We wondered: Why couldn’t we wear a shell all day, never taking it off?” Mellin recalled. “Andres pushed me to think outside the current paradigm, and I then challenged our internal teams with the same theme.” Is Nanospinning Really New? As we noted in an initial article on FUTURELIGHT, the moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) is 75,000 g/m²/day. For context, the highly breathable eVent fabric has a top MVTR of 30,000 g/m²/day.

These boots are comfortable straight out of the box. These days, if a shoe or boot is not immediately comfortable I would reject it so the North Face The North Face Activist Futurelight mid walking boot passes the first test. Some of the common specs in the category are thin still on FUTURELIGHT. The North Face is guarded, not wanting to release some details until it brings the fabric to market this fall. FUTURELIGHT testing on a sunny day; photo by Tomas Zuccareno We had climbed Hayden and then skied the Northwest Couloir. The classic line had been little-skied this season because of avalanche danger.Developed with a FutureLight membrane, The North Face have claimed that the Activists “breathe as hard as you do” during strenuous activity and, as far we’re concerned, the product more than lived up to things on that score. Of course we weren’t exactly trekking up Kilimanjaro – highest mountain in Africa– with them on our feet, but we were charging up and down the local hills and it was, like we said, a hot day in the city. FUTURELIGHT allows air to move through at a rate of about 1.5 ft³/minute — very permeable for a waterproof fabric. Again, for context, eVent’s most breathable fabric has a permeability of 0.2 ft³/minute, and many waterproof-breathable fabrics are lower, in the range of 0.07 to 0.09 ft³/minute. But You’ll Probably Still Sweat The resulting product, the FUTURELIGHT membrane, looks like a white, stretchy film. It is so porous as to be actually 85 percent air. FUTURELIGHT vs. NeoShell or AscentShell

I asked Mellin to compare FUTURELIGHT with Polartec’s NeoShell or Outdoor Research’s AscentShell. He had no comment. Mellin said TNF would release more test data this fall, at which point some of the lab-generated specs can be compared for anyone interested in the membrane wars. It’s a boot that is best suited to tarmac and trails, rather than mountains. I know that the brand believes it will cope with a wide range of terrain but unless you were heading into the mountains in summer on a high quality path that is not too steep, I can’t recommend the boots for high altitude wear. In Scotland, these boots would not be suitable for anything more than easy hill walking on defined trails and paths. If it works anywhere near as well as the hype would have you believe, it’s potentially an absolute game changer in the world of hiking boots. Conclusion

Who Is The North Face Activist Futurelight For?

FUTURELIGHT is a harbinger to what TNF notes is a massive move “outside the supply chain.” The company spent millions to veer away from the available options and toward proprietary materials that could better distinguish the brand. Ever since we first became aware of FutureLight’s shift into footwear, we’ve been intrigued to see how the technology would be implemented in the world of walking boots. And the entire time, I had the FUTURELIGHT shell on and zipped up. The North Face FUTURELIGHT Review The Activist’s Mid’s main draw is FUTURELIGHT, an electrospun, air-permeable waterproof/breathable membrane. During a rainy trip in Arizona’s Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness, the tech kept our feet dry but ensured they never got too sweaty with temps in the 80s. An extra-soft collar and cushier-than-average EVA midsole sweeten the deal even more.