Today I am reviewing the Norda 003 trail shoe. Before we get too far, it’s worth pointing out immediately that this is a laceless shoe. The concept is not new, but there are only a few options in the world today for laceless running shoes, and Norda 003 is one of them.
I recently reviewed the Norda 002 trail shoe, with a rather gushing report. I tend to find little things wrong with a lot of shoes but in the case of the 002 it was hard to do. Even with that success I went into this review rather skeptically, mainly due to the laceless style. It really has nothing to do with the looks (although to be fair, I want my shoes to look good, who doesn’t?!), but everything to do with perceived lack of performance. Apparently prejudice has laces?
However, I was excited to give these a go, especially after loving the 002 model. Out of the box, the 003 is a little heavier than the 002, but not by much. Norda recommends upsizing by 1 from your typical size. In my case that meant going to a 10.5. The weight is 9.7 ounces (men’s 8.5), which is about 1 ounce more than the 002 model. Everything else about this shoe is the exact same as the 002 model as far as the upper (Dyneema bio-based fabric), the tread (norda x Vibram with Litebase and Megagrip, with 5mm lugs), and the insole.
The only real difference, other than weight, are the lack of laces. For the 003, Norda uses Dyneema here as well, in an elasticized format that is designed to never stretch out, so as to maintain fit through the lifetime of the shoe. It’s a lot of technical stuff and there’s one solid way to see if it’s true!
Given the nature of a laceless shoe needing to be snug, I worried these might be tough to get on, but they aren’t terrible. Once on, they fit similarly to the 002, which is to say they fit well and feel good on my feet. After a quick bit of stretching I headed off to the trails for their first run. In this case, I chose to run the road for a couple miles to get to the trails. More on this later.
That first run was a 60/40 split, with 60% on trail and 40% on road. I managed about 1,700′ of gain in those 10 miles, which included 2 solid climbs. I stayed away from too much windy single track and focused on uphill/downhill trails to start, hoping to break these in a little and get a feel for how my feet stayed in these shoes. My ankles were definitely a little loose, but the ankle cuff in the 003 holds far better than I expected.
The thing I noticed on the way back, while on the road, was how comfortable these were on pavement. Without fearing corners (single track trails), the 003s handled very well in all circumstances, whether gravel, paved, or flat dirt.
My next test was to really force the control issue that I expected with a laceless shoe. I went out for 12 miles strictly on single track with lots of corners and rolling terrain. The first few miles were OK, but by mile 5 I noticed that my heels were both a little raw from rubbing. This may be partially due to the shoes being so new, but I believe it is more from the locking in of the heels. The 003s have no problem with grip (the trails were muddy), and the little digger uphills of the trail aren’t an issue either. But the sloppiness in the heel was pronounced by the time I finished.
After that 2nd run, I thought it made more sense to test these where I think they shine best, which is a hybrid environment. I ran 3 miles of pavement to get to a park that has a buttery trail loop that is 1.3 miles, and has no sharp corners. I kicked around the loop 3 times (there’s a little hill on one side) and then headed back, hitting that same 3 miles of pavement. The 003s were solid on the road and on the trail.
A couple days later I hit the road again and stayed on it. 12 miles pavement with some hills thrown in were perfect for the 003s, and actually seemed to get more comfortable the further I went.
I’ve taken them out a few more times beyond the runs above, including 2 more to that sweet little trail loop, and they simply shine in a hybrid setting. My skepticism of a laceless shoe has been erased by Norda, and I will say that even after 100 miles and many runs, they still fit the same as when I put them on the first time.
