As spring unveils its newest wave of gardens and greenery, we at SOM have an exciting announcement as perfect for the sole as flowers are for the soul. The newest member of our footwear family approaches with a familiar shape, but a feeling all its own. Before the Hi-Lite introduced breathable, zero-drop minimalism to mid-top style, one model staked its claim in outdoor adventure; the Trailhead. This low-profile sneaker provided the flexibility for activity with the lightness of being barefoot, and, from its inspiration, we are proud to reveal our newest and most comfortable sneaker: the Nutrail.
SOM's latest model brings flexibility of motion to a new degree of style with an improved lacing system that holds onto your feet without tying them down. Nutrails feels like a slipper but perform like our sport model, the Trailhead. Its 100% cotton ripstop fabric provides durability for anything nature can throw at you, while featuring a rotating series of limited edition colors and patterns that are sure to turn heads.
Laces that feel invisible.
My feet had the pleasure of walking dozens of miles in the Nutrail, and what they took away from their time beneath its laces was how little they noticed the laces at all. I never thought about lace comfort until I wore a pair of shoes that made them feel invisible. My previous pairs of hiking and athletic shoes used rigid lacing systems with thick eyelets and stiff tongues that often prevented my feet from naturally flexing with every step. This tightness on the tops of my feet had gone unnoticed for years until I tried on the Nutrail and, for the first time, felt what a difference a flexible lacing system could make.
While my other shoes gripped from the top, adding stress to a single centralized point, the Nutrail’s design held my feet evenly from the sides using soft bands of fabric along either side of the shoe. Without eyelets to add rigidity and with a stretchable Neoprene tongue down the middle for added flexibility, there was nothing in the shoe’s design that prevented my feet from moving exactly how they wanted to move. An unrestricted foot is a happy foot, and the Nutrail provided me a range of comfort and motion that I’d only ever experienced while barefoot.
This is the reason we say the Nutrail feels like a slipper. You could pull out the laces and wear them around the house with the same level of comfort as when they are fully laced for a morning run.
Limited Edition Styles
Along with maximum comfort and minimum weight, the Nutrail brings a revolving door of limited-edition looks designed by a local artist, Dylan Newberry. Our launching look, Hayloft Blue, showcases an array of intersecting sky blue lines stretched across a black backdrop. This innovative, 100% cotton ripstop fabric, produced in the USA with environmentally friendly ink and processes, introduces the ability for rotating colors and patterns. Over the course of the Nutrail’s life, new looks will be revealed and old ones will be retired, making each version a limited edition. To never miss out on the latest reveal, follow us on social media to stay up-to-date.
A new look. A new comfort. A new sense of motion.
This is just the beginning for the Nutrail. The flexibility it provides for both foot movement and colorful styling options is an exciting new addition to our SOM catalogue. If you would like to experience them for yourself and treat your feet to a new level of active comfort, please click HERE to visit the Nutrail’s product page.
Please read below for how the Nutrail stood up to the harsh conditions of a long-distance marathon over sand and rock:
Have you ever wished you could run in your slippers... for miles?
(Review by co-founder Nathalie)
We like to test our models during long-distance trail minimalist runs. I picked the Thelma and Louise Marathon in Moab, Utah for that final test-drive. The mix of soft sand trails, slabs, hills, heat and wind were perfect for an all-round evaluation of the shoe’s performance. There is not much to say; the shoes made me feel like I wasn’t taking part in a race. At no time was I aware of feeling them on my feet, nor did I need to get them off quickly at the end of a run of more than five and a half hours - like I see many other runners do. There was no sand in my shoes when I removed them; the tongue is sewn in so it limits ingress. The day temperature was kind of cool (72F) but the next day we ran at 89F, to learn that the neoprene tongue is not warmer than in the Trailhead. The fact that there is no structure in the tongue makes the feel on your feet almost nonexistent and reminds you of the slipper feel. To me, this is the highlight of this new model: not feeling that I have a pair of shoes on during long-distance runs or any of my daily activities. It is hard to believe because I thought that my Trailheads were perfect in that sense. There is always room for improvement and we love to see it happening. This Nutrail is lighter on your feet than any other SOM models. They feel like slippers but they perform as well as our top sport model.