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It’s no secret that I loved the OG North Face Summit Vectiv Pro—and I have the blisters to prove it. While it was one of my favorite shoes ever, I was too nervous to wear it for races over 50 miles because of how the stiff mesh upper and carbon wings shredded my feet, complaints that were echoed by other testers, many of whom reported bloody socks when testing the original Summit Pro. Now, The North Face is back with an updated version that improves on the much-loved trail racer, The North Face Summit Vectiv Pro 2, and has already earned podium creds Zach Miller wore this shoes route to a second-place finish at UTMB in 2023, and Katie Scheide rocked it for her second-place (and historically fast!) finish at last year’s Western States.
While these aren’t radically different from the Summit Pros we know and love, the updates are meaningful. Here’s why this is earning a top spot in our trail racing lineup.
At a Glance: The North Face Summit Vectiv Pro 2
- Price: $250
- Weight: 9.7 oz. for a Men’s 9
- Stack Height: 32mm (heel), 26mm (forefoot)
- Heel-toe offset: 6mm
Back and Better Than Ever
Updates to the North Face Summit Vectiv Pro 2 help cement TNF as a genuine contender in the trail space. A carbon plate that offers stability and propulsion is the holy grail of trail shoes and a code many brands are trying to crack. TNF’s first attempt was a uniquely designed, full-length carbon plate with lateral wings that curved up and then down the outside of the midsole on both sides of the forefoot. These posts successfully created a cradle of stability at toe-off, but resulted in skin-ripping, blister-inducing rubbing on either side of the forefoot, leading to many testers reporting battered feet and bloody socks.
Thankfully, the Summit Vectiv Pro 2 has rectified this by putting the carbon plate lower in the midsole foam, so it’s further away from the foot (it was right under the insole in the OG).
If you want to start a fight on Reddit or LetsRun, ask posters what matters most in the super shoe equation: the carbon plate or the foam. While this question will continue to launch a thousand bar fights and scientific white papers, TNF worked to optimize both. The foam answer comes in the form of Dream foam, their new proprietary supercritical EVA-based foam—we loved it in the Altamesa 500!—that provides a delightful balance of squish and snap. It feels soft underfoot without sacrificing responsiveness. The durometer is perfectly tuned, giving an almost road-shoe-like feel to uptempo trail runs. As for the plate, it is slightly forked in the forefoot, to act somewhat independently and reduce lateral torque, and otherwise solid plate This shoe felt more stable than shoes like the New Balance FuelCell SumperCompTrail, or Saucony Endorphin Edge. The handling feels similar to Hoka’s TectonX 2, with a detectable propulsive edge without affecting balance.
Whether stupidly or bravely, my first run in these was a desert 20-miler on some loose and moderately technical terrain, and my feet and ankles were less sore in these than their predecessors (my plantar can sometimes be sensitive to carbon plates, especially if they’re right directly under the foot, as compared to further down the midsole). More foam between the plate and the foot also helped my feet feel less beat up after long days on the trail. The rocker geometry, combined with the Dream foam and carbon plate, really makes these feel like true super shoes on the trail. Even on a techier trail, they felt fairly stable and controlled, offering a more secure ride than other trail super shoes like the.
What’s Up with the Upper?
As mentioned above, the engineered mesh of the original left something to be desired in terms of blister prevention. Durability was also sub-par. I found that, while the midsole was still ready to rock after roughly 150 miles, the upper began to tear right along my toe-knuckles on both sides. I had only 25 miles between when they felt broken in before they began to break down and rip. I’ve only run 60-75 miles in the new ones, so I can’t yet attest to the upper’s durability. I can, however, say that the Summit Pro 2 requires significantly less toe-battering break-in time than the original did. The recycled engineered mesh and improved heel collar have a significantly better out-of-box feel and continue to feel great on longer runs. The toe box also feels roomier. Serrated laces help lock the shoe in without worrying about slippage or coming untied. (Why don’t all shoes use these at this point??)
The Bottom Line
While $250 is a hefty spend for a trail shoe, I heartily recommend dedicated racers add this to their competitive quiver. I also recommend saving this shoe for race day to get the most bang for your buck because when supercritical foams get worn they lose their energy-saving magic. While I might not recommend the Summit Vectiv Pro 2 for extremely technical trails or slower, fast-packing adventures, I found it handled well in all the terrain I threw at it, and the fact that many of TNF’s athletes are wearing this for techy races like UTMB shows that it can tackle tricky footing if you’re strong and agile enough. Spring training has only just begun here in Colorado, but these shoes make me eager for race season.