The North Face Summit Series Vectiv Pro are the latest carbon plate shoe to hit the trails. The follow up to the original Vectiv trail shoes, they feature a softer, more responsive midsole foam, new uppers and a brand new uniquely-shaped Vectiv 2.0 carbon plate. Plus come CTRL rubber outsoles with 3.5mm lugs. So how does all that new running tech stack up? Run Testers Kieran and Nick are here to tell you in our The North Face Vectiv Pro review.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:38 – Design details
1:34 – Fit
2:40 – The Run Test
12:00 – Verdict
Subscribe to The Run Testers for more running gear reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRunTesters
Hey people welcome to the run test it's Kieran here and in this video Nick and Myself are going to be telling you Whether we think the North Face Effective Pro is a winning Trail shoe Watch on to find out [Music] Thank you Foreign Details then for the North Face Effective Pro starting with price he's Going to come at 225 pounds in the UK or 250 in the US they've got a six mil drop That's a stack of 32 millimeters in the Heel and 26 millimeters in the forefoot On the outsole there you've got surface Control 3.5 millimeter lugs and Weight Wise they come in at 10.1 ounces or 286 Grams so moving on to some of the key Features then well you've obviously got A big stack of proprietary playbacks Blend super foam that is actually softer And more responsive than the midsole Material of the flight Vector that we Saw two years ago that's working in Combination with effective 2.0 3D carbon Plate now interesting that carbon plate Has a different shape to it it's got a Four foot wings and it's also full the Whole midsole unit has an exaggerated Rocker flip them over and you've got Proprietary control rubber on the Outsole with three and a half mil lugs For grip and durability and up top
You've got these mesh uppers that are Really quite structured Thank you So I've had some problems with the fit Of the summit Vector Pro it does fit me Well on length in my normal size I go True to size in it I've got a good hold Around the heel but I have had some Rubbing on my right foot on the inside Of the foot there where the carbon Wing Is placed uh that to add that stability Like it just on every single run I've Had rubbing in that exact spot on my Foot which is just on the joint there And bars just behind the toes and it's Not really been very bad but it's been Noticeable when it's built up over the Run and I've ended up kind of capping my Runs at around an hour and the shoe as a Result like you potentially tape it up And get around it that way but yeah it Is a bit of a problem for the shoe Obviously as a shoe that's built to go Very very long in that to be getting Rubbing quite early on every single run It doesn't happen on my left side so It's probably not a problem it's going To affect every Runner but something to Look out for because that is obviously Going to massively diminish your Enjoyment of the shoe built for long Runs fit for me then I ran in a UK eight And a half and I would be recommending Going true to size in the shoe I found
Them plenty roomy in the toe box I had Good hold in the heel good lock down Across the top of the foot I didn't Personally experience any kind of Slipping and yeah recommend going true To size Foreign Experience for the summit at Vector Pro It's been a little bit of a mixed bag um It's fair to say that I'm not the runner This shoe is targeted at like my trail Runs are nearly all on soft ground in The forest around near me and I've been Using it in the UK winter as well and I Don't go out to ultra Mountain distance Myself so most of my runs will be fairly Relaxed uh short runs about an hour or So and sometimes I'll take the pace off A bit on those runs but I'm not really Going out cruising for days and days and Days on the trails so those caveats in Mind there have been some runs with a Shoe has worked for me and others where It hasn't really like I started with a Couple of progression runs on the trails Where I was moving from easy to steady Pace and it felt quite nice at those Easy Paces but what I did like purposely Go and try and up the pace you know Running around 340 okay something like That it just felt a bit big and Cumbersome and I lost the link I had With the rocker at easy places where I Did feel like a cruise along and I was
Getting the roll through from it I Didn't really get that so much in Faster Paces and I didn't feel like I was Getting a lot from the plate either it's Not the most noticeable thing doesn't Provide a lot of punch like you might Expect from Road shoes or anything like That and yeah it just it was okay it Just felt a little bit labored running At faster Paces in the shoe and rather Than since have all been at completely Easy paces and I've enjoyed it a lot More for that so just going out running At a nice relaxed pace it's the kind of Shoe where you will see the benefits of The plate and the foam in the middle in That you're running at a slightly faster Pace than your perceived effort level Might suggest you're running it so when I was on those easy runs generally going On feel or sometimes looking at my heart Rate pace is always a little bit hard And I expected and it does help you kind Of ease up hills nicely and roll down Them smoothly it's there's a good Attributes to have obviously the shoe That is built for those longer distances When you're going to be going at an easy Pace but it's nice to have something That just seems to help take a little Bit of the effort away from your legs to Protect your legs very well the midsole Is actually quite interesting because it I was expecting it to feel softer than
