Norda - 001 G+ Spike

I snagged a pair for $100 on ebay and i’ve gotten 3 solid winners out of them. But yeah, shred up 2 pairs of peregrines every winter.

we have very similar experience with these. my take is there same, though i still punish my first pair now and again. they almost have 1000 miles on them. foam is done. the only thing i wished lasted longer was the lugs. the white mountains are mostly exposed granite so it shaves them down quickly. either those running 100s in these have a code of silence or they don’t use the internet.

i have put my norda 001s aside for a lot of longer races, mainly due to the non breathable upper, but i’ve learned my feet can handle a good deal of moisture over many hours with injinji liners.

I have been using Norda for several years here. 001 (also have the G-spike for winter) and now 005. Here are my thoughts: 001 one of the most resilient shoes for technical running I have ever had. I run my shoes hard. My Altras lasted approximately 300k before they would be destroyed. My 001s last at least 1000km before being moved to backup in the rotation. They then last another 2000km plus as dog walking and everything else shoes. I have one pair (first I got) that have over 5000km on them and I now use them for swimming in our rocky muddy river. Still completely together. It runs warm, but it’s managed. Ran javelina 100 in it last year in the 100 degree heat. My feet were destroyed, but so were everyone else’s and I didn’t change my socks or shoes the entire day. The winter spike version: wish it had a built in gaiter, other than that, perfect snow and ice shoe in Canada. 005: Goldilocks shoe for me. I have two pairs, one is at about 700km and has done a lot of big routes in the Canadian Rockies and ran an extremely muddy Death Race. They were soaked in mud, constantly wet. No blisters. Still running on them. Just ran Javelina again in a new pair of 005s. My goodness they are amazing. Not a single hot spot, feet stayed cool, and even doused in ice water they worked great. I did put on some gaiters this year to keep the rocks out, and will continue to do so on sandy and rocky races. I’m 6 feet, 200lbs, feet built like bricks. I have Morton’s neuromas on both feet and achilles made of tissue paper. My feet have never been happier in either of these shoes. Worth every penny. However, make sure you can return if you can’t buy them in person. They are not for everyone and in my crew, it’s about 60% hell yea, and 40% nope.

I have been using Norda for several years here. 001 (also have the G-spike for winter) and now 005. Here are my thoughts: 001 one of the most resilient shoes for technical running I have ever had. I run my shoes hard. My Altras lasted approximately 300k before they would be destroyed. My 001s last at least 1000km before being moved to backup in the rotation. They then last another 2000km plus as dog walking and everything else shoes. I have one pair (first I got) that have over 5000km on them and I now use them for swimming in our rocky muddy river. Still completely together. It runs warm, but it’s managed. Ran javelina 100 in it last year in the 100 degree heat. My feet were destroyed, but so were everyone else’s and I didn’t change my socks or shoes the entire day. The winter spike version: wish it had a built in gaiter, other than that, perfect snow and ice shoe in Canada. 005: Goldilocks shoe for me. I have two pairs, one is at about 700km and has done a lot of big routes in the Canadian Rockies and ran an extremely muddy Death Race. They were soaked in mud, constantly wet. No blisters. Still running on them. Just ran Javelina again in a new pair of 005s. My goodness they are amazing. Not a single hot spot, feet stayed cool, and even doused in ice water they worked great. I did put on some gaiters this year to keep the rocks out, and will continue to do so on sandy and rocky races. I’m 6 feet, 200lbs, feet built like bricks. I have Morton’s neuromas on both feet and achilles made of tissue paper. My feet have never been happier in either of these shoes. Worth every penny. However, make sure you can return if you can’t buy them in person. They are not for everyone and in my crew, it’s about 60% hell yea, and 40% nope.

I’m a trail runner that lives up in the Colorado mountains, I use normal trail shoes on the icy/snowy roads we have. I have goretex shoes but rarely use them since my feet somehow don’t get wet despite running in snow. If you have a lot of ice you can get these spikes that attach to your shoes for traction. Just lookup “nano spikes” as an option. You can also get shoes with spikes built in, Salomon has a spiked version of their speed cross shoes. Norda makes a spiked shoe. Both of these options have gorged uppers. I avoid spikes unless the entire path I’m running has snow and ice, if there are stretches of just bare road I’ll just run in trail shoes more carefully since spikes on asphalt feels like hot garbage. You can also make your own spike shoes. Some runners put screws through an old pair of shoes (road or trail works). They do it so the tip of the screw is sticking out of the sole of the shoe and that will help with traction. Obviously removing insole first and screw from inside the shoe to the bottom and pick screws that will stick out a bit when flush with the bottom of the shoe so you don’t feel it with your feet. You can also get water proof spays/coatings like never-wet and spray the outside of the shoe for added water protection. Hope that helps, I would just try out your existing shoes to make sure there is a problem to be solved. I find that just having good balance is a bigger thing than the shoes, that is unless it’s smooth ice, then it’s time for spikes.

I love the 002s, the 001s are also great but the lower stack of the 002s is just fantastic. Everyone is making these crazy high stack trail shoes so a 19mm stack and 4mm drop is just awesome. I plan on using the 002s for the Leadville marathon and the 001s for the silver rush 50. I ran the Leadville 100 last summer (I live in Leadville btw) and I have been up the trail multiple times, I could do the course without gps or trail markings. That being said I wouldn't wear the 001s or 002s on the 100 mile course because of the water crossings after twin lakes. I have not taken them through water but that upper material isn't going to drain. You could do something like swap to different shoes at twin lakes and swap back when you come back. There really isn't any water until after twin lakes. After half pipe there is a section that can be wet, but you can avoid it. This week we are getting no snow and lots of warm days (Leadville warm) so a lot more of the course will be runnable in short order. I am not doing the 100 this year but I will be pacing someone, not sure who, I was just going to show up to twin lakes all geared up and will wait for a nice broken runner to drag to the finish line.

