The Portland, Ore. firm that launched the Speedland SL:PDX has created a brand new path shoe that appears extra like a street shoe, however with a lugged outsole. The GS:TAM, named for northern California’s Mount Tamalpais, has an identical higher to the SL:PDX (together with the dual-BOA closure), however with a thicker midsole designed for operating on mountain roads and trails.
The GS:TAM’s higher seems to be virtually equivalent to the higher of the earlier fashions, however the blocky, 37-inch Pebax-elastomer midsole is extra like that of a street shoe, and is extra suited to the drier terrain of Marin County, close to San Francisco. It has a barely larger drop (7 mm) and could be very barely heavier than the SL:PDX, weighing in at a nonetheless very cheap 303 g (10.7 oz.).
After they began up Speedland, co-founders Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon needed to create a really glorious shoe, with no compromises in high quality dictated by mass manufacturing–a shoe that might ship unrivalled efficiency whereas additionally being environmentally sustainable. They put all of their appreciable assets into producing the limited-edition coach, creating 1,200 pairs of the SL:PDX, which got here out in June 2021.
Designed for the usually moist terrain round Portland, the SL:PDX boasted a light-weight, sturdy higher, with two BOA closures to dial-in the right match. This was sewn to a recyclable Pebax-elastomer midsole with a detachable carbon-fibre plate and a virtually indestructible Michelin-rubber outsole with 7 mm lugs that could possibly be trimmed to go well with the terrain. It got here with a hefty price ticket: about CAD $477, however path runners raved about it, primarily due to the huge toebox and customizable match, due to the BOA system, which permits micro changes on the fly.
The model adopted up the SL:PDX with the SL:HSV, impressed by the paths of Huntsville, Ala. This second mannequin had gaiter attachments and updates to the BOA dials, outsole compound and carbon plate. Each fashions have a 5 mm heel drop. In January 2022, the model partnered with 2021 Hardrock 100 second-place finisher Dylan Bowman, who has been concerned within the design of the later fashions.
Right here’s one thing different manufacturers don’t supply: purchasers are invited to request a return label when their sneakers wore out, to allow them to be returned to the model without charge, to be taken aside and recycled.
At US$275, or about C$365 (or one other $47 if you would like the detachable carbon-fibre plate, which is bought individually), the brand new shoe is barely inexpensive than the unique mannequin.
