Norda 002 Can Handle Any Tough Terrain You Throw at It

Norda came out of nowhere. The Montreal-based trail running company was founded in 2020 and it released the 001, a shoe made with style and super-durable materials, a year later. First impressions were good—great even!—and in the short time since, the company has already partnered with brands like Ciele, Satisfy, and Reigning Champ. While the brand is still relatively small and niche, it continues to gain traction with the roll out of new products, including the 002.

Given the ground laid by the 001, the 002 had plenty of expectations to meet. The Norda team was clear in communicating that this wasn't an update but a companion. Despite the 001's highly technical specs—Dyneema uppers and laces; Vibram midsole and outsole—the 002 promised to be even more adept at tackling tough terrain. Design-wise, that means a padded heel collar and lower stack—the distance from the heel to the toe.

On the side of the 002's upper, reflective detailing outlines the silhouettes of Mont Saint-Bruno, Mont Saint-Hilaire, and Mont Rougemont in a nod to the paths these shoes were made for. I've never run north of the border, but I imagine these trails are similar to what we have where I live in Vermont, roughly two hours from Montreal: gorgeous bends carrying you along streams through wooded glens and up above treelines to granite ridgelines. A shoe like the 002 seems made for the trail running we have here, and with the leaves just beginning to unfold on their branches and a full summer ahead, I was eager to find out for myself.

Specs

• Weight: 7.72 oz (men's size 8)
• Drop: 4 mm
• Stack Height: 24 mm heel, 20 mm toe (with insole)
• Materials: Bio-based Dyneema upper, eTPU insole, Norda x Vibram sLE midsole, Vibram Litebase and Megagrip outsole
• Size Range: 8 to 14

How do they look?

If you buy a pair of Nordas, prepare yourself be complimented that your shoes are cool…a lot. People comment on my Norda 001s—no exaggeration—at least once a week. The very first time I wore the 002 to hit some local trails with a run club, someone at the post-run brewery said of them, "Those are wild."

Norda's shoes aren't particularly flashy (not counting the many reflective hits on them, which are flashy in a literal way) but neither do they look like other shoes out there. They don't have a big emblem on the side like most running shoes do, the design doesn't use a lot of hard angles or obvious tech integrations, and the colors are more muted than bright. Still, there's something distinct about them—potentially, the lack of showiness?—and even with an outsole that clearly wants to chew on dirt, there's an element of sneaker-ness at work. To say that they look "wild" is probably the best way to put it.

How do they fit?

The 002's upper is made of one single woven piece of bio-based Dyneema, a super light, super-durable fiber. Dyneema's unique characteristics are crucial to Norda's vision that its shoes last as long as two or even three pairs of typical trail running shoes. Durability, primarily, but not stretchiness or breathability. Still, the 002 was form-fitting and comfortable from my first run in them. Really comfortable, actually, and after many miles in them, the Dyneema only seems to wear in and fit better. If Dyneema is tricky stuff to work with, Norda's designers aren't letting on.

Norda recommends runners size up a half size in the 002s, which is what I did, and they fit exactly the way I want my trail running shoes to fit: solid in the heel and through the midfoot with a little breathing room up front for my toes. The 002 may be made for speed in technical terrain and a lot of people talk about it as a race shoe, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's narrow or cramped.

Unlike the 001, the 002 has a padded collar, which adds some welcome cushion around the ankle and some very welcome heel hold on the trail. The tongue is gusseted so it doesn't move around, and the laces (which also have some Dyneema in them) are wide and slip-resistant. Loose laces aren't something you want to worry about when you're break necking down rooty switchbacks through the woods.

How do they wear?

I live in a town where, in the summer, mountain biking is a language it seems everybody speaks. There are more mountain bikers than trail runners, that's for sure, and increasingly there are more mountain biking trails. There's a great network of them a few minutes from my place, and that's where I recently did a big run in the Norda 002s.

These trails, like many of the trails in the Green Mountains, consist of packed dirt with lots of roots and plenty of rocks. There are bridges over streams, plank walkways over soggy spots, and, inevitably, some mud. I picked my way through all this up, up, up, roughly 1,000 feet or so, until I got to the top where a seam of rock broke through the earth in a brief ridge. It's technical running that can be fast for a moment and then slow and picky soon after, often changing on short notice.

Poor-fitting shoes aren't a great choice for this type of terrain—but the 002s are. Precision is what's required and precision is what they're made for. The outsole, which Norda worked with Vibram to dial in with five-millimeter lugs and these unique little rubber studs (that, fittingly, remind me of mountain bike tires) chewed up earth and tacked onto rock. Rubber overlays on the toe and heel provided extra protection as I wedged my way up and down root stairs. Scuffs were inevitable, but that Dyneema upper seems to have shrugged them off.

Maybe living around here has made me partial to more agile trail shoes like the 002. High-stack models can sometimes feel tippy to me, whereas the operative word I can think of here is "planted." I've run in other speed-oriented models too but haven't felt as secure in them—you won't have to worry about a sixth toe sidewall blowout in these things. If anything, the Vibram SLE midsole, which is made of EVA, felt a tad firm at times but it was something I only noticed a few times over more than an hour and a half of running.

Are they worth it?

We'll just come out and say it: Nordas aren't cheap. A pair of 002s costs $295. That might sound like a lot for a pair of trail running shoes, but let's remember that upper-end road shoes cost just as much (Nike Vaporflys, for instance, go for $260). Let's also note that Norda concocted these with the most durable ingredients it could find. If a pair of Nordas really can last two or three times as long as other trail shoes—and some of the company's testers have put over a thousand miles on theirs—then buying a pair might actually save you money.

But it's not all about money. We know this. It's also about whether or not the shoe is what you need it to be. If you're considering buying the 001 or the 002, the choice should be easy, because these are different shoes. Get the 002 if you want a dedicated technical terrain trail running shoe that's lightweight and low; get the 001 if you want something that's more versatile, has more stack, and could even be good for everyday wear.

There's an emotional side to value, too. Maybe you just want to go fishing for footwear compliments; there's nothing wrong with getting a shoe for its cool factor alone. With Norda, at least you know that the people behind the brand care about what they're making, and about their customers.

About the Author

Tanner Bowden is a writer, editor, and photographer based in Vermont. With over a decade of experience in media, he's tested and written about hundreds of products for camping, hiking, skiing, cycling, running, and more for publications like Gear Patrol, Men's Journal, Field Mag, and Outside, among others. He often writes about running—gear, training, and culture—and is a six-time marathoner who achieved a personal best of 2:56 at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.