS WELL BELOW THE UPPER RIM OF THE CHUNKY SOLE, AND WELL WITHIN THE FRONT AND REAR EDGES, MAKING FOR A VERY STABLE PLATFORM THAT SPREADS WEIGHT BUT AVOIDS ANY TEETERING OR FEEL OF BULK. THIS MATTERS HUGELY WHEN THE LOADS GET BIG, THE MILES LONG AND THE TERRAIN UNEVEN, AND WOULD BE ENOUGH FOR AN ULTRA WITH 5KG, BUT ISN’T WHEN LOADS HOVER AROUND 40% BODY WEIGHT.

FIXING THIS IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF A BETTER FOOTBED, THROWING AWAY THE CHEAP STOCK ONE AND REPLACING IT WITH SOMETHING WITH MORE CUSHION. THERE’S A DOZEN CHOICES HERE, WITH THE NEW TYPES OF FOAMS COMING OUT OF ULTRA SHOES BEING EXCELLENT, AS WELL AS KEEPING TO A WEIGHT PARADIGM.

DESIGN THE TOMIRS ARE SIMPLE. THEY HAVE FEW PANELS, HARDLY ANY SEAMS, NO REAL GIMMICKS, AND DON’T RELY ON EXOTIC MATERIALS AND BLING TO DO WHAT THEY DO. WE LOVE INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT WHERE IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE BUT HAVE YET TO SEE MUCH OF THE STUFF THROWN INTO SHOES REALLY MATTER, EITHER BEING NO MORE THAN AESTHETICS WHICH IS FINE, OR AN EMPTY PLOY WHICH IS PHONY.

AN OBVIOUS FEATURE IS THE OFFSET LACING, ABOUT THE ONLY DESIGN GIMMICK, AND SOMETHING WE SEE NO REASON FOR, BUT IT HAS NO DISADVANTAGE EITHER, BRINGING NO WEAKNESS TO THE SHOES UPPER WHICH IS A SINGLE PIECE. NO COMPROMISE HAS BEEN MADE TO ADD BITS NOT REALLY NEEDED, WHILST CLEAR EFFORT HAS BEEN APPLIED TO DESIGNING-OUT ANYTHING THAT NEEDS EXTRA CONSTRUCTION OR EXPLANATION. REINFORCEMENT IS OVERLAID, SHAPE IS DONE BY REFINED GEOMETERY AND SIMPLE SOLUTIONS ARE USED TO KEEP MOVING PARTS TO A MINIMUM. THESE ARE ALL DESIGN PRINCIPLES WE SEE USED WITH OTHER TOP LEVEL STUFF, AND IS WHAT SEPARATES EXCELLENT DESIGN FROM THE MERELY ADEQUATE. 

WEATHER PROOFING SOMETHING THAT SEPERATES THESE FROM SUPERFICIALLY SIMILAR BOOTS IS HOW RESISTANT THEY ARE TO WIND, MOISTURE AND COLD, TO THE POINT THAT THEY WOULD BE THE WRONG CHOICE TO USE ANYWHERE HUMID AND DAMP. IN DRY MOUNTAIN CLIMATES, THE ALIEN STUFF THE TOMIR 0.2s ARE MADE WITH SHED THE STUFF MOUNTAINS ARE MADE OF, RATHER THAN ABSORBING IT AS THE USUAL MATERIALS MOST BOOTS ARE MADE OF WILL. THE WIND WON’T CUT THROUGH, THE TONGUE SEALS WELL BEHIND THE HIGH CUFF, AND WHOEVER DESIGNED THEM WAS SERIOUS ABOUT KEEPING OUT SLUSH AND DEBRIS.

THE THICK SOLES DO A REASONABLE JOB OF KEEPING AWAY CONDUCTIVE HEAT LOSS, BUT ARE MADE BETTER WITH BOOTBEDS AS DESCRIBED ABOVE THAT ADD TO THE CUSHION. SOMETHING LIKE AN AEROGEL LAYER WOULDN’T HURT BUT NEEDS TO BE SIZED FOR.

TRACTION AGAIN, THESE ARE MADE FOR MOUNTAINS, AND HAVE SOME OF THE BEST TRACTION FOR THAT GOING, ALMOST COMPARABLE TO THE NORDAS WHICH ARE SO FAR AHEAD OF ANYTHING ELSE AS TO BE AN ANOMALY. LOTS OF MEDIUM DEPTH LUGS SPREAD EVENLY ACROSS A FLAT SOLE BUT NOT SO CLOSE AS TO CLOG UP, WHEN COMBINED WITH THE STICKY RUBBER THEY GIVE A LARGE AREA OF TRACTION.

MUCH OF TRACTION IS DOWN TO A SHOES RIGIDITY AND RESISTANCE TO TWISTING, FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT TRACTION IS BASED ON SURFACE CONTACT. THE TOMIR 0.2s ARE MORE RIGID THAN MOST TRAIL SHOES – AND SOMETHING THAT SETS THEM APART FROM THE LOW CUT VERSION WHICH IS TRUELY FOR RUNNING – WHICH REDUCES THE SOLE FROM ROLLING OFF OR SQUASHING AROUND THE EDGES.

