Steve Lesnard – The North Face’s New Vectiv Footwear Line Started at the Top of Mont Blanc

On January 26, The North Face unveiled Vectiv, its latest line of footwear. “The inspiration began at the top of Mont Blanc in France,” says Steve Lesnard, The North Face CMO and Global Vice President for Product Creation. Lesnard told Forbes magazine that “Vectiv is designed to maximize energy on all types of terrain, propel you forward, allowing runners to run longer while reducing the impact on their bodies”.

The new footwear line was tested by real athletes who ran, climbed, and walked more than 6,000 miles in France’s challenging alpine terrain. The result is a carbon fiber flight system that, according to The North Face, “reduces the impact on descents by 10 percent and gives athletes more energy return and propulsion, whether uphill, downhill, or on highly technical terrain”.

About Vectiv

The Vectiv line of footwear includes 15 different styles of trail running and hiking shoes using the new Vectiv system, some of which are still waiting to be released to the public. What makes Vectiv so unique? It starts with the underfoot plate, which gives the wearer lateral and fore-aft control. The mid-layer cushioning is designed to be tuned to different levels of rebound and cushioning, depending on the needs of the athlete. The outsole has a surface control technology that includes a combination of lug patterns and compounds specially designed for the trail.

Named by “Outside” magazine as one of the top hiking shoes of 2021, The North Face’s Vectiv Exploris Mid Futurelight combines stability, ventilation, and traction all in one mid-weight boot. It’s a combination that has previously eluded hiking boot manufacturers.

One of the things that make The North Face unique is how the company actively works with athletes, listens to their needs, and responds with products that meet those needs. “We’re used to serving different communities. The snowboarder versus a climber, a skier, or a hiker. They have different needs and rhythms to their season,” says Steve Lesnard, The North Face CMO and Global Vice President for Product Creation. “So we’ve been trained over the years to think about our communities very specifically, who they are, what they need, and what the best way for us is to empower and enable them.”

About Steve Lesnard

Steve Lesnard is the CMO and Global Vice President for Product Creation for The North Face, the Denver-based purveyor of outdoor sports apparel, equipment, and footwear. In his 30-year career working for some of the top athletic brands and athletes in the world.