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. 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 But Mellin confirmed to GearJunkie that FUTURELIGHT, though born of a process similar to other competing waterproof-breathable membranes, is a new, unique format. It’s manufactured in Korea outside of Seoul. TNF worked with a factory that makes insulating elements for electronics. It created new machines to develop a new kind of membrane that would slip into the fabric workflow. 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.

The resulting grid has holes small enough for air permeability and breathability, though sized to keep moisture (rain, sleet) from seeping through. This is the same general premise Gore-Tex has used since the 1970s. But FUTURELIGHT is (as the name says) lighter, and it’s also more breathable in the mountains or the lab, Mellin promises. 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?And the entire time, I had the FUTURELIGHT shell on and zipped up. The North Face FUTURELIGHT Review The comfort of the boot extends to the cushioned sole and in-sole, the ankle cuff and the tongue. It’s rather like a slipper boot in terms of comfort levels. The width is standard fit, in my opinion. Naturally, it feels like a big claim when brands shout about how waterproof and breathable their product is. After all, how waterproof can something be if there’s holes in it that allow air to pass through. Ever since FutureLight first appeared at the ISPO trade show in 2019, there’s been much discussion about just how effective such a technology can realistically be in the long term. Needless to say, we’ve been extremely interested to see how the technology would translate into the world of hiking footwear and so, without further ado, here it is – The North Face Activist FutureLight Mid. Who Is The North Face Activist Futurelight For? Water beads on the face. It was waterproof in my test, though sunny skies and wind in Colorado prevented a full “rain test” of FUTURELIGHT. Photo credit: Tomas Zuccareno

To be sure, it can’t handle high exertion in warm temps. But nothing we’ve tested in this category can. At the end of the day, my base layer top — a long-sleeve FlashDry synthetic by The North Face — was wet with sweat. 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.

Materials

Hitting up a number of hilly park areas around south east London, on some very warm days, I was genuinely impressed by how comfortable my feet felt while wearing them. Even after a number of hours strolling about, I never felt that urge I’ve felt with some other waterproof shoes to take them off and get some air between my toes.

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 For the past couple decades, we have worn apparel we need to adapt to,” said Scott Mellin, global GM of The North Face’s Mountain Sports division. “Now, we have apparel that adapts to us.”With everything that’s going on in the world right now, our thoughts are constantly turning to the future. What will the future be like? Will the future be fun? Will there be adventures in the future? It took 2 years of R&D to bring FUTURELIGHT to market. The company has tested it across the world with its athletes and to the summit of Mount Everest. 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. 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. We had climbed Hayden and then skied the Northwest Couloir. The classic line had been little-skied this season because of avalanche danger.

TNF’s eco story is similarly impressive. The company notes all fabrics use recycled materials. It adds a PFC-free DWR treatment to the face to make water bead and run off. 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 To be sure, FUTURELIGHT is impressive, though not perfect. It protected my body for the whole of 2 days in the mountains — I never took the shell off through a range of temperatures, wind, sun, and varying levels of physical effort on the descents and climbs. The lacing system allows you to tighten the ankle of the boot to give fairly good support. These are mid-height boots so they will not be suitable for very rough terrain and winter wear. 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.Seeing the technology implemented in footwear is a fascinating development. The Activist FutureLight claims to have an advanced level of waterproofing, while also being breathable enough to regulate temperature and keep you comfortable. Beyond the membrane, other components make FUTURELIGHT unique, Mellin said. First is a new kind of seam tape that is smaller, thinner, and more stretchy. The North Face also developed its own yarn and weaving processes, as well as new lamination and finishing techniques. We’re yet to take these things out on a proper adventure but so far, so good. We’re looking forward to getting out there, with them on our feet, and seeing what they’re really made of. Buy the North Face Activist FutureLight here You May Also Like 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 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.