Hero photo by Tanner Bowden for Field Mag
During our recent hut-to-hut hike on the Pemi Ridge in New Hampshire's White Mountains, nearly our entire crew took on the rugged trails with footwear from one brand: Norda. On my recent visit to Patagonia's headquarters in Ventura, while visiting The Forge, the company's advanced R&D and prototyping facility, a designer and I accidentally did the Spider-Man meme thing when we spotted each other in the same discontinued colorway of 001s from a few years ago. Far more impressive than any of that, Rachel Entrekin finished the 2026 Cocodona 250, a burly ultramarathon from Arizona's Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, in 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds, winning the race outright and setting a new course record. She did it in a pair of Nordas.
Keen observers recognized Entrekin's shoes as the 055, a new model first introduced to industry insiders in late 2025 with an official launch date of 9 July 2026 ($325 USD/$325 CAD). A cursory look (and awareness of Norda's numerical naming scheme) would have runners thinking the new shoe is a souped-up version of the 005, a model made for racing that's been highly praised for its lightness, energetic ride, and durability. But Norda didn't simply stitch a gaiter onto the upper and call it a day; the 055 has its own thing going on under the hood, too.
Field Mag received an early sample, and I've been running it on my local trails and dirt roads to see just how different it is. Read on for my initial first look review of the Norda 055.
Josh Greet courtesy Norda
The Norda 055's Sock-Like Upper
The 055's most apparent diversion is the upper—that sock-like gaiter is impossible to ignore. A few other trail running shoes have a similar feature; there's the Hoka Tecton X3, the Mount to Coast BITR H1, and the new Brooks Cascadia Elite. These single-piece knit uppers have to be tight enough to block debris but loose enough to put on easily. There's a fine middle ground; at best they work exactly as described, but at worst they're a total irritant to your ankle. The 055 gets it right, but what I really liked while lacing up was how Norda integrated far more than the minimal amount of cushion these gaiters usually have, preventing top-of-foot pressure points.
Like the 005 and Norda's other shoes, the 055's upper is made of bio-circular woven Dyneema to make the shoe strong and lightweight. Similar to the 005, it has padding in the heel collar; similar to the 002, it has reflective line work running down the sides. Running in it, my feet have felt locked in, though I found decent room up front for my toes to move around. I've never gone 250 miles in one go, but imagine that'd be something I'd value if I did.
