Is The North Face’s New Approach Shoe Actually the Perfect Everyday Sneaker?

Which brings us to the Clyffe, which boasts that rare combination of casual good looks and technical superiority. (As long as we are getting all semantic, we should note that it is most fittingly described as an approach shoe — you’ll have to change into yet more technical climbing shoes before attacking the crag.)

Encased within the Clyffe’s unassuming old-school sneaker silhouette are more rugged qualities. Those traits enable it to pass muster with Mellow’s hard-climbing founders — Daniel Woods, Shawn Raboutou, Jimmy Webb and Giuliano Cameroni — whose YouTube channel’s visceral videos regularly garner hundreds of thousands of views.

The North Face

Toward that end, the shoe boasts a tough Cordura and suede upper, a non-marking Vibram outsole with 3-millimeter lugs and a grippy rubber toe. The result, TNF says, is footwear that’s comfortable, durable and primed to carry you from bouldering to bar-hopping with both performance and style. 

Which certainly sounds preferable to the hassle of having to change shoes three times in the course of an active day — especially if you’re hustling to hit the bar before they run out of Hawaiian pizza.