It does like you know it's a trail shoe So you're never gonna have it be really Really soft so anything like that Because it would be unstable but it's Not that bouncy or soft or repulsive to Me like it feels fairly dull underfoot Like it's a nice foam it's certainly Comfortable I think it's going to Protect the legs really well and all the Comfort is there as long as you don't Get that rubbing but it's just not Giving a huge amount of bounce back uh The upside of it is that it is a really Stable shoe like I've gone on some Narrow single track and jig Jagged Around in it and um I do think it's a Really well balanced shoe and the way The plate Works underfoot is quite Flexible it allows you that little bit Of flexibility on an even ground Providing a stable platform so that was A little bit surprising because it does Feel like quite a big shoe at times it Is quite Nimble but then what also Surprising is that when you do hit more Runnable sections nice flat open Trails Just don't get quite as much punch from It as I might expect like if you were Looking to pick up the pace and those Kind of stages on the trail race don't Think it works out well it really does Settle in nicely into a nice cruising Pace and if you're on long runs and You're cruising and you just start to up
The pace a little bit gradually then it Works well for that but going out and Running hard with intent it's just I Found it a little bit of a big shoe for That and a little bit heavy and not Quite as punch as I was expecting you Know again that's based on my usage as Someone who's not really looking at Ultraman distances and would be racing Over shorter distances on the trails in Terms of grit I haven't had massive Problems with a shoe even when using it On soft ground but it is certainly built For hard ground in particular when I Took it on some really muggy grassy Sections and that kind of thing you're Going to see around about these lugs They're quite shallow they are widely Spaced they're built for harder surfaces It makes it quite comfortable on the Road as well but it's not a shoe that I'd be eyeing up a steep grassy descent With with excitement in it just feels Like you're gonna have to be quite Careful on that kind of ground but it Does grip very well on harder surfaces Even when they're very wet and on Flatter ground if it gets a bit soft and Boggy it's not you're not going to fall Over instantly but yeah if you're Looking at shoes like the UK winter it's Not really what it's built for it's much More lined up for those harder grounds Like Mountain terrains things like that
Um but it is I think a pretty effective In finding reliable grip so for my run Test I've done about 60 kilometers in This shoot on a mixture of terrain I've Done it mostly it's got a slower Paces Your sort of ultra Trail style Paces so Nothing too fast though I have done some Sections where I've pushed up the paces To check how they are at faster speeds As well my longest run in this was about An hour and a half to two hours and I've Also taken them down to the West country Coastline where I've done some more Technical kind of steep and more Difficult tricky kind of close Coastal Trails in them as well now overall I Really like this shoe stepping Comfort Was great from the off I feel like they Belong on your feet the minute you put Them on and yeah comfortable I think They feel really energetic Lively as Trail shoes go that's something they've Got in their favor but without being Over baked overcooked they're not too Aggressive in terms of that kind of Spring that you want to get back from The midsole foam now speaking about the Midsole foam I found these to be really Kind of well balanced I think there's a Softness and a sort of slight spring to Them that's not too much I think that Kind of pea back splend just kind of Returns just at the right time it Doesn't give too much kind of wobble on
The trails you obviously want good Stability when you're talking about Trails so balancing that kind of that Energy and that kind of um stability is A key thing when it comes to Trophies And I think these pull this off really Well plate adds a little bit of Stiffness as well without being again Without being overdone and so overall What I think you've got is an energy Here that's not too aggressive and There's just enough to give you that Kind of helping hand to kind of fight The fatigue that you would need and Particularly when you're talking about Going kind of longer distances Ultra Distances this shoe is something that I Think is going to do really quite well Again at those easier kind of ultra Paces I feel like that rocker you know You've got quite a big pronounced rocker On this shoe I think that really kind of Helps with you sort of rolling through And just give you that feeling like You're clipping along I guess with a Little less effort if you're kind of Grinding out the miles deep into an Ultra where you just know you've got to Get to the next stage station and you're On pretty kind of firm even terrain this Is where these shoes really come into Their own and that rocker really helps You know it's just sort of almost like An effortless motion which I really
