Hinted at on the ground during the 2025 Western States 100 but now official in the lead-up to this week’s UTMB, the Nike Trail Team is now called the 22-member All Conditions Racing Department. More broadly, it signals what appears to be Nike’s trail running products merging into the brand’s existing All Conditions Gear (ACG) sub-brand. If we recall correctly, while ACG included Nike’s true trail offerings back in the 1990s, in more recent years, ACG has appeared to be a fashion-first label in the “gorpcore” world.
Perhaps this move is a play to bring more bona fides to ACG’s products, although that risks losing some of the legitimacy and goodwill the Nike Trail brand has built over the past decade. Of course, that potential loss is hedged by top athlete performances like Caleb Olson’s blazing fast win of this year’s Western States 100 and high-tech products like Olson’s and teammates’ airy apparel at that race.
The 2025 Nike All Conditions Racing Department roster. Image courtesy of brand.
Nike Radical AirFlow Apparel
Speaking of which, Nike will be releasing a version of those Nike Radical AirFlow shirts, which were first see at Western States this June, in the first half of next year. Nike has had a long history of developing apparel that promotes airflow, such as some of its products in the Stand-Off and Dry-FIT lines. Further, they did extensive aerodynamic testing on apparel ahead of Eliud Kipchoge’s and Faith Kipyegon’s record-slashing-attempt events over the past decade. According to Nike, the Radical AirFlow apparel material is “an engineered knit with hydrophilic chemistry to help manage moisture and enhance the sensation of airflow.” Furthermore, funnel-shaped “airducts accelerate airflow from the front of the material towards the skin.” Perhaps most interestingly, research led to the company placing dimples on the skin side of the garment in conjunction with the airducts after finding that this improved the duration of air circulation at the skin level, thereby increasing evaporative cooling and comfort.
Caleb Olson sporting the Nike Radical AirFlow long sleeve while crossing the American River en route to winning the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Nike first developed the Radical AirFlow material as a long-sleeve top “to cover as much of the body’s surface area as possible, and promote as much airflow as possible across the body.” However, designers did incorporate large cutouts under the arms and at the elbows “to offer mobility and reduce weight.” Also, while at first glance the shirt’s material may resemble a skin-shredding cheese grater, Nike suggests that the “construction and trims … help reduce chafing in high-friction and high-sweat areas.” While Nike hasn’t made public the exact release date or price of the Radical AirFlow long sleeve, it’s scheduled for a “spring 2026” release.
A close-up of the external face of the Nike Radical AirFlow fabric. Photo courtesy of brand.
Nike ACG Ultrafly
Next spring, the brand will also launch the Nike ACG Ultrafly, the second iteration of the brand’s trail super shoe. While Nike’s only giving limited details about the updated model at this time, some changes from the original Nike Ultrafly appear to include:
- A less rigid carbon fiber FlyPlate to reduce strain and increase torsional flexibility
- A faster-draining, more breathable upper
- A wider forefoot and heel
- The change to a ZoomX insole (as the current Ultrafly doesn’t note anything special about its insole)
- A fully redesigned Vibram Megagrip Litebase outsole with the addition of approximately 65 hole-punch cutouts to make the shoe more pliable and reduce weight
The lateral view of the Nike ACG Ultrafly prototype that Caleb Olson wore to win the 2025 Western States 100. Photo courtesy of brand.
The ACG Ultrafly appears to retain a full ZoomX midsole.
Nike claims that the ACG Ultrafly testing involved “logging the most testing miles for a single product in recent Nike history.” That’ll have to be more than Nike’s earlier claim that the Nike Zegama 2 “is our most-tested trail shoe to date, with over 35,000 total miles (56,000 kilometers) logged globally.”
The outsole of the Nike ACG Ultrafly that Caleb Olson wore in winning the 2025 Western States 100. Photo courtesy of brand.
Nike ACG Zegama
Rueters reports that Nike will release the third version of its Zegama shoe under the ACG brand, presumably as the Nike ACG Zegama, later in 2026.
Call for Comments
- What do you think of the rebranding from Nike Trail and the Nike Trail Team to All Conditions Gear and the All Conditions Racing Department?
- Are you excited for next year’s public release of Nike Radical AirFlow apparel and ACG Ultrafly?
View this post on Instagram
Caleb Olson putting a yet unreleased Nike ACG quiver to good use.
