As a retailer, it’s amazing to see all the new companies entering the footwear business every year and fighting for the same chunk of the consumer pie. This summer, Salewa, parent company to Dynafit, entered the US market and next summer, Dynafit itself will come to the plate with a new trail runner called the Feline Superlight. Salewa will also offer the first mountaineering boot, called the Gaiter Pro, with a climb/walk mechanism, similar in concept to a ski/walk option in an AT boot.
Sexy new Dynafit Feline Superlight Trail running shoe for 2012.
On first impression, the new trail running shoe from Dynafit looks very nice. The Feline Superlight ($159) has really cool styling with a red, black and white color scheme and the Gore-tex version ($189) will be green, grey and black. A ballistic plastic toe cap offers superior protection from toe-bang against roots and rocks.
Lace cover with access to lower laces and “Pull For Flight” tab, which
tightens the mid-laces and increases fit and stoke on your run.
Like many “alpine running†shoes, the Feline Superlight has a lace cover, which is a bit more thought out than others and still offers access to the lower laces, and includes a tab which helps tighten the middle section of laces before cinching down and tying the upper section. Lace covers are nice, but some make it hard to really fine tune the fit, so it is nice to see Dynafit putting some though into their lace cover creation and providing easy access and adjustability to all the laces on the shoe.
Triple Density outsole and Aura Activator located under foot.
The outsole of the Feline Superlight is made with three different densities of rubber (white/firm, red/medium, black/soft) to provide a good combination of durability, grip and traction on loose dirt, rocks and mud. The bottom package also includes a techy innovation called the Aura Activator, which in the most basic terms is a magnet located in the sole that claims to help tune and strengthen the runner’s bio-field…kind of like those magnetic bracelets you see advertised on TV. I always thought those things were a gimmick, but you can judge for yourself and read about the Aura Activator here. (Full study on the Aura Activator here, more in-depth and with pictures.)
At 9.5 oz (270grams) the Feline Superlight is pretty darn light, but still offers pretty good support, protection and some unique features not found in other really light trail runners. After trying them on and doing some short runs at the trade show, I have to say the fit was VERY good and “like a glove†around the mid and rear sections of my foot, while at he same time allowing the front of my foot to stay relaxed and comfortable. Five stars on the fit for sure.
Another cool and interesting product at the Salewa booth was found in the new alpine mountaineering boot called the Pro Gaiter. The boot will be the first of its kind to offer a climb/walk feature located in the sole of the boot. By rotating a small dial in the heel of the boot, one can choose between a rigid sole for support when climbing on steep terrain, or a “walk mode†that allows the sole to flex a bit more, making a long walk or approach on flatter ground much more bearable. You could definitely notice a difference in modes when wearing the boot and I’m sure the boot only flexes more after the soles become “broken in” and more flexible.
Climb/Walk mechanism in the Salewa Pro Gaiter mountaineering boot.
The tooling for this feature is more-or-less a camming mechanism that acts on a metal shank located between the mid and out-sole section of the boot. In climb-mode, the shank is held tightly in place and keeps the sole rather stiff. Turning the dial in the heel to the walk-mode introduces slack into the system, which in turn allows the sole to flex. Pretty cool ideal and the Salewa Pro Gaiter has won a few awards on the design already. Pretty innovative, so look for it next summer.
Cool idea on the mountaineering boots, finally a way to make those longer approaches a little more bearable. Those Dynafit trail runners are a pretty big disappointment though, the NB 101 is lighter and less than half the price, and no stupid magnets. I wonder how much cost and weight they add?
mike, sorta agree with you about the magnets, but the feline superlight seemed much stiffer underfoot than most minimalist trail runners i’ve seen out there. could be worth the extra weight? my guess the weight of the magnet is negligible.
check out the full concept of the aura activator…
http://en.auraactivator.com/files/SCIENTIFIC-REPORT.pdf
I prefer softer shoes so stiffness isn’t a big selling point for me, but that’s just personal preference.
My computer won’t pull up that PDF (problem’s on my end, not theirs) but a company pushing homeopathic garbage titling a pdf “SCIENTIFIC-REPORT” is not particularly compelling. I just hope it isn’t a trend for Dynafit, I don’t want to rely on the placebo effect to keep my skis attached to my feet. The fact that Dynafit is blowing money on nonsense like this seriously hurts their reputation with me; that’s saying a lot because I’m a full-blown proselytizing devotee.
it takes a few seconds to load.
another way to link to it is to follow the link below and then click the “SCIENTIFIC REPORT.pdf” link at the bottom of the page.
http://en.auraactivator.com/index.php?q=research-centre.html
I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but the “SCIENTIFIC REPORT” is just a couple of pages of marketing nonsense.
