Saving you energy over long distances the Flight VECTIV™ will fly you ahead with speed, comfort, and style.
The North Face has created a truly amazing trail runner that I believe will put them as one of the best trail running brands in the market. The new FlightVECTIV™completely blew my mind.
They delivered everything promised from the combined technology of the carbon fiber plate and rocker midsole, providing next-level stability, grip, and shock absorption without compromising energy efficiency. They are fast, light, comfortable, and super stylish all in one.
When I was approached to review these shoes, I honestly did not know that The North Face produced trail runners. Even though I have been running for almost 16 years, I only knew The North Face for its great range of outdoor clothing and hiking boots.
The North Face VECTIV Flight.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
Features
The main features of this shoe is the VECTIV™ technology, which is made up of two core parts:
- VECTIV™ plate. A carbon fibre plate that sits against the sole for cushioning and stability.
- VECTIV™ rocker midsole designed to create a “see-saw” effect that propels you forward with more speed and less energy.
AThe North Face VECTIV Flight demonstrating its bold rocker midsole geometry engineered to create long-lasting forward propulsion.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
The VECTIV Flight has a 6 mm toe-to-heel offset.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
3.5 mm lugs for a rugged grip across all types of terrain.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
The VECTIV™ technology optimizes energy return, delivers forward propulsion, and reduces impact by 10%. This unique construction delivers superior stability, grip, and shock absorption without compromising energy efficiency.
The VECTIV™ Flight comes packed with a ton of features such as; SurfaceCTRL grip technology made up of 3.5mm rubber lugs underfoot for traction on all terrain. A dual-density midsole with ultra-lightweight and high-rebound foams for maximum comfort. The upper shoe is made up of a breathable, lightweight protective mesh which is great for hot or wet weather running and also features a sock-like fit that is designed to hug the ankle.
The North Face knows that running takes its toll, especially whilst running through tough landscapes so they have added abrasion-resistant, super-durable Matryx® side panels made with Kevlar® and polyamide in the midfoot for stability, plus a reinforced toe cap provides additional durability on rocky and loose terrain.
The North Face VECTIV Flight. Right out of the box these shoes were impressive.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
On The Trail
Performance
I ran these shoes on a great mix of terrain and weather conditions before writing this review, from road running, fire roads to technical single track and full rock slabs. The performance of the shoe seemed to maintain its elite status no matter what conditions I took them through, holding up well on all surfaces in both the dry and the wet weather.
The most beneficial feature of these shoes and the feature I noticed most is see-saw effect the mid-sole rocker provides. The extra propulsion forward was extremely noticeable on flat terrain and even more so on even surfaces like roads and fire roads. For the first few runs it did take a bit to get use to the forward motion feeling and the how the shoe felt under my feet, but once I was warmed up they were heaven.
Abobe and Below: The VECTIV Flight are confidence-inspiring shoes.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
The carbon plate in the sole felt amazing to run on and combined with the high-density foams it is the perfect amount of cushion, comfortable yet reactive. The plate gave my feet the feeling of a solid firm landing even on uneven terrain, which was great for my hypermobile ankle joints which have a tenancy to roll in super flexible shoes.
I am a very slow and cautious downhill runner, so the real benefits provided to the descent were probably wasted on me. But in saying this, I felt stable on my regular 3km descent into the National Park where I run, with a lot less impact on my joints. The descending benefits were even more noticeable on my fire road descents where I always trip on the little rocks scattered everywhere, but I seemed to find my footing in these shoes allowing me to find confidence in downhill running that was never there before.
The 3.5mm lugs provided a good amount of grip whilst not being too much. The traction provided on rocky descents in the rain was incredible, even though I do take these sections with a bit more caution, I did not loss grip once. It’ll be interesting to see how many kilometers I get out of them before the lugs wear down.
The carbon plate in the sole felt amazing to run on and combined with the high-density foams it is the perfect amount of cushion.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
Style and Comfort
Right out of the box these shoes were impressive. Although, I was put off by the white, for a moment, once they were on my feet the style won me over. I could easily wear these shoes out for the day and then swap into running clothes and go run in them. The white and black colour combo with the mesh and laces is the perfect mix of street fashion and running style. In short, these are sexy shoes.
The FlightVECTIV™ is an incredibly comfortable shoe with its “fit like a glove” upper that surrounds the heel giving a snug feeling around the ankle and an almost a custom-made fit sensation.
Photography by: ©Mel Hayes
Next was the fit. I was sent my actual shoe size to test (EUR 38) and surprisingly, they fit perfectly! This has never happened before in a running shoe. I normally wear a few sizes too big just to fit my super high arch into the shoe, which as you can imagine isn’t the most ideal situation especially when running ultras.
The light-weight race, fit like a glove style isn’t only comfortable but is super easy to get on and off, which was another great surprise for this type of shoe. The FlightVECTIV™ also comes with laces that I could nearly get away without, only providing the slightest bit of extra tightness in the shoe fit. It was like The North Face designed this shoe specifically for my feet.
Conclusions
The Flight VECTIV™ is an extremely capable trail runner that has outperformed my current shoes (La Sportiva Lycan) in all areas. The North Face has put together a shoe that not only provides the features of an elite performance trail runner but is also super comfortable and supportive. It is definitely a fast shoe, that in my opinion is like your own superhero on the trails. It safe to say I will now be running in The North Face Flight VECTIV.
Price / Where to buy
The North Face VECTIV Flight (Women’s) : Retail AU$330
Available at most good running stores or head on over to the North Face website for more details on the Men’s and Women’s versions.
Full Specifications
- Reinforced toe cap provides additional durability
- 3D carbon-fiber plate underfoot for multi-directional stability and forward propulsion
- Durable and responsive TPE footbed
- Surface Control™ rubber outsole optimized for trail running
- Reinforced, breathable-knit upper
- 3.5 mm lugs for a rugged grip across all types of terrain
- Sole Unit: VECTIV technology designed to maximize energy on the trail
- Rocker midsole geometry engineered to create long-lasting forward propulsion
- 3D-molded heel counter for a precise fit
- Reflectivity details for enhanced visibility
- 6 mm toe-to-heel offset
- Upper: Abrasion-resistant and super-durable Matryx® panel—made with Kevlar® and polyamide—in the midfoot for stability
- Dual-density midsole with ultra-lightweight and high-rebound foams.
- Average weight: 8.64 oz (245 g) per shoe
