The North Face Activist Futurelight Mens Walking Trainers

Product Information

FUTURELIGHT is a harbinger to what TNF notes is a massive move “outside the supply chain.” The company spent millions to veer away from the available options and toward proprietary materials that could better distinguish the brand. Stylistically speaking, we also love what The North Face Activist FutureLight Mid brings to the table. Ever since we first became aware of FutureLight’s shift into footwear, we’ve been intrigued to see how the technology would be implemented in the world of walking boots. Hitting up a number of hilly park areas around south east London, on some very warm days, I was genuinely impressed by how comfortable my feet felt while wearing them. Even after a number of hours strolling about, I never felt that urge I’ve felt with some other waterproof shoes to take them off and get some air between my toes. TNF’s eco story is similarly impressive. The company notes all fabrics use recycled materials. It adds a PFC-free DWR treatment to the face to make water bead and run off.

For the past couple decades, we have worn apparel we need to adapt to,” said Scott Mellin, global GM of The North Face’s Mountain Sports division. “Now, we have apparel that adapts to us.” It’s a boot that is best suited to tarmac and trails, rather than mountains. I know that the brand believes it will cope with a wide range of terrain but unless you were heading into the mountains in summer on a high quality path that is not too steep, I can’t recommend the boots for high altitude wear. In Scotland, these boots would not be suitable for anything more than easy hill walking on defined trails and paths. FUTURELIGHT allows air to move through at a rate of about 1.5 ft³/minute — very permeable for a waterproof fabric. Again, for context, eVent’s most breathable fabric has a permeability of 0.2 ft³/minute, and many waterproof-breathable fabrics are lower, in the range of 0.07 to 0.09 ft³/minute. But You’ll Probably Still Sweat As we noted in an initial article on FUTURELIGHT, the moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) is 75,000 g/m²/day. For context, the highly breathable eVent fabric has a top MVTR of 30,000 g/m²/day.

Additional Reviews

The resulting grid has holes small enough for air permeability and breathability, though sized to keep moisture (rain, sleet) from seeping through. This is the same general premise Gore-Tex has used since the 1970s. But FUTURELIGHT is (as the name says) lighter, and it’s also more breathable in the mountains or the lab, Mellin promises. Water beads on the face. It was waterproof in my test, though sunny skies and wind in Colorado prevented a full “rain test” of FUTURELIGHT. Photo credit: Tomas Zuccareno

And the entire time, I had the FUTURELIGHT shell on and zipped up. The North Face FUTURELIGHT Review These boots are comfortable straight out of the box. These days, if a shoe or boot is not immediately comfortable I would reject it so the North Face The North Face Activist Futurelight mid walking boot passes the first test. It took 2 years of R&D to bring FUTURELIGHT to market. The company has tested it across the world with its athletes and to the summit of Mount Everest.To be sure, FUTURELIGHT is impressive, though not perfect. It protected my body for the whole of 2 days in the mountains — I never took the shell off through a range of temperatures, wind, sun, and varying levels of physical effort on the descents and climbs. But Mellin confirmed to GearJunkie that FUTURELIGHT, though born of a process similar to other competing waterproof-breathable membranes, is a new, unique format. It’s manufactured in Korea outside of Seoul. TNF worked with a factory that makes insulating elements for electronics. It created new machines to develop a new kind of membrane that would slip into the fabric workflow. The lacing system allows you to tighten the ankle of the boot to give fairly good support. These are mid-height boots so they will not be suitable for very rough terrain and winter wear. Developed with a FutureLight membrane, The North Face have claimed that the Activists “breathe as hard as you do” during strenuous activity and, as far we’re concerned, the product more than lived up to things on that score. Of course we weren’t exactly trekking up Kilimanjaro – highest mountain in Africa– with them on our feet, but we were charging up and down the local hills and it was, like we said, a hot day in the city.

I asked Mellin to compare FUTURELIGHT with Polartec’s NeoShell or Outdoor Research’s AscentShell. He had no comment. Mellin said TNF would release more test data this fall, at which point some of the lab-generated specs can be compared for anyone interested in the membrane wars. We’re yet to take these things out on a proper adventure but so far, so good. We’re looking forward to getting out there, with them on our feet, and seeing what they’re really made of. Buy the North Face Activist FutureLight here You May Also Like Beyond the membrane, other components make FUTURELIGHT unique, Mellin said. First is a new kind of seam tape that is smaller, thinner, and more stretchy. The North Face also developed its own yarn and weaving processes, as well as new lamination and finishing techniques. Needless to say, we’ve been extremely interested to see how the technology would translate into the world of hiking footwear and so, without further ado, here it is – The North Face Activist FutureLight Mid. Who Is The North Face Activist Futurelight For? Some of the common specs in the category are thin still on FUTURELIGHT. The North Face is guarded, not wanting to release some details until it brings the fabric to market this fall. FUTURELIGHT testing on a sunny day; photo by Tomas Zuccareno

Is Nanospinning Really New?

Seeing the technology implemented in footwear is a fascinating development. The Activist FutureLight claims to have an advanced level of waterproofing, while also being breathable enough to regulate temperature and keep you comfortable. The resulting product, the FUTURELIGHT membrane, looks like a white, stretchy film. It is so porous as to be actually 85 percent air. FUTURELIGHT vs. NeoShell or AscentShell We had climbed Hayden and then skied the Northwest Couloir. The classic line had been little-skied this season because of avalanche danger.