Welcome to Starter Pack, a gear-obsessed series that gives WIRED readers a peek into how notable personalities live, shop, and tinker.
When it comes to sheer physical capabilities, Kilian Jornet is as far above other world-class trail runners and mountain climbers as they are above us. This fall, the Spanish skyrunner completed his States of Elevation project, which The New York Times called “objectively absurd.” His completely self-powered mission connected all the 14,000-foot peaks in the Mountain West. He reached 72 summits, covered 629 miles on foot, and biked an additional 2,568 miles while amassing 403,691 feet of elevation gain, all in 31 days. Was it even hard for him? No. Ugh.
We spoke to Jornet after he returned to Norway from States of Elevation, getting to spend time at home with his wife, the world-champion skyrunner Emelie Forsberg, and their three children. Forsberg also joined the team at Nnormal, the gear company that Jornet co-founded with the shoe company Camper. The name combines the words “Norway” and “Mallorca”—the two places where the shoes were designed and tested.
“I try to have a minimalist approach, but as humans, we're not made to go into extreme environments,” said Jornet over Zoom. “If I go naked, I would probably die pretty soon, or if I go running, my feet will get pretty bruised if I'm not wearing shoes.”
Here are some of the gear picks that Jornet took with him.
The Running Shoes
Nnormal's aim is to institute sustainable practices into manufacturing gear. “Probably the most important system is the most complicated,” Jornet said. “It's very costly to be constantly rotating things … how can we have [a company] that's not based on overconsumption?” The solution was to create incredibly durable running shoes that only have to be swapped out every two to four years. For the thousands of miles that he covered for States of Elevation, Jornet only swapped between two pairs of Nnormal shoes. (For context, the average runner disposes of shoes after 300-500 miles.)
The Tomir is the waterproof, winter-ready version of the Kjerag, which is the shoe that Jornet took with him. It has hardy, but still light, Vibram lugs and an outsole; an abrasion-resistant upper with asymmetrical lacing that you can tinker with to relieve pressure on the top of your foot; and a specialized trail-running midsole. He also brings a Nnormal trail running jacket ($220) everywhere he goes.
The Watch
Photograph: Adrienne So Coros Apex 4 $479 Coros
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