After the Lamborghini of Trail Shoes Comes the Lamborghini of Slides
norda, the Canadian trail sport company that produces shoes we once accurately described as "Lamborghinis for your feet," makes much more than footwear. But though it also creates a concise capsule of runnable wearables and similarly sturdy gear, shoes will always be the norda signature.
And now, so will sandals.
The norda 008 is a modest name for a super-engineered slide sandal intended for much more than post-trail activities. It also initially appears to be an odd one, given that norda's prior style was the 005.
"Where's 006 and 007?" asked some fans on norda's Instagram page ("James Bond has 007 on lock," co-founder Willamina Leus-Martire quipped in reply).
But the actual answer only illuminates the extreme thoughtfulness of the norda project.
Note that there's no 004 norda sneaker, either. That's because the norda naming scheme follows the Fibonacci sequence, which informs the Golden Ratio. The implication, of course, is that norda footwear is blessedly perfect or at least darn close to it. And if you've ever handled any of its beastly footwear, you're likely to agree.
norda is the first and only trail-shoe maker to make sneakers from Avient's Dyneema, self-described as "the world's strongest fiber," and they're all fitted with bespoke lacing systems, in- and midsoles reconsidered from the ground up, and the world's finest Vibram outsoles. These shoes might just outlive you.
Being designed for pre- and post-run comfort, the norda 008 sandal is obviously not quite as rugged as the sneakers that preceded it. But it's no slouch, either.
norda created the 008's soleplate from scratch with Vibram, for example, transforming recycled rubber into a griptastic looker shaped specifically to fit the sandal's sleek shape.
Its also quite artful in that way, both streamlined and generous enough to be worn with socks (nothing worse than a too-narrow sandal). It deservingly comes in elegant colorways like Névé, Hinoki, Oud, and Sage, revealed here for the first time by Highsnobiety.
Available on norda's website from June 12 for $145, the 008 is obviously no 007. But it is as suave as Bond and no less tough.
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