FIT & SHAPE NNORMAL KNOW ENDURANCE FOOTWEAR BECAUSE THAT’S ALL THEY DO, AND GIVE NO CONCESSION TO FILLING OUT ANY OTHER NICHE. IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE WEARING THE TOMIRS FOR ANYTHING ELSE – THEY LACK THE SOPHISTICATED ELEMENTS OF SHORTER DISTANCE, FASTER SHOES – AND PUT ALL THEIR DESIGN KNOW HOW INTO HOW A SHOE WILL FEEL AFTER 10HRS OF CONSTANT USE. THIS IMMEDIATELY PUTS THEM ON THE RADAR AS APPROACH SHOES. 

THE TOMIR 0.2s FIT PRETTY NORMALLY, IF YOU KNOW NORDAS, HOKAS OR NORTH FACE ULTRA SHOES THEN THERE’S MORE OF THAT, A LITTLE BIT MORE SPACE AROUND THE TOE, BUT NOTHING SPECIAL GOING ON OTHER THAN THE WIMPY LACES THAT ARE FINE FOR A FEW HOURS LIMBERLY TRAVERSING TRAILS BUT LACK THE INTEGRITY TO HOLD THE FOOT SECURE ACROSS FROZEN RIVERS, SCREE AND PACKED SNOW.

ONE ASPECT WHERE THEY DIFFER FROM RUNNING SHOES IS THAT THE HEEL IS FULLY PADDED, ALMOST LIKE A LIGHT BOOT, AND CINCHING THE ANKLE JOINT IN WELL. THE ANKLE IS ENCASED BY A SURROUND OF FORMABLE PADDING, THAT FEELS WEIRD INITIALLY AS THE FRONT DOESN’T HAVE THIS, AND SEEMS UNIQUE AMONGST THIS SORT OF SHOE. WHERE NORDAS HAVE NEXT TO NO HEEL ENCASEMENT AND MOST RUNNING-STYLE SHOES HAVE COMPLEX FORMS OF INTERSECTING PLANES, THE TOMIR 0.2s CUFF IS SIMPLE AND SEAMLESS, AND IS THE ONE PART OF THE BOOT THAT REALLY TAKES TIME TO FORM TO THE INDIVIDUAL.

DURABILITY THERE’S VERY LITTLE TO FALL APART WITH THE TOMIRS, FEW SEAMS TO SEPARATE, NO MESH TO DEGRADE, AND IN A DIVERSION FROM ALMOST ALL OTHER SHOES IN THE FIELD, THE SOLE UNITS IS SEWN TO THE UPPERS. MOUNTAIN DESERT APPROACHES FIND ANY WEAKNESSES IN FOOTWEAR FAST AND THESE HAVE NO OBVIOUS WEAKNESSES, WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTE THAT THE STRANGE FABRIC THEY ARE MADE OF HAS NEXT TO NO STRETCH AND INCREDIBLE ABRASION RESISTANCE.

…

WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

IF WE HAD THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT WE WANT WITH THESE IN THE SAME WAY WE DO TENTS, PACKS AND DOWN GEAR, WE WOULD TWEAK A FEW THINGS THAT ON TOP OF WHAT THEY COME AS, WOULD EFFECTIVELY MAKE THEM THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN.

+ THE GRAB LOOP ON THE HEEL NEEDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, FOR REAL YARDING ON OVER COLD FEET, WITH GLOVED HANDS AND IN A HURRY. 

+ THE OUTER SOLES COULD SCALE UP AN INCREMENT, TO BE A BIT MORE ‘NORDA-LIKE’ WITH THE SUBPATTERN BETWEEN THE LUGS, WHICH ADDS ANOTHER LEVEL OF TRACTION FOR THINGS LIKE ICE. 

+ WE WOULD SEAL OFF BEHIND THE LACES TOTALLY, EITHER WITH A LAYER OF STRETCH FABRIC OR MAKE THE TONGUE TOTALLY GUSSETTED. AS THE ONLY REAL CHANCE FOR WARM WEATHER BREATHABILITY WE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY AREN’T, BUT AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT THEY REMAIN A SHOE AND NOT A MOUNTAIN BOOT.

…

SHOULD YOU?

IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHAT ELSE THESE WOULD BE GOOD FOR, AS THERE ARE BETTER RUNNING SHOES, BETTER LIGHT ALPINE BOOTS AND BETTER CLIMBING APPROACH SHOES – BUT FOR WEARING THROUGH AIRPORTS, AROUND ICY TOWNS, ALONG DUSTY AND ROCKY TRAILS THEN UP MILES OF ICE, BOULDERS, GLACIER AND MORRAINE AS THE WINTER WINDS BLOW WE’VE NOT SEEN BETTER. NNORMALS TOMIR 0.2s ARE BOOTS WHEN THEY NEED TO BE, SNEAKERS WHEN THEY NEED TO BE AND RECOVERY SHOES WHEN THEY NEED TO BE.

BECAUSE EXPEDITIONS CAN BE RUINED BY FUCKING UP YOUR FEET, ANY ADVANCES AND ADVANTAGES HERE IS REFLECTED IN PERFORMANCE, MONEY AND FUN, AND AS ENLIGHTENING AS THE DISCUSSIONS OF THE LIMITATIONS OF FOOTWEAR ARE, IT GETS OLD KNOWING SO LITTLE GETS DONE. NNORMAL TOMIR 0.2s ARE THE FIRST REAL SHIFT IN THE FIELD – AND SO FAR THE ONLY IN AN INDUSTRY VERY RESISTANT TO SERIOUS CHANGE – BUT IN OUR WORLD, WHERE EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE RETOOLED, THEY ARE A WELCOME SOLUTION WE NEED. 

…