Artboard 1.jpg

THE NORTH FACE - ADVANCED CONCEPTS

THE NORTH FACE

ADVANCED CONCEPTS - FKTK (FASTEST KNOWN TIME KIT)

ROLE: DESIGNER
LEAD DESIGNER: ISAAC OAKS
SLEEP SYSTEM DESIGNER: LUKE MATTHEWS

ULTRANEERING - THE BLEND OF MOUNTAINEERING AND ULTRA RUNNING.

When the world took a pause during the pandemic, we saw an explosive growth of athletes finding creative ways to challenge themselves and to push the boundaries of trail running in the form of FKT - Fastest Known Time.

The nature of this challenge blurs the lines between activities and requires athletes to evolve their approach on layering and carry system. FKTK is a suite of layers suited to a broad spectrum of conditions, and is designed to be the lightest, most packable, and most dynamic layering system ever created for trail running.

NARRATIVE

DEFINITION

ULTRANEERING - THAT’S DEFINITELY WHAT THIS IS.
— KAYTLYN GERBIN
 

FKTK

RACE-DAY KIT

BALANCE OF VERSATILITY AND WEIGHT

LIMITS OF EXPLORATION

MULTI-USE / MULTI-DAY

SELF-RELIANT

LIGHTWEIGHT TO THE DETRIMENT OF FUNCTION

WIN OR SURVIVE

SINGULAR FOCUS & OBJECTIVE

SUPPORTED WITH THE OPTION TO BAIL

 
 

ACTIVITY

AID

 

ELEVATION

ADVANCED MOUNTAIN KIT

FASTEST KNOWN TIME KIT

SUMMIT SERIES RUN

 

KIT THEORY

DYNAMIC SYSTEM

1+1=4

AND VS OR

RISK TOLERANCE / WEIGHT REDUCTION / PACKABILITY

INTRINSIC TRUST

HONEST DESIGN AND INTUITIVE FUNCTIONALITY

 

VISUAL DNA

WEIGHTLESS

TRANSLUCENCY / PACKABILITY

PERFORMANCE

ENHANCED FUNCTIONAL USES

ENGINEERED

TARGETED / INTEGRATED CONSTRUCTION

 

TRIM TOOLBOX

 

TRIMS

SIMPLICITY OF CONSTRUCTION / FRICTION MANAGEMENT
FULL INTEGRATION / MICRO TRIMS

 

YKK AIRY STRING / KNIT TAPE

FLASHDRY PRO ELASTICS

INTEGRATED ADJUSTMENT / FINISH

BRANDING

HIGH VIS / ICONIC
WEIGHTLESS / FAST

 

REFLECTIVE KNOCK-OUT LOGOS

LAYERING INSTRUCTION VIA INFOGRAPHIC

REFLECTIVE HIT

 

TECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX

 

COMPRESSIBLE WARMTH

HYPER COMPRESSIBLE
ADDED DURABILITY

WATERPROOF BREATHABLE

QUIET FACE
ZONED DURABILITY

BREATHABLE WARMTH

HIGH OUTPUT WARMTH
ZONED INSULATION MAPPING

MOISTURE MANAGEMENT + WARMTH

IMPROVED MMT + UPF
PERFORMANCE BENFITS OF WOOL

 

THE KIT

 

INSULATOR / REST

THERMAL AEROBIC

WP AEROBIC SHELL

NEXT TO SKIN

PROCESS

 

STYLE-LEVEL DETAILS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST