REASONS TO BUY
Versatile
Reliably comfortable
Affordable
Durable
REASONS TO AVOID
Slightly low volume toe box
The North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 Review
Blending comfort, function, and versatility, it delivers a lightweight ride with a grippy outsole and balanced design built for everything from casual runs to ultra-distance adventures
The North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 is our go-to trail running shoe. It offers a balance of strong traction, confidence-building geometry, and comfort, allowing it to be comfortable on jaunts of all distances.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
By Ally Arcuri ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ August 26, 2025
RELATED: Best Trail Running Shoes for Women
Our Verdict
The North Face listened to the running community's feedback and answered with the Vectiv Enduris 4, a legitimate triumph in the world of trail running shoes. Beautifully blending comfort and function, this shoe's geometry makes it one of the most versatile options on the trail running shoe market. Vectiv's features are intentionally balanced, giving it the ride of a much lighter shoe, despite its grippy and thick-feeling Surface Ctrl outsole, laced with 3.6mm lugs. The Vectiv is a shoe that stays ready; from meandering neighborhood jaunts to ultra-distance running, the Vectiv's well-crafted design cements its place as the reigning champion of trail running kicks.
Our Analysis and Test Results
At 8.20 ounces per women's size 6.5 shoe, the North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 is a shoe that rides lighter than it is. The well-engineered geometry of this shoe makes it one that we recommend for most trail running situations. It offers a comfortable 36 mm stack height in the heel, with a more traditional feeling 9 mm drop. Its 4.5-inch-wide outsole is the ideal launch pad for flying across rock gardens and meandering through wooded terrain.
The North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 is a high-level running shoe with geometry that rocks in nearly all trail running circumstances.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Comfort and Fit
The North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 fits like a tried-and-true trail shoe. It's like slipping into a well-loved pair of trainers in its familiarity and trustworthy lockdown. It offers delicate support through the arch, aiding in its feeling of stability, while providing strong structure and ruggedness throughout its body.
The forefoot of the Vectiv Enduris is accommodating without being overly wide, which is something runners seeking a wide toe box should consider. The dual-warp mesh upper is flexible enough to adapt to varying anatomies while maintaining its rugged structure. The heel collar is precisely plush — primed to promote long-lasting comfort without feeling bulky. The gusseted tongue keeps gritty trail bits out, and the streamlined lacing system sits flush against your foot, reducing bulk and distractions.
The shape of the Vectiv Enduris feels right. It doesn't offer anything fancy in the way of comfort, which adds to its reliability and likability.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Stability
The stability of Vectiv Enduris is one of its key strengths. The elements of this shoe come together to create a stable ride that maintains its strength under a variety of circumstances. Let's break it down:
The outsole of the Vectiv Enduris 4 is 4.5 inches wide, offering a solidly built launch pad of support that helps encourage stability. The wide outsole of the Vectiv Enduris contributes to a stable ride and inspires confidence on varied terrain. Some trail shoes are designed with a platform that holds the foot close to the lateral edges, which can create an unstable feeling, as if you could roll or slip off the side of the shoe. In contrast, the Vectiv Enduris has reinforced lateral edges that provide just enough structure to help keep the foot and ankle aligned, even as fatigue sets in.
The North Face included Vectiv 3D forefoot wings, a design element that is included to promote stability during motion. This shoe also offers a slightly more pronounced arch than many trail models on the market. While a shoe with an arch that exactly mirrors the foot's natural shape can potentially reduce muscular engagement during runs, the undercarriage design of the Vectiv Enduris delivers a stable and supportive feel without being overly restrictive.
Side View Cut in Half
The well-designed geometry of the Vectiv Enduris helps runners find stable strides.
Traction
The outsole of the Vectiv Enduris 4 is comprised of North Face's Surface Ctrl material, which offers a bitey, rubbery grip that's ideal for a variety of terrain types.
The Surface Ctrl outsole of the Vectiv is decorated with 3.6 mm lugs, as measured by our in-house testing team. The sharp edges of the chevron-shaped lugs help bite into the trail in all directions, giving trail runners confidence no matter the pace.
The multidirectional lugs, outsle compound, and ability to feel the terrain beneath you in the most comfortable of ways helps cement this shoe as a high-tractioned powerhouse on the trails.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
The lugs are arranged so that the pointed tips of the chevrons face toward the forefoot at the front of the shoe and toward the heel at the back. This is a lug pattern design used by many of the most reliable trail shoe outsole manufacturers, and it is beautifully executed on the outsole of the Vectiv.
The body of the Vectiv Enduris sits atop a total stack of 36 mm with a sloping and comfortable 9 mm differential. While this stack height is rather high in the world of trail shoes, it doesn't ride like a maximally cushioned shoe, allowing some trail undulations and features to be felt while running. The substantial thickness of the highly functional outsole, paired with the DREAM Nitrogen TPU midsole, provides an optimized balance of ground feedback and impact protection.
While runners seeking maximum trail sensitivity and aggressive grip may find the Vectiv's response somewhat muted, those prioritizing a connection to the terrain alongside effective protection from abrasive surfaces will benefit from the precise sensitivity and durable traction pattern engineered into the outsole.
The outsole design of this shoe helps promote 360-degree security.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
Foot Protection
From its undercarriage to its toecap, the North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 is built to be protective without overdoing it.
The 36 mm stack in the rearfoot and 27 mm stack in the forefoot provide ample underfoot protection when navigating potentially spiky trail features. The toe cap is rubbery yet forgiving, balancing well with the tightly woven dual-warp mesh upper. Even at its average weight, the Vectiv Enduris 4 feels beefy in all of the right ways underfoot. This countenance adds to the shoe's overall protective nature, making it suitable for most trail running scenarios.
The protection of the Vectiv Enduris makes it an ideal shoe for days when you aren't really sure where the trail is going to take you.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Weight
Each women's size 6.5 shoe weighs 8.20 ounces.
The balance of features and weight when it comes to the Vectiv Enduris allows it to be incredibly versatile. Due to its balanced weight, versatility, and comfort, I highly recommend this shoe to most trail runners.
Not exactly light, not exactly heavy, this shoe feels robust enough for tackling tough terrain in but balanced enough for easier miles.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Should You Buy the North Face Vectiv Enduris 4?
Yes, you should buy the North Face Vectiv Enduris 4. From its protectiveness to its comfort and beyond, this is a shoe that holds up to the demands of trail running. Aside from its standout performance, the Vectiv Enduris is priced at the lower end of the spectrum, making it an even more enticing buy. Whether you want to jog a fire road or tackle more technical alpine terrain, the Vectiv Endurance is a solid trail companion for the long haul. It weighs slightly more than many of the other trail shoes in our lineup, taking it out of contention for runners who want to keep things ultralight. Overall, the average trail runner will find the Vectic Enduris to be an ideal match for all things centered around the trails.
If versatility, durability, and affordability are what you're after, I am happy to recommend this updated trail running shoe by The North Face.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
What Other Trail Running Shoes Should You Consider?
The Saucony Peregrine 15 is another affordable trail running shoe to consider. It weighs slightly less than the North Face Vectiv Enduris 4, but scores very similarly in all of our other metrics. The Peregrine is another versatile trail running shoe that is price-accessible. The Hoka Mafate Speed 4 is a versatile trail runner shoe that performs well across all metrics and is well-loved by our testing team — though it costs slightly more. New trail runners might instead enjoy the steadiness of the tried-and-true, beginner-friendly Brooks Divide 5.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare The North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 versus top competing products:
—Ally Arcuri
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