So is the Trabuco Max just for Ultra runners?!

has anyone got these and the vj maxx 2 and which is better for high elevation technical 70k

brooks trail rubber is a step above everything else imo, it's tacky almost

Thanks for the review guys. I have Bulldog 50k and Ray Miller 50 miler coming up. Currently running in the Hoka Mafate Speed 4 (almost end of life), Asics Trabuco Max for training and Nnormal Torir 2. Got a $500 Amazon gift card recently so thinking of getting either the Speed or Ultra. 6'4/224 lbs.

The first edition of the Zegama’s were my favorite trail shoe so I was stoked when they updated these. This line continues to be the best value in trail running. They are always on sale. You can get em for about 100 dollars. The vibram was a much needed upgrade! This carried me through the wet/slippery technical Colorado mountain terrain from early Spring into summer. I used to wear the Wildhorses for rugged terrain but I just use the zegama’s for everything now. I agree, the change to the shoe tongue was nice. It’s soft and it allows your ankle to flex a bit more. The Achilles heel of these shoes is the durability though. Both pairs of my Zegama 1’s and the 2’s ripped in the same place on the upper. I ran the 2’s for about 200 miles before the upper and foam looked worse for wear. Dragged them to about 350 before replacing. At this price point it’s a no brainer. But at full price I would pass!

I believe they will be huge contender. While they have much to learn, their trail shoes seem to improve time and time again with each iteration. But alas, only time can tell.

The Agravics Speeds are eerily similar to the Pulsar Trail Pro 2s when I hold them side-by-side.

Have you guys tried the S/LAB Ultra Francois D'Haene Edition? Almost zero info on this shoe out there.

Nice review, as always. Learning a lot from your level of detail. Would you guys ever review any of the arcterex trail shoes?

My god guys 46 minutes to tell about 2 shoes let’s go here

Great review! I like these a lot but find the Speed Ultras to be a lot more nimble on technical trails. Brett, saw you on the signup for Waldo next week? You planning on these, the speed ultras or something else?

I am loving the Vectiv 2's, and your review is spot on. They really save the legs on long days, and the Dream foam is ideal for trails. I did find that they run a little small though. I normally wear a 12 in everything, but these felt tight on the toes, so I returned the 12s for a 12 1/2. Very happy I did. I am using them Saturday for a 55k race on the Northville-Placid Trail in NY.

Is this a podcast somewhere? I can’t find any CP episodes on my apple pods??

My feet feel all banged up after 30k in the Adidas Agravic. Have done 80k runs in the Vectiv Pro and Pro2 and much better. I think the Vectiv Pro1 is a little lighter. Probably why Katie prefers the 1s...

Happy Finn mentioned not being very breathable. That killed Topo for me. Only pair I had were still damp the morning after my only run in them.

Hi guys, any recomendation about sizing with the pro 2? I usually use 28cm in nike or salomon, that its 10us or 44eu, but in the north face 28 looks 43eu so not sure .. Thanks!

Wasn’t totally sure I would like super shoes but after running a race and a few training runs in the tecton 2.5, I’m drinking the Kool aid. It’s crazy how much faster your pace is at the same level of effort output. I’m sure not all of them will be the same but it’s going to be a wild next couple years for trial footwear.

Random question: Do you know of any east coast shoe reviewers? I love you guys, and the content, but the perspective is a little off for us on the Beast Coast. Looking for more technical terrain running shoes. Thanks. And please keep this up!! ❤❤

had the same inside heel material tearing and lug wear-down issues in the vectiv enduris 3s. and the same pros: great volume, light upper, surface ctrl outsole plenty sticky. wish they lasted longer. loved the feel. would buy NF shoes on sale, but not going for full price when they wear out after 170-200 miles

Excited to try the Ultra

Really happy to see an improvement in the upper on the V2. I loved the V1, but i had 2 issues. First, the mesh was too open and dust got in real easy. Second, the tab at the back gave me a blister on my Achilles on anything over about 15km. Looks like both issues are sorted now. I tend tonrun on forest trails more, so hopefully less wear on the lugs. I love TNF trail shoes. The enduris 2 and 3 are fantastic. They just work for me and how i run.

Loving the shoe porn b roll you guys have going in this review!

