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ACG Air Tallac Zoom - First Impressions

A quick look at one of the lightest walking boots on the market, Nike ACG's feathery Air Tallac Zoom

Posted: 28 January 2004
by Jon

Nike ACG Air Zoom Tallac Boot - First Look

Price: £87.00 approx.

Weight: 1004 grammes (pair size 43)

Features: Thermoplastic exoskeleton, Gore-Tex ZXR membrane, synthetic fabric outer, Nike Air Sole unit in heel, Zoom Air cushioning in forefoot, EVA foam mid-sole, wrap around heel lace system, lugged rubber outsole, anti abrasion mesh on forefoot mid-sole, protective toe bumper.

Light, waterproof and with surprising lateral rigidity and support.
Garish styling won't suit everyone

The Concept Nike's ACG - All Conditions Gear - off-shoot aims to bring the multi-national sports giant's undoubted technical expertise to fast-moving outdoors people with a range of lightweight, close cut clothing. The new Air Tallac Zoom is a similar take on outdoors footwear borrowing heavily from Nike's running shoe technology to create a pair of boots that weights in at almost exactly one kilo, but still aims to offer decent support and weather protection. Lighter boots should mean less effort expended and nimbler footwork.

Features The most obvious feature of the Zoom Tallac is what ACG calls a 'thermoplastic exoskeleton'. It's a plastic strip that runs down the outside of each boot over the forefoot and is aimed at holding the foot securely in place and upping stability - originally ACG sited the strip on both sides of the foot, but testing showed it was only needed on the outer side, presumably to limit pronation and firm up the lightweight fabric uppers for overall support.

You also get a lacing system that tightens a strip running round the heel section of the boot to help hold the heel in place and a rigid, well-formed heel cup. The boot incorporated Gore's waterproof / breathable XCR membrane too.

The sole borrows heavily from Nike's running shoes with a shock absorbing EVA foam midsole backed up by a Nike Air Sole unit in the heel and a Zoom Air forefoot pad claimed to offer cushioning with little weight and reduced bulk keeping your foot closer to the trail. You also get a lugged rubber outsole claimed to grip well in both wet and dry conditions.

In Action The first surprise is how laterally stiff the sole unit is for such a light boot. There's very little sideways flex i fyou gbrab forefoot and heel and twist them. That comes through when you're wearing the boot as well, it feels surprisingly supportive and and stable making it competent on rocky, uneven surfaces.

It's even more of a revelation given that the boots feel very light on the foot, more like a trainer than a conventional walking boot in fact. Some of that's probably down to the exoskeleton thing as well. Initially we were concerned that it was pressing uncomfortably into the side of our foot, but after 30 minutes, things settled down to give a comfortable wrap.

We were less convinced by the heel lace though. To get any real tension on it, you have to overtighten the laces making the forefoot uncomfortable, so our advice is to make sure you don't get any heel lift with the laces at normal tension.

What else? We're not a huge fan of waterproof / breathable linings, but the Gore XCR membrane does a decent job of keeping the water out and isn't as sweaty as some. We were also surprised by the grip from the shallow-lugged rubber sole. It's not in the fell shoe league, but it coped well with shallow mud and soft ground as well as the rocks we tried it on.

Verdict

If you're after a sort of half-boot / half-trainer hybrid, the Air Tallac Zoom has a lot going for it. It's very light on the foot and offers decent grip combined with surprisingly good cushioning, support and stability plus it's waterproof into the bargain.

The garish looks won't be to everyone's taste though and the EVA cushioning, borrowed from running shoes, will eventually deteriorate with use, plus we'd be dubious about the durability of the fabric upper if exposed to a lot of rocky scree, for example.

It won't be for everyone, but if you can find a pair - and it's not easy - the Air Tallac Zoom makes an interesting alternative to conventional three-season walking boots.

ACG Web Site

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