Enjoyed you know in many ways I think This shoe is exactly what you need on That kind of flatter firmer longer ultra Run now one thing I know that a lot of Other people have spoken about is Getting a bit of pressure from that Carbon plate from the wings of the Carbon plate particularly on the ups and The downs I didn't experience any of That at all on any of the terrain that I Ran so I can't really speak to that and You know without having that like I Understand why people that would put you Off the shoe straight away you can't Afford to have that deep into a run Something giving you a hot spot and a Pressure point you've got to have these Things running kind of nice and clean Now when it comes to the kind of type of Run that I would use these for I think They really Excel on gravel compacted Trails anything that's kind of firm and A bit flatter and it's not kind of There's not so much debris you're not Kind of picking your way through lots of Sort of narrow steps where you've got to Do tree roots and rocks and you've got Like narrow paths where you've got a Very delicately place your feet that's Where these shoes you know you can run Kind of almost open groomed Trails That's what these shoes are really good For Ups and downs I would say you know they
Cope they cope really nicely on the Downs I think they give you a little bit Of extra on the UPS it's when you get Into things that are a little bit more Technical a little bit more tricky and You're going to have to do a little bit More picking that these have a bit of a Problem my main problem with them not Just because perhaps they're not the Most stable but the other thing is just They've got quite a wide platform Particularly kind of at the heel and Sometimes you can feel like maybe There's not enough room and they might Be that kind of width it means that They're much wider than some other trail Shoes that it can get caught on things When you're trying to lift your foot and There's a lot more potential here for Clipping Particularly happen when I was on the Sort of coastal route so some of the Paths that I ran were very very narrow And there was quite a lot going on and You didn't feel quite so confident when You put your foot down you weren't going To catch things on the way up so that's One thing I think that these shoes might Struggle with if you're going on to kind Of Mountain Trails or tricky Trails Where yeah you've got you've got less Foot space basically to play to plant Your feet you know when you've got a More reliable surface to run off where
You can really kind of plant your feet Engage that foam and the plate and and Push off then that's where these shoes Really Excel and in fact that goes to For when you hit the tarmac these shoes Actually run as well as some Road shoes That I've run in on the tarmac you've Got those kind of three and a half mil Lugs they're not too aggressive the Pattern's quite wide so you know there's There's grip but it's not crazy and yeah The Comfort on roads is right up there Speaking of the grip for me with what I Did I thought was mainly okay I did have Some wet conditions on the coastal paths Where it was kind of steep grassy but Some kind of sloppy mud where yeah those Lugs they're not going to do enough for You when it gets really wet or really Wet grass those kind of things you Didn't feel quite so confident placing Your foot these were going to do what They needed to do and for those kind of Conditions you're probably going to want Deeper lugs and a more aggressive lug Pattern but what they're doing here I Guess is really sort of balancing that So that when you're running on sections Where you don't want the grip to be sort Of sticking you to the ground again on Those firmer Trails again to maybe those Kind of Road sectors you might be doing You come through a village then these Work really nicely you know so again
This is about how you're going to use This shoe and what you might use it for It's it's not going to save you when Things get a bit wild it's going to be Good when things are more kind of tame And you don't want that grip you want to Be able to kind of roll through that's Where that grip is going to work best I think the last thing I really wanted To say is just about the kind of overall Comfort it's almost got like a Nike sort Of padding into the heel here which I Was a bit worried about with it and it's Also got quite a high kind of heel color I was a bit worried about how that might Tap onto the bottom of the base of the Achilles but actually it holds the foot Really nicely and this padding that sort Of goes around it's not overdone it's Quite well balanced and yeah I was Really sort of kind of happy with that I Think you know you've got the mesh it's Pretty breathable here it's um it's Quite open though there's a lot of dust We're coming off the trails and needs to Be running in particularly kind of Dusty Conditions because you've got that kind Of open top flip side of that is it's Quite breathable and again also if thus Can get in water gets in quite quickly But the other good thing is that one Gets in quite quickly it can also Dissipate quite quickly so yeah it sort Of swings around abouts on that front as
Well all right But the big caveat for me with the shoe Is the rubbing involved like it doesn't Matter what kind of Runner you are and What you're planning to use it for if You're gonna get rubbing on your Forefoot quite early into runs it's Going to make it a hard one to recommend Especially if you're looking at Ultra Marathons when all those issues are Going to be magnified tenfold however if That's not a problem for you then I do Think this is a pretty good shoe for its Intended purpose which is those very Long runs on harder ground Mountain Ground you know when you're moving at a Fairly relaxed pace because you're Running so far and it just helps you Tick along help preserve a bit of energy Protect your legs well with this big Stack of foam and just yeah it's really A good supportive platform to do those Kind of events at outside of that zone I Don't think it's a shoe I'd recommend Like it's um not the perfect shoe for me On softer ground doing mostly shorter Run I prefer something lighter more Agile myself with a bit more grip things Like the innovate trailfly g270 for Example is the kind of shoe I'd be Looking at for my longest trail runs Around here because it's got a bit of Comfort but it has the better grip and That slightly narrower more agile
