The new max cushioned Norda 055 mountain running shoe continues this small Canadian brand’s legacy of using top-tier materials and innovative designs.
What happens when you take a shoe that is already great and you add a thicker midsole and innovative collar design? Norda answers with the 055, the brand’s new max-stack sibling to the critically acclaimed 005, and the answer isn’t subtle. It’s a plateless, thickly cushioned mountain shoe built for those days when 10 miles can turn into 30, and 30 can turn into “OMG, what did I just sign up for?!”
Nothing new there, right? Another brand stretches its hero shoe’s stack and calls it innovation. Wrong. Norda didn’t just pour more Arnitel TPE-E supercritical foam into the same mold. The 055 gets a stretchy knit debris collar—a first for a brand built on minimalist, low-cut heel designs—plus a wider-weave bio-Dyneema upper for breathability and durability, and a Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole with a 5mm lug pattern lifted straight from the brand’s original 001. It’s a shoe with one foot in Norda’s past and one, quite literally, in its future.
I’ve spent enough time in the 005 to know what Norda does well: light, agile and fast without a plate, stable without being stiff, durable enough that the $325 price tag reads less like sticker shock and more like a long-term investment. The 055 takes that formula and pushes it further with more rebound from that taller midsole stack, still plateless, still shod with the next-level Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole.
The real question isn’t whether Norda can build a max-cushion mountain shoe. It’s whether the added foam and features eliminate the thing that made the 005 special in the first place: that locked-in, connected-to-the-trail feel. Rachel Entrekin already proved its worth by wearing this shoe en route to her historic win in the Cocodona 250 in May. I’ve logged nearly 100 miles on some rugged mountain routes since early June in Colorado and California to prove it to myself.
Norda 055 Specs
Price: $325 (women / men)
Approximate Weights: 9.2 oz. (women’s size 8); 10.7 oz. (men’s size 9)
Hee-Toe Offset: 7mm; 38mm (heel) / 31mm (forefoot)
What’s New: The Norda 055 scales up Norda’s signature material stack: a wider-weave bio-Dyneema upper for added breathability, 10mm more of 100 percent Arnitel TPE-E supercritical foam from heel to toe, which it says delivers 79 percent energy return, and a Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole for grip that holds up on wet and technical surfaces. It brings back the 5mm lug depth from the original Norda 001, a deliberate throwback aimed at serious off-trail traction. A reinforced rand that wraps the base of the upper and the toe bumper doubles down on protection against jagged rocks. The standout new element is a knit sock collar built to seal out debris while locking down the ankle for a snugger fit.
Fit/Feel/Ride: The Norda 055 has an accommodating interior volume but generally fits snug in the heel and midfoot/saddle while providing more wiggle room in the toe box. The step-in feel is comfortable, soft and secure, thanks in part to the sock-like bootie construction created by the stretchy debris collar that extends above the top of the dimensions of the upper but still lower than the ball of the ankle. Essentially, the heel collar helps create a semi-custom fit and also gives a hint of added ankle stability.
The ride of the Norda 055 is surprisingly somewhat similar to the 005, even though it is considerably higher off the ground. While the supercritical midsole is moderately bouncy and sufficiently responsive on flat, solid terrain, it feels more accommodating and stable on technical trail surfaces. While running and power hiking up and down steep mountain terrain, I have appreciated the extra cushion but haven’t once feel that it was excessive or too bouncy. The foam isn’t so soft that it washes out, but it’s not so firm that it feels rigid. Somehow it’s a near-perfect blend that allows a good amount of proprioceptive feel for the ground while also providing push-through protection against pointy rocks.
Why It’s Great: The Norda 055 excels at debris management (keeping pebbles, sand, and dirt getting into your shoes), which is a constant issue for ultra-distance runs in the mountains. The new collar is built to seal that out better than Norda’s past minimalist heel collar designs, while the wide and durable bio-circular Dyneema weave upper offers sidewall protection and helps the shoe breathe and drain in hot or wet conditions. (Dyneema is a material known for being lightweight, highly breathable, and up to 15 times stronger than steel by weight.)
By wrapping snugly around the lower ankle, the collar keeps trail grit from working its way in over the course of a long mountain effort, whether its the increasingly rugged course of Cocodona 250 through central Arizona or the adventurous 10-mile loop with 4,000 feet of elevation gain/loss I did on the 4th of July over Dyer Mountain (13,861 feet), Mount Sherman (14,043 feet) and Mount Sheridan (13,748 feet) in the Mosquito Range near Leadville, Colorado.
Why You’ll Love It: The Norda 055 is very durable. The brand has built its reputation around creating shoes that can withstand hundreds of miles of hard use without losing their performance. My own long hours in Norda shoes and plenty of reviews suggests the strategy is paying off, with wear-testers reporting very little outsole wear or midsole compression after substantial mileage. At $325, the Norda 055 is undeniably an expensive option for everyday training, but for runners looking for a shoe capable of lasting through multiple ultras or an entire season of racing, the cost becomes much easier to justify when viewed on a per-mile basis.
Why You Might Not Like It: This isn’t a traditional trail running shoe, and the beefed-up midsole, upper and collar might be too much for your next easy run through the forest or on a gravel road. Although it’s filled with a lot of useful, innovative features, it’s also weighs slightly more than a lot of other shoes out there and it can feel warmer on long runs in the sun. Those things won’t be as evident on long, adventurous runs in the mountains as they might on an up-tempo training run on mild trail terrain in warm or hot conditions.
Pros: The 055’s knit sock collar marks a real departure for Norda, a brand that’s built its reputation on minimalist, low-cut heel designs. This is the first time debris protection has been baked directly into a Norda shoe rather than left to gaiters or luck. (The first time I laced up for a run in the Norda 055, I thought it was one those shoes that is more difficult to put on. But it’s not. Grabbing the heel tab and pulling on the top of the collar from the top of the tongue not only made it slip right on but it also helped provide the appropriate interior wrap before lacing.)
Cons: There aren’t many. Of course, the $325 price tag could be a big pain point for many trail runners, but you really get what you pay for. The Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole offers superior traction on smooth surfaces of rocks and dirt/gravel trail surfaces, however a few wear-testing peers I chatted with suggested they would prefer slightly deeper outsole lugs.
Check it out on Running Warehouse (women / men)
- Trail Tested: Norda 055
- Trail Tested: Kiprun Kipsummit Max
- 7 Great Trail Shoes for Technical Mountain Running Races
- Trail Tested: Mount to Coast H1
- Trail Tested: Hoka Speedgoat 7
- Trail Tested: Nike ACG Ultrafly
1 comment
Cindy Scott
$325 Cad!!! NOPE