Scarpa is on the move. On the move to further increase and improve their quality alpinist inventions. Since years the Italians are a household name when it comes to high-quality off-road outdoor equipment. Particularly the footwear union is widely recognized and highly popular among hikers, mountaineers, alpinist or Skimo competitors.
The rapid chunk of mountain and off-road undertakings have been overlooked for some time. Last year’s running shoe collection (Already I reviewed the Minima) was an exciting starter to the lighter efforts of alpine travels. With the latest signing of well-known athlete, photographer and outdoor novelist Joe Grant, Scarpa puts the emphasis on the thriving trail-running market place. With a three-year contract in its pocket, Grant will be the face to their alpine shoe product line. It will be exciting to see how his contribution will assist the corporation to settle in this market slice.
The up-to-date product pool bids some pretty exciting lightweight and minimal goods. As I was checking the fresh assortment, the Atom caught my full attention. A refined and fast looking minimal piece of foot wear. Not only the flamboyant coloring forms an eye catching shoe, it is also the vigorous 4 mm drop that generates a shoe for quick and direct off-road undertakings.
In addition to the general clean and effective look, the Atom offers some thoughtful details that will appreciated during long and short outings. I ran the Atom through varieties of undergrounds and conditions. While I was training around the Cote d Azur lately, I had the chance to take the Atom from end to end of a variation of challenging undergrounds. Although damp and indulgent forest single-lanes were an laid-back mission, the shaky and technically difficult trails along the rocky coast line were a excessive playground for this model. I was astonished by the performance of the nifty grip the Vibram Genesis Lite outsole offers. The build-in rock platter bids a boundless protection without making the shoe too inflexible.
I still appreciate my excursions with the Atom as the shoe offers great traction that ends in a secure feeling during all sorts of punishing environments. Scarpa marks a move into the correct direction. It is going to be exciting to see what the Italians issue in the future. Their knowledge among mountain shoes is countless. How they will incorporate it into the light and fast style will be interesting to witness. Certainly the new-fangled Atom is a huge move that offers so much delight along the trails.
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| The low stack height of the Atom is created for steep and technical trails. |
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| The brand name stands for Società Calzaturiera Asolana Riunita Pedemontana Anonima, which means Associated Shoe Manufacturing Company of the Asolo Mountain Area. |
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| The Atom characters a fine and exiting refresh to Scarpa’s mountain running assortment. |
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| Race ready – fused upper material to save weight and increase the comfort! |
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| Hailing from the Montebelluna region in Italy, the company opened their US HQ in Boulder, CO in 2005. |
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| 249g of trail running madeness awaits. |
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| The partner for wild outings is the Vibram Genesis Lite sole. |
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| The midsole is made out of Compression Molded EVA and works quite well. |
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| Not only the Orange Fluo painting makes this shoe stand out. |
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| A pretty handy element – A little pocket on the tongue stores away the laces. |
All pictures: Runssel