Profile and then looking at some of the Other carbon plate trilogies I've tested I do lean more towards things like the Tech team They are a bit lighter for one they're a Bit more Nimble I think to me they seem To give a little bit more when I did hit Runnable sections in those shoes I feel Like I did engage the plate a bit more And got a bit more punch back on running At PACE whereas this really feels like a Very Cruise issue that doesn't have that Extra gear when you do want to try it on Faster obviously you can run fast I just Think it's not as enjoyable to try and Pick up the pace substantially in as Some of the other carbon-plated trail Shoes I've tested and also not sure You're getting a massive boost in Performance from the plate in the Midsole and obviously that feeds into a Very high price so if I was looking at Something like the Hoka speed goat 5 for Example which is also a rocket shoe with A lot of cushioning I feel like I've got Just as much back from it when running At PACE and I also found it just as Comfortable and cruisy when moving at Easier Paces as well so it's a really High price tag and I think it is a shoe That's only going to provide a return on Investment for that price tag if you Really are hitting the exact sweet spot Of what it's built for which is those
Long runs on hard ground when you've got All that protection and you're lining up Mountain Ultras all that kind of stuff Then yeah maybe there's a case here for Buying it that's not the kind of Runner I am so I wouldn't do that myself and if You are that kind of Runner do watch out For that rubbing because that can be a Bit of a deal breaker with issue I think On balance I'm a fan of this shoot Mainly because I think it suits the kind Of trail running that I do really nicely I tend to tackle kind of more mellow Off-road kind of easy Trails the kind of Thing that I would call you here it's Almost like rolling Trails rather than Anything kind of steep and Technical and Sort of really mountainous here in the UK and this fits that perfectly and I Think if you're looking for a shoe to Tackle kind of groomed compacted easy Trails at very sort of easy to sort of Medium Paces without anything Particularly crazy going on I think the Shoe fits the bill you know I can think Of at least a dozen kind of Trail Ultras In the UK where this shoe would be a Good choice and one of the things I Really love about it most I think is That it feels like a road shoe it almost Looks like a road shoot and it feels Like a Roadshow a lot of Roads your DNA Coming over here I think there's a lot To be said for that we're going to see
More shoes that sort of adopt that yeah So if I had to sum it up I'd say it's Got good fit good step in Comfort happy Over long distance in terms of your Overall Comfort unless you get that hot Spot from the carbon plate Wing which I Don't I think the ride has just enough Energy just enough softness without Overdoing it being too aggressive just Enough stability for the things that Aren't so much technical uh yeah so I Think overall it's like a really nice Well-balanced units one that I would Happily do longer easy Ultras in for Sure that said the one thing that I'm Not so keen on is the price it's 225 Pounds in the UK this has got a way up There in terms of trail shoes and I'm Not entirely sure it's worth the premium You know I think there are shoes out There that can do an equally good job That are much more affordable things Like the innovate trailfly g270 I also Think the hokitekton X2 is a good solid Shoe and of course if you're one of Those unlucky Runners who gets the hot Spots from the carbon plate that's going To make this complete right off from the Word go but overall I think the summit Vective Pro is a really good shoot I Think it's a really exciting shoe I Think it does a lot of what I would want In a trail Ultra Shoe And I think North Face have done
Something really good here I think They've moved it on a bit it's Definitely moved on from the old victims And yeah I think what they're doing is Pretty exciting in terms of how they're Looking at trail shoes and trying to Bring something new to it so yeah I'm Really looking forward to seeing where They go with this in the future as well For now Solid good shoe wish it was a bit Cheaper as ever but yeah one that's good If you're doing a rolling Ultra on Fairly kind of stable firm reliable Ground Worth looking at so there you have it That has been our review of The North Face Summit vective Pro hope you've Enjoyed it if you have any questions About this hit us up in the comments Below have you used this shoe what do You think of it again tell us we'd love To hear your feedback it's always Interesting to hear what other people Have found in products that are out There on the shelves right now if you're Interested in other trail shoes there's A video appearing on the channel just About now you want to watch Otherwise it's been a pleasure to speak To you and we hope to see you again soon On the run tests happy running no matter What you're doing get out there go smash It let us know what you're up to