1- It’s not published in a peer-reviewed journal
2- There is no evidence that any experiments or trials were conducted
3- There is no way anyone can try to replicate their claims in subsequent trials from this document
Essentially, the scientific method was completely ignored.
I certainly don’t want to bash Dynafit (or any of their sponsored athletes), but i have to agree with Mike… it’s a bunch of garbage, and it is a little disappointing that Dynafit would buy into it. Magnet therapy is a known pseudo-science – any and all claims made about the benefits of magnets have been unsubstantiated and are unverifiable. In the scientific world, the burden of proof lies with the person making the claims, and the proof here is not on the table. I’m not saying that these magnets DON’T work, it’s just that no one has ever been able to prove there is ANY benefit to them in any legitimate terms.
Sorry to geek out on the science bit here, we can go back to talking about skiing now.
I didn’t know an aura needed activating. Hard to read through the bad english of the pdf but it might actually make sense if I wasn’t drinking beer right now. I knew those stupid water clusters were slowing me down!! Maybe they should install those gizmos on espresso makers…thus improving the E(nergy)=m(arijuana)c(offee)squared formula.
Are they using those doohickeys on the Tour de France? I need another beer.
one thing to remember is that nearly all companies have some sort of marketing gimmick tied their products, to make them stand out and different from their competitors.
There seem to be two boots with the walk/climb mechanism. Anyone know how much they weigh?
$159 for trail runners? Who does Dynafit think I am, the Queen of England? No thanks.
As a note on scientific proof that something works, Aspirin had been available over the counter for 70 odd years before scientists could explain how it worked. Not saying you should then believe in the activator, but you would count yourself out of using a lot of stuff if you waited for science to prove it – imagine all those hangovers without some form of Aspirin. The understanding of pressure points on the sole of the feet and how they interact with other parts of the body has been around for (technical term) donkeys years. Not much of a link to magnets, but it’s an interesting field.
Cool. But what I want to know is why there aren’t Dynafittings in the heel of that Salewa boot, for glacier-zipping on super short skis. Not to mention computability with the Camp crampons you blogged about… Seriously, that would be a pretty slick light summer mountaineering set up.
For sure. If Dynafit is stepping into the mountaineering boot market then they sure as hell better make what all alpinists have wanted for years….Tech fittings on climbing boots! This is a no-brainer.
Everyone,
Thanks for the spirited discussion on our new products…working for Salewa North America, you can take my opinions as you like, but thought I would address a few issues.
On the Aura Activator please look at this link as it has some more accurate data:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.auraactivator.com/&ei=FPUmTteAK4fVgAfKhrVc&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Daura%2Bactivator%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7ADFA_en%26prmd%3Divns
As with many technologies and concepts from the sports industry that were at first chuckled at (endurance nutrition, fat skis, Aero Bars, Dynafit Bindings!) we all need to look at this with an open mind. As Steve said, the shoe itself merits a look… with the Aura Activator being an added bonus to an already great shoe.
On price we are price competitive with other products with this degree of performance.
Really do appreciate the passion of comments…hopefully you will all be impressed with the performance of both products as you have been with other Dynafit and Salewa innovations.
Harpo:
Pro Gaiter: 1040g (US 9)
Pro Guide: 1070g (US 9)
Will be available sizes 7-12 (with 1/2 sizes) and size 13.
thanks for the info mike! and i would agree that the price is competitive with some of the higher-end, more expensive shoes on the market.
Dynafit has been a company synonymous with solid engineering and a methodical approach to innovation. While I wouldn’t say the addition of a magnet in their trail running line forces them to lose all credibility, it does alienate them from their core market which wants function first and unproven marketing gimmicks…well, never. Weight aside, it’s just a distraction from an incredibly expensive but no doubt very well thought out running shoe.
I dont know about magnets but, I for one would like to see “support” provided by a lower center of gravity, particularly in the heel. Also, i think for the kind of runner that could justify 159dollars, stiffness is not needed or wanted.
Im guessing they arent selling these in europe. Something along the lines of the fell running shoes overseas, is what I would like to see.
[…] add to the running shoe quiver, I recently received a pair of next year’s Dynafit Feline Superlights to test out. So far, I’ve been very impressed with this shoe. It fits my foot like a glove, is […]