The New Vectiv 2.0 Trail Shoe From The North Face is Here

We’ve had a sneak peek of The North Face’s new and improved Vectiv 2.0 Trail Shoe Range. Think fluro and carbon, but in a good way!

Nearly two years ago, The North Face came out with the first trail runner with a carbon fibre plate. The Flight Vectiv kicked off a new kind of foot race. Not one with any discernible finish line, but rather a race to perfect carbon fibre trail shoes. 

The original Flight Vectiv, which featured a 3D carbon fibre plate and midsole rocker wasn’t perfect. 

Editor Tim ran 160km in them before sharing his thoughts in his long-term review of the Flight VECTIV Trail Runners. 

In summary, they were ‘an incredibly fast, responsive and capable shoe’. But durability was an issue, as was the break in time and stability.

What’s New?

Well, according to TNF, the Vectiv 2.0 features ‘a new forked carbon footplate for optimised stability and a responsive foam midsole for enhanced cushioning’.

The forked design might lend itself to being a little more forgiving and less susceptible to rolling over in its entirety. It also decouples the heel and forefoot to allow for greater stability and presumably more ‘trail feel’ than the previous offering.

A photo that truly shows off the shoe’s design and form

Three Vectivs To Choose From

The Vectiv 2.0’s are being released in three different models. 

1. Summit Series Vectiv Pro Shoes

The goldilocks of the range, the Pro option is set to be the go-to ultra-distance race shoe. Not too light, nor too thick and cushioned, but, juuuuuust right.

With 10mm more rocker in the toe than the 2021 model Tim wore, these should deliver even greater propulsion off the trail. 

Combine that extra curvature with 4mm more cushioning than the 2021 Enduris model, and we expect it to be more forgiving underfoot and perhaps take fewer kilometres to break in (it took Tim around 30km to ‘warm up’ the carbon plate).

However, once he did, Tim noted, ‘The speed of this shoe no doubt comes from the plate, which definitely helps spring you forward into each step, but a silent winner is the shoe’s rocker’.

Fortunately, the same rockered midsole exists in the 2.0s. The same breathable mesh can also be found and the colourways are less susceptible to turning brown — The original used to be white, and so did Tim’s before it met a few puddles during La Nina.

Perhaps most interestingly, is the carbon plate that now extrudes from the forefoot of the shoe and wraps around either side of the forefoot. We’re looking forward to trying a pair ourselves and seeing if this offers extra stability.

2. Summit Series Vectiv Sky Shoes

The Sky shoes come with a new foam technology and are designed to be ultra-light FKT-winning foot rockets. 

Expect to sacrifice on comfort and durability but gain something in the way of responsiveness and precision on technical terrain — something Tim noted needing work in his original pair. 

These come with a sock-fit entry and lighter mesh outer than the Pro offering above, however, much of the other details and updates remain.

3. Summit Series Vectiv Enduris 3 Shoes

The Enduris 3 shoes are the most cushioned of the lot. Something like The North Face’s answer to Salomon’s Ultra Glides or the trend towards thicker midsoles like those found in Hokas. 

Indeed, the stack height is a decent 31mm – which is 10mm more than the Vectiv Sky option.

When are they available?

The Vectiv 2.0 range is available now and we expect to get our hands (read: feet) on a pair to review. 

We’ll let you know how they compare to their predecessor after putting them through their paces!