Ugh. I’m on my third run (first long run) with the 001’s and I thought I was in love with these shoes until I could feel the sole of the shoe squish like a wet sponge underfoot. Water drainage on my Topos (all of them) were fantastic.

There’s a thin line to (literally) walk on this. Your most stable shoe is going to be low/zero drop and low cushion, but obviously everyone can’t run in those style of shoes so getting the right balance just takes some experimenting. I will say, after years of running in Altras and Topos, I wanted something with a bit more cushion and I’m very impressed with the Norda 001s. I’ve talked to a few people who ran in higher drop/cushion shoes and are really happy with the Norda’s. They say the shoes are more stable without sacrificing the comfort of a higher drop, cushier shoe.

Norda 005's are door to trail, the available colourway is quite susceptible to dirt but they are great all around. I am partial to the Norda 001 in Vermillion but they can be a bit sticky and heavy on road. And if your casual wear is closer to neutral colours, then this won't do. Some adidas Terrex shoes can also serve here, depending on what colourway you like.

Used Mafate’s for 2 years. Just retired mine a few weeks ago for the Nordas 001. Feels like a huge upgrade but I’m noticing a small hotspot on the Achilles. Gonna test them out for a few hundred miles and see how it goes…

My other two finalists were Norda 001 and Inov8 Trailtalon. I ordered all three shoes, and ran a few circles around my house. My initial favorite was the Topos. The Nordas I wasn't sold on the upper, and was nervous about the ankle rub reviews. The Trailtalons, to me, didn't feel like as wide of a toebox as advertised, and the outer sole felt very narrow. Then I had a professional gait analysis and I brought all three shoes for her to watch me run in. I put on the Topos first, she watched me run, and she said "that's the shoe for you - we don't even need to try the other two." I had a list of requirements, and studying up on about 17 brands and \~50 models of trail shoes, I couldn't find one pair that checked all my boxes. I filled four pages in my journal on my studies, and scrubbed [runrepeat.com](http://runrepeat.com) until I decided that what I wanted didn't exist. So I settled on giving up the rock plate. FWIW, I did also buy a pair of Topo Traverse - which adds a rock plate and has a lower stack than the MTN Racer - but I haven't ran in them yet. Plan to use them on a mountain hiking trip in a couple weeks. Also, Topo changed up the shape of the heel cup from the MTN Racer 3 to 4. I haven't tried the 4s yet, but with a new pair of 3s on the shelf, I'm good for the 2025 fall season.

White Gum Norda 001 look and feel fantastic in a museum, restaurant, trail. They clean up very well with the Dyneema upper

White Gum Norda 001 look and feel fantastic in a museum, restaurant, trail. They clean up very well with the Dyneema upper

Norda 001 in white gum….honestly, phenomenal all-around shoe. I live in Los Angeles and they have been my daily for 2 years. They transition seamlessly from morning run to morning coffee to sightseeing to an upscale lunch to the beach to mountains to hiking to running. I’ve worn them on dates with my wife, traveling to the Congo, traveling to Alaska, to visiting many national parks. And they clean up very well. Couldn’t recommend more highly.

I love traveling light and I’ve had a pair of white Norda 001s that I’ve traveled to Congo, Rome, Cabo San Lucas, Alaska, and a ton of beach cities in…they are my daily’s at work, clean up really well, and I’m wearing them right now at my son’s baseball practice. The sweet spot is you *like* wearing them and they perform at the level you need for a race. That is subjective to every one but when you can find it one that checks both boxes, you’ll realize it’s a great idea

I am wore an 11 in every set of Altras I had. I wesr a 12 in 002. Though, they are snug when they are new, after ~100k they break in quite well. I do not wesr the 001 or the 003, the upper design for those 2 models is the same, and it pulls on my achilles (and hypothetically, also fits slightly larger). I found Nordas recommendation to upsize 1 full size for the 002 to be perfect.

I went from being a full on Altra wearer to Topo and Norda. I found the quality of Altra has declined dramatically from when I started using them, and I had 5 or 6 pairs of superiors, and a couple pairs of torins both die well under 200km. I swapped to Norda and Topo at the start of the summer last year. I think my first pair of Norda 002's have about 1400 km on them - still wearable, though the tread is mostly gone. I use them as road runners mostly now, but I also have been wearing them with Kathoola micro spikes for shoulder season running. I have another pair already purchased and a pair a full size up from both of these for upsizing into in the middle of my races. They do fit small. I went up a full size from altra, and I was already slightly upsized. I don't like the 001 or the new 005 as they pull on my achilles, but I find the 002 has no issues on that front. The new 005 seems sick though, its a high stack and super cushy, but I don't like the heel cup of that upper design. I would fully support making the switch over, but I would also heavily recommend that you try them on in person before you buy. Depending on where you are, there might be a demo fleet of shoes available to take out for a test run or 3 (SkiUphill/RunUphill had a full fleet of all sizes available last year) and I would seriously recommend trying them out, as they are not cheap. They are however extremely durable, and the dyneema upper is as sturdy as they claim. Given the only slight price difference between them and altra, it makes absolute sense for me to use Norda. Hope that helps a bit. Good running!

I made a post like this a few days ago. Ended up with the Norda 001 G+, very happy with my choice