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.”
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