Are you still doing a prodigio review?

Are there any instances under 100 miles where you would take the Zegama 2 over this? PS. It is a shame most sizes aren’t available anywhere and north face webchat wouldn’t give any insight about more arriving.

Hopefully the Sky is coming soon as a follow up. I'm more interested in that as a super shoe than this.

Did you guys get your hands on the Tecton X 2.5? Would love to hear your thoughts 🙏

The wings tore at the fold on the first run for me on one shoe, but I didn’t notice a difference between the shoe with the wings just glued on and the one with the wing still attached to the plate even after running 100 + miles

Loving the trend of black & white trail shoes. Also, can’t find a men’s size 9.5 in stock anywhere except eBay 🙃

Once the Tecton X3 is tested and reviewed we need a CP super shoe showdown episode!

I have the first version, and I ended up cutting the wings off, much better ride after that. I tried the second version on, but to Finn’s comment, it felt more narrow, and so elected not to keep them. Agree on the outsole wearing down super quick and I’m not even at 100 miles in them. The upper on version one is still very comfortable and that’s never been a issue. For a 100 miler, the one thing that I would be concerned about is Power hiking the hills and or rocky steps etc, the midsole feels too squishy for me and end up fighting against it when not running. In the end some things worked well, just might be more designed for certain terrain and not CO technical trails I’m in most of the time.

Agree with your self-appointed definition of “trail super shoe” ;-) Or at least what a super shoe is supposed to be. It’s supposed to make you run faster! For me, respectfully, the Vectiv series still isn’t a real super shoe by that definition - but the Hoka EVO Jawz still is, by way of illustration. TNF Flight Vectiv Pro 2 is a tall, highly rockered and expensive shoe with good but not great midsole foam and a decent outsole. The upper is better than the original. But it’s not even marginally faster than other tall expensive premium shoes. I look forward to a true super shoe from The North Face! Maybe start with a Vectiv Sky with better foam and even less weight. Bring on the Hoka Tecton X 3!

Unfortunately I do hate the wings. I bought the first version (on sale for 150) and like a lot about the shoe. However if I take them on anything off camber/more technical the wings start to bother me. I pot some inov8 Boomerang insoles in them and that has helped but for me I wouldn't take them beyond 20 miles. While I do find that carbon plated trail shoes can be fun for shorter races/workouts I am highly sceptical that they offer any benefit to non-elite runners. As far as I'm aware there has been no scientific evidence published that any of these shoes do confer an advantage. But even if we assume that they do improve running economy, its importance in trail ultra running is probably far less of a deciding factor than in marathon running. Given that most trail ultra runners will not run the whole course of a 100k or 100 mi, it is extremely unlikely that running economy is the limiting factor in regards to race performance.

Why the highlighter colors?!

Damnit I just bought 2 new pairs of Zegamas…got to explain to my gf on why I need another pair of shoes now 😅

It checks so many boxes but that much lug wear at 120 miles on a $250 shoe makes me hesitant.

" It didn't try to super shoe me" HAHA. Love these reviews.

I thought that with v2 they dropped the carbon plate toward the outsole a bit to make it more comfortable?

Great stuff again, How narrow is this shoe? especially midfoot. I love the sizing of the agravic speed ultra.

Great ramble! I love the first version and got over 500k in my first pair and just on to the second pair. It is such a versatile shoe, I have raced 50-100k in them as well as long easy days. I haven't paid over £100 for a pair and think at this price they are amazing!

Curious if V1 of the Vectiv Sky Pro has the same issue as the Vectiv Sky. And that is tread life. Really loved this shoe. Really loved it. But the tread was almost dead in about 6-7 weeks of running. I've never seen anything like this before. In fact if it wasn't for the life of the tread, I would still be running in them. I wanted a shoe with a little bit more groundfeel than the Vectiv Sky Pro. So recently I went with Terra Kiger 9. Never thought I'd be running in Nikes. But they fit the profile I look for that seems to be getting more and more difficult to find. Except for weight of course. They aren't light. I wanted descently roomy toebox (not euro snug, but didn't have to be Altra), low stack but enough protection from sharp stones (Tucson AZ trails), sub 9oz...or at least sub 10oz, 3-5mm drop, and sticky outsole. I will say the Nnormal Kjerag nailed it. But overall to snug. Sorry. Getting off subject. Do you know if the Vectiv Sky 2 is coming anytime soon? Any thoughts of what I mentioned about outsole life? Keep doing what you guys do. Hands down the best running shoe reviews. Almost DC Rainmaker in details. Let me know if you're ever down this way. Something I wanted to mention (I had to step away and an now finishing watching). Was that the biggest benefit in the carbon plate I found was the lateral stability in the forefoot. Now some of that is the tighter toebox. For example when I now have begun running in the Terra Kiger 9 the lateral stability in the forefoot and twisting is there. Part of that is of course the roomier toebox in the NT9. An issue sometimes I had with Altra. Back again. Im at the portion where you discuss the durability of the outsole. I can see the take on how this can be a shoe focused on racetime. And how that could validate it. I will add that i dont worry about cost if something offers value for that cost. And i think when you're hitting $200-250+ that some durability should be factored in as necessary. And thats where i drew the line. Still makes me sad (as this was recent). Felt like i found "the shoe" as i was moving away from Altras of many years. And Pearl Izumi (remember their shoes? That was also a sad time for me when PI stopped producing shoes...back when Timmy O was racing in the N2 Trail...and by the way the foam on the TK9 reminds me of PI midsoles). Anyways. Maybe i just need to cut out a few things so that i can afford to buy a pair of Vectiv Skys every two months. Im thinking about it. That lateral stability in the forefoot in technical was crazy. The shoes loved technical rocky trails of southern Arizona. I know this review is about the Vectiv Sky Pro 2, but the Vectiv Sky is similar minus a lower stack and drop. I will say that i highly recommend them if you dont mind replacing them every two months. But please TNF. If youre reading this, please make the outsole more durable. Or add the Vibram Litebase🤔. The may be the best outsoles ive run in when i think of the Kjerag. And again. Back again. Another concern ive had with the Vectiv Sky or Vectiv Sky Pro was would they have a v2...v3...v4...? Its so easy to get invested in a certain model to to see it no longer made. Thats a concern i have with TNF more than some other brands. Like Altra for example. I went through numerous iterations of the Superior and Lone Peak. Sometimes i was happy with the changes. Sometimes i wasnt. But i knew the models were there to stay...and hopefully improve. TNF i worry a bit. One more thing. I thought i heard that some on TNF team were actually opting more for the Vectiv Sky than the Vectiv Sky Pro? Or some of the team? Not just dependent on course they were raciing, but due to more groundfeel and the Vectiv Sky is leaner.

I run in both this one and the speed ultra, one thing to really point out, the vectiv is saving the legs sooo much. Compared to other shoes a few hours in your legs just do not feel smashed at all. And this is especially true in the downhills. It excels for running down 10-15% gravel roads, it regularly makes me push them too hard, as it just feels so smooth going downhill.

Saved the video for later, but commented for the algorithm, I’m pretty sure the like will come just after 😂

Got that Mafate feel? 🤑 Slow down lads. I only just got the balls (and $$) to secure the Speed Ultra.

I initially went with my true-to-size in the Agravic Speed Ultra and after about 40 miles decided to swap them for a half-size down. About 100 miles and one 50km technical trail race later, I can definitively say that going down a half-size was the correct choice.

For a race like the Pikes Peak Marathon, you feeling more Tecton or Mafate?

Great review. I purchased both before seeing this and bought my usual size and they have been great. Perhaps if you have a wide foot like mine you won’t need to size up?

I have the 001s and really like the feel but get chafing under my ankle bone from heel collar that rubs off skin. Have also had blisters on heel. So disappointing given the price point and these have just been sitting on the shelf. Has anyone else had that issue with chafing? Any ways to solve?

They hit the US market back in 2016 when Jon Albon was racing the VJ irock’s in US races. Almost every Spartan pro was wearing an Xtrm or Maxx model from then on.

This vs the La Sportiva Jackal ii, which one would you pick for moderate trail running in the 10-20k distance category?

First time hearing the word last used when discussing sneakers. sNeAkErHeAd don’t understand the concept. Although I wouldn’t consider you two ‘head because you’re much smarter than the average Jordan Funko Pop enthusiast.