NNormal Kjerag Review

The Nnormal Kjerag Brut is a trail running shoe designed for softer ground. The 6.5mm long lugs are designed to bite into the mud and offer a good level of traction. The firm and responsive midsole offers a good balance between underfoot protection, cushioning and ground feel. The Kjerag Brut is lightweight enough for racing but also durable and cushioned enough for long days out in the British Fells.

The first thing that you notice is that there is no insole. Your foot sits directly on the EVA strobel board. This gives you more feel for the ground, which allows your foot to react to what you are standing on, making you nimbler. It also reduces any movement within the shoes. The insole won’t slide around while you are descending a steep fellside or slip around as you are contouring a steep hillside. The EVA strobel board is rubbery and sticks to your socks. This can make it hard to push your foot into the shoes initially, but once you’re in, it helps reduce any movement inside the shoes.

The upper has little structure. Although it holds its shape, there isn’t a plastic heel cup. Instead, the heel cup is pliable and designed to pull in around the shape of your heel when the shoes are laced up. The upper is made from Matryx Micro, which is a light, durable material designed to be tough enough to be used in the mountain environment. There are Kevlar strands running through the material to reduce the chance of the upper tearing or being worn by abrasion from rocks. The material is a very tightly woven mesh, so it lets water flow easily in and out of the shoe without soaking it up. There is no padding in the heel cup or around the cuff of the Kjerag Brut. This is to make the shoes as light as possible and to reduce how much water they can absorb in wet, muddy conditions.

The tongue is a touch thicker, which offers a bit more padding and comfort. It is thick enough to protect the top of the foot from the laces. The tongue has a degree of stretch and is attached to the base of the shoe at both the medial and lateral sides. This pulls the tongue in around the foot, giving a snug feel to the fit even before the laces are pulled tight. When the shoes are laced, the upper pulls in around the foot to give a snug fit, firmly holding the foot inside the shoes to help prevent it moving around. In a shoe designed to be used on more broken ground or steep hillsides, you require a closer, snugger fit so the foot doesn’t slide forward on long descents or slip around on long, steep contours.

The toe box is more pointed than other Nnormal trail running shoes but didn’t feel too cramped. There is a nice thick overlay that goes over the toes to protect them. The overlay is pliable, so it won’t dig into the toes on long, steep ascents and is deep enough to stop your toes from pushing through the top of the toe box.

There is an additional lace hole at the top of the laces, which can be used to make the heel fit snugger or to butterfly lace the shoes.

The midsole is made from Nnormal EExpure foam, which is nitrogen-infused to stop water and grit from getting into the midsole and air from escaping. As the air can’t get out, there is a degree of bounce/energy return to the feel of the foam. This is subtle. The midsole feels firm and responsive, which gives the Kjerag Brut a very grounded, stable feel to the ride.

The midsole is 28mm in the heel and 22mm in the forefoot. This is more than the classic UK fell shoe, which has around 10mm of foam in the forefoot. This illustrates how much more flexible the classic UK fell shoe would be and how much more underfoot feel it will have. The trade-off is less cushioning and less underfoot protection. Which is the best option depends on your preference and the terrain you will be using the shoes on.

The 6mm heel-to-forefoot drop offers a good balance, making the Kjerag Brut a suitable option for the heel or midfoot striker. The relatively low heel-to-forefoot drop also makes the Kjerag Brut feel more stable on tough ground.

How flexible a trail shoe needs to be depends on how broken the terrain you are running on is. A very flexible shoe is best for really rough and broken ground, as the shoe bends and twists with your foot, allowing you to make forward progress without being pushed around by the terrain. On long, steep climbs, a trail shoe with a bit of stiffness gives your foot a platform to push against and takes some of the strain from your lower legs and feet. The Kjerag Brut has been designed to strike a balance between these two requirements. They give a good platform when ascending and have a degree of flex that allows you to negotiate broken terrain. They aren’t as flexible and nimble as the classic UK fell running shoe (e.g. VJ Irock 4, Inov-8 Mudclaw). This reduces their effectiveness on the most extreme fell terrain but makes them more versatile, so they still feel comfortable and offer a smooth ride on firmer tracks and trails. This makes them a good option for European mountains and routes in the UK that are on tracks that have been surfaced to reduce erosion, which is an ever-increasing number. The versatility is very similar to the Scott Supertrac RC 3. I would suggest that the Kjerag Brut isn’t the best choice for cross-country races. The midsole isn’t flexible enough and the sole clogs in the kind of extreme mud you often get. If you run across a rough grass field in a classic UK fell shoe, you can fly along unhindered by the surface. In a shoe with a touch too much stiffness, you get pushed all over the place.

The outsole lugs are 6.5mm long and shaped to be aggressive enough to bite into soft surfaces but at the same time have a high degree of ground contact, so they don’t feel unstable when you run on harder tracks and trails. This makes the Nnormal Kjerag Brut a versatile trail running shoe, as it still feels comfortable and has a smooth ride on firmer terrain too. Although it might feel a little hard on tarmac, it still has enough underfoot protection for mixed routes. This is handy in the UK if you have routes that have sections of hard-packed trails or tarmac connected by muddy farmers’ fields or slippery single tracks. The Kjerag Brut is serviceable on all these surfaces.

A men’s UK 8 weighs 230 grams, which is light for such a cushioned trail running shoe with long rubber lugs. Both are attributes that often add weight.

The lugs are made from Vibram Megagrip Lightbase. Lightbase means that the sheet of rubber that the lugs are part of is very thin. This gives the Kjerag Brut a bit more flexibility as well as reducing weight. Vibram Megagrip offers a good degree of traction on wet surfaces, which makes it a good choice for UK mountains, which often get wet (except this summer).

Nnormal running shoes are similar in length to Brooks, Saucony, 361, Topo and Altra. If you use Hoka, New Balance, Inov-8, Karhu or La Sportiva, then we would suggest trying half a UK size smaller in the Kjerag Brut to get a similar length. For example, a UK 11 in the Kjerag Brut is a similar length to a UK 11.5 in a Hoka running shoe. The fit is snug and narrow, similar to other trail running shoes designed for muddier or more broken terrain. The toe box isn’t too cramped.

In summary, the Nnormal Kjerag Brut is a well-cushioned, grippy trail running shoe. Not as specialised as a fell running shoe, but slightly stiffer with a higher level of cushioning and underfoot protection, which makes it a more versatile trail running shoe. Comfortable on hard-packed tracks and trails as well as offering good traction in the mud.

Alternatives to NNormal Kjerag

OMM Fell Shoe: With a lug depth of between 8 and 11mm the OMM Fell Shoe provides a lot of traction on soft, muddy ground and open fell. They aren’t as versatile as the Kjerag Brut and feel a bit like you are running in your football boots on firm tracks and trails but they do offer a very secure grip on wet and muddy terrain. The midsole is a bit stiff initially but does flex up overuse but not to the level required to bend to the contours of the terrain. The longer lugs make up for this in some instances but not in others. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/omm-fell-shoe-review/

Inov-8 Mudtalon V2: The underfoot cushioning and underfoot protection is nearest to the Kjerag in the Mudtalon v2 than it is in the Speed version. These have the protection that makes them suitable for long days out on open fell terrain. The traction level better than the Kjerag Brut. The smaller more pointed lugs bite better into soft ground but these aren’t as durable as the v shaped lugs on the base of the Kjerag and don’t run as smooth on firmer tracks and trails. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/inov-8-mudtalon-v2-review/

Inov-8 Mudtalon Speed V2: A faster, more flexible shoe than the Kjerag but doesn’t have the same level of underfoot protection for long days out and isn’t versatile enough for some firmer tracks and trails. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/inov-8-mudtalon-speed-v2-review/

VJ Irock 4 Plus: The wider fitting of the two VJ Irock 4’s these have a slightly shorter and flatter stud than the Irock 4 which makes them a bit more versatile. The midsole isn’t as cushioned as the Kjerag Brut but the slightly thinner midsole is more flexible which makes the Irock 4 Plus feel nimbler in comparison. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/vj-irock-4-plus-review/

VJ Irock 4: A much more stripped down fell or cross country racing shoe more in line with the Inov-8 Mudtalon Speed than the Kjerag Brut. Easy to run fast in. Very flexible so it takes the contours of the terrain very easily. Narrow with a very pointed toe box. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/vj-irock-4-review/

Ronhill Reverence 2: Designed by Harry Bolton of Keswick AC the Ronhill Reverence 2 is a great shoe for trail running in the UK when the ground gets softer or if you are venturing out onto the fells where the ground is more broken and there are less tracks and trails. The 7mm lugs give a good level of traction that is a touch better than the Kjerag Brut mainly because the midsole is more flexible and curves to the contours of the ground more easily. This puts more of the studs in contact with the ground at any one time which supplies better traction. Where it falls down a touch is when you hit some firmer terrain. In comparison to the Kjerag Brut the Reverence 2 isn’t as smooth on this firmer terrain. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/ronhill-reverence-2-review/

Scarpa Spin ST: Developed for the UK market where trails are usually softer and wetter the 8mm long lugs provide a good level of traction. They are versatile enough for some hard packed trails and feel smoother and more comfortable on this type of terrain than you would think. However, they aren’t as cushioned as the Kjerag Brut. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/scarpa-spin-st-review/

Scott Supertrac RC 3: A similar level of cushioned makes the Supertrac RC 3 as versatile as the Kjerag Brut. The midsole has a slight curve/rocker that Scott calls E-Ride this carries you along when you hit firmer tracs and trails giving the Supertrac RC a smooth feel to the ride. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/scott-supertrac-rc-3-review/