NNormal, the outdoor brand founded in 2022 by Spanish professional long-distance trail runner and ski mountaineer Kilian Jornet and Camper, is aiming to “reinvent” the trail running shoe with the NNormal Kboix.
Kboix is pronounced 'kah-bohsh' and is named after the Catalan words 'boig', which means crazy, and 'boix', which is a kind of tree.
The brand’s bold mission statement is “It’s in our nature to be as transparent as possible, as we head towards being a company that leaves no trace” and the Kboix reflects that philosophy.
Not only does the Kboix come with three swappable midsoles so that you can choose the one that best suits the terrain you’ll be running across on any given run, but each of the shoe’s key components – upper, midsole and outsole – can be individually replaced when they’ve worn out*.
“We started thinking, we need to rethink the shoe, to start thinking about a shoe from scratch, from zero. We want a shoe that could eventually last forever, and a shoe that can adapt to every person, every situation, every terrain, at every moment,” says Jornet.
(* This does raise the philosophical “Trigger’s Broom” question of whether you can claim you’ve been wearing the same running shoes for years, when you’ve actually worked your way through four uppers, countless midsoles and six outsoles.)
The three midsoles will come with the Kboix are:
Kb1 Soft made from EVA supercritical foam
Kb2 Reactive made from TPU supercritical foam
Kb3 Bounce made from PEBA supercritical foam
Apparently they’re so easy to swap, you can change midsoles in a few seconds mid-run, to really react to changes in the terrain.
The upper will be made from Matryx EVO Light Jacquard Material which incorporates Kevlar, while the outsole is made from Vibram Megagrip and Vibrtam Litebase with 3.5mm lugs, similar to the brand’s Kjerag model.
The brand claims: “This launch is a step forward in NNormal’s commitment of designing durable and versatile products that adapt to everyone’s evolution and offer the tools for the shoe to have an extended life cycle. The goal is, without a doubt, to change the game and challenge the industry status quo, as well as consumer behavior.”
Although not a running shoe, Advnture did recently review Haglöfs’ Duality AT1 GTX Mid hiking boots, which similarly offered interchangeable midsoles, so maybe this us the future for the leisure footwear market.
NNormal is also looking for 150 volunteers to help its designers refine the Kboix in its final stages of development.
“The selected users will live the journey hand-in-hand with the brand and collaborate in the shoe development process. That’s why their feedback will play a crucial role in fine-tuning and perfecting the Kboix,” says NNormal.
If you’re interested, pop over to the brand’s website to register your interest.
- The best trail running socks 2023: comfort and support on uneven ground
