The year is 1995. You walk into a shoe shop and are confronted with shelves upon shelves of technical outdoor footwear. Chunky soles, intricate lacing systems, lumps of brown and beige suede punctuated by pops of teal, purple and green. Countless silhouettes evidencing boundary pushing technology – each of them stamped by a single orange triangle with three letters contained within it – ACG.
Then you wake up. The year is 2026, you brush your teeth, pull on yesterday’s clothes, and walk to the nearest outdoor shop that sells footwear. No ACG on the shelves, just the most boring mishmash of grey mush you’ve ever seen. Joni Mitchell starts singing from inside your head: You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.
But as of February 3rd, ACG is not gone. It’s back. And no – you’re not dreaming this time.
In some of the most exciting news we’ve heard not just this year, but in the last five, ACG – Nike’s most boundary-pushing line – is getting a proper reboot.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: we’ve been here before. We’ve lived through countless iterations of ACG – from the weird Errolson Hugh techwear era to the boring, performance-focused one. But this time, things feel different…
ACG is being relaunched as a dedicated outdoor brand. A fully formed, purpose-built line, designed to go toe-to-toe with the disruptor labels that quietly stormed the trail and hiking world while ACG was looking the other way.
Personally, we’re very excited for this new chapter in ACG’s history. And as a way of trying to share that excitement with you – we’ve compiled some of the most iconic footwear silhouettes in the lines history, ranging from technical mountain biking footwear to some of the most groundbreaking trailrunning shoes of all time.
Although the Nike LDV predates the ACG line by more than a decade, this humble waffle-soled runner quietly laid the groundwork for everything that followed. Legend has it that famed mountaineers Rick Ridgeway and John Roskelley had grown weary of clunky hiking boots, and ahead of an expedition to K2 Base Camp, struck a deal with Nike for two pairs of low-profile, long-distance running shoes.
In return, the pair fed back on how the LDVs performed in alpine conditions. They praised the agility and breathability of the silhouette, but questioned its durability. Their notes outlined how the shoe could be toughened up for the mountains, while preserving its lightweight, nimble feel = a blueprint that would later echo through Nike’s ACG DNA.
Four years after Ridgeway and Roskelley’s expedition to K2 Base Camp came the Nike Lava Dome – a revolutionary silhouette that signalled Nike’s first true step into hiking footwear. Its design was shaped directly by the handwritten notes the mountaineers mailed back to Portland, translating their field-tested insights into a purpose-built shoe for the mountains.
The Lava Dome landed in as part of a three-shoe outdoor capsule alongside the Approach and the Magma – but it was the orange-swooshed silhouette that captured the imagination of hikers, mountain bikers, and outdoor obsessives across America.
Lightweight, highly breathable, and tough enough to take a beating, the Lava Dome looked and felt unlike anything else on the market at the time. Among ACG’s deep catalogue of icons, it stands as one of the line’s most innovative models.
We’ve already sung the praises of the Lava Dome, but to overlook the Approach would be borderline sacrilege – if only for the colourway alone.
The middle child of the trio, and sitting squarely between the Lava Dome and the Magma in both weight and intent, the Approach featured a GORE-TEX liner, making it a go-to for hikers expecting moisture along the trail.
During field testing, Nike once again turned to Rick Ridgeway, who promptly thrashed, battered, and bruised a pair all the way to Everest Base Camp at 18,000 feet.
The Mowabb wasn’t among the first wave of ACG releases – the line had already been established for three years by the time it arrived – but that didn’t stop it from becoming the most talked-about ACG model then, and now.
Designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield, the Mowabb (as its name suggests) drew inspiration from the mountainous region of Moab, Utah. Its unmistakable blue-and-orange colourway is said to reference the area’s rivers and their native fish, translating desert landscape into wearable form.
Technically as well as aesthetically, the Mowabb was well ahead of the curve. The model featured a sole engineered to adapt to the surface beneath it, delivering a noticeably more comfortable ride across rugged terrain.
So while the Mowabb wasn’t ACG’s first silhouette, it was the one that truly lit the fuse – offering an early glimpse of just how far Nike intended to push the line.
The ACG Cairngorm might just be the strangest silhouette on this list. Sitting somewhere between a rugged hiking boot and a formal boat shoe, it embodies the kind of left-field design that’s kept devotees infatuated with ACG for decades – and exactly the spirit we hope the line’s reboot continues to carry forward.
The Cairngorm came in four iterations: a mid and a low version, and then a suede and a leather version of each. Marketed as a more capable deck shoe, it featured a high-grip lugged sole and robust stitch down construction – a silhouette