By 
The RW Takeaway: The Ampezzo is a low-slung and plush trail shoe that hooks onto wet trails but works well on dry roads, too.
- A shallow-lugged rubber outsole makes the shoe multitalented on roads and trails
- There’s a tough TPU cage surrounds the upper to protect your feet
- A two-layer midsole makes the low shoe surprisingly well-cushioned
Price: $130
Weight: 11 oz (men) 9 oz (women)
Type: Trail
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The North Face Ampezzo is a low and soft trail shoe that handles an array of trail surfaces. The shoe positions you 20mm off the ground (14mm in the forefoot), and shallow lugs help you grip the singletrack. The midsole has a soft EVA core that’s surrounded by slightly firmer EVA foam. The resulting cushioning feels soft underfoot, even after you remove the plush OrthoLite sockliner. A proprietary rubber outsole is designed to balance stickiness and durability. Despite its low profile, the Ampezzo feels surprisingly soft underfoot. It’s not a high-rebound shoe, but its combination of cushioning and stiffness inspires confidence over rocky trails.
A two-layer mesh upper shrouded in a tough TPU exoskeleton protects the feet from pointy stuff, and padding in the tongue and collar boost comfort. Testers liked the supportive and secure-feeling TPU upper coating. “When you hit rocks, it protects you from impact,” said one tester. The collar’s padding helps you achieve a secure fit, although its relatively high position caused irritation on the ankles of a couple testers. The toe box is roomy and testers noted that they were able to wear thick socks comfortably. The outsole tread provided ample grip on all but the slimiest of trail boulders and transferred well onto the roads, too. Pick the Ampezzo if you’re after a soft, low trail shoe that grips in mud, protects you from rocks, and performs admirably on roads, too.
A Protective Upper
The North Face used a combination of mesh and TPU to construct the formidable upper. The two layers of engineered mesh are thin, which means more room inside the toe box, and there aren’t any pesky seams to cause blisters. Most of the mesh is shrouded in a bonded TPU film that gives the upper structure and protects your foot from rocks and trail debris. The tongue has a bit more padding and stays in place while you’re running. The collar has ample padding but some testers felt it rose too high up the ankle, giving them blisters from the rub. The heel counter is relatively low but still holds the back of the foot steady without requiring you to over-tighten the laces.
Two Layers of Foam
To give the Ampezzo a plush feel without sacrificing durability, The North Face used two types of EVA foam to construct the shoe’s midsole. The outer layer is a typical EVA foam that’s cushioned but firm enough to support your weight and take a beating. Nestled within the firm foam is a softer EVA compound dubbed XtraFoam, which dissipates impact forces more effectively than traditional EVA. A 4mm-thick OrthoLite sockliner adds another layer of cushioning, and the resulting midsole is surprisingly plush for a shoe that’s relatively low to the ground. Testers felt there was enough support from the shoe’s inherent stiffness to sustain them on longer runs, although some runners wanted more support beneath the relatively flat arch.
A Grippy, Multi-Terrain Outsole
The EXTS rubber outsole is a proprietary compound that’s designed to maximize grip while minimizing wear, which isn’t easy (sticky rubber typically wears down faster harder compounds). The Y-shaped lugs are relatively shallow but their angularity, combined with the EXTS rubber, gives the outsole outstanding grip on a variety of surfaces. “I used this shoe on both gravel rail trails and rocky mountain trails,” one tester said. “I liked the traction on mud and snow. I was surprised that what appeared to be a subtle tread provided ample grip.”
What One Tester Said
Tester: Trevor V.
Arch: Medium | Gait: Neutral | Footstrike: Midfoot
“The traction was actually one of the best features of this shoe. I liked the extra rugged grip of the outsole. Some trail type shoes are too aggressive in their traction to be able to seamlessly cross over to road runs, but the Ampezzo worked well on the roads.”
Pros
- TPU upper protects your feet on the trails
- Well-cushioned yet low to the ground
Cons
- Padded collar bothered some testers’ ankles
A former Division 1 runner, Dan grew up riding fixies and mountain bikes and now reviews everything from performance running shoes to road and cross bikes, to the latest tech for runners and cyclists at Bicycling and Runner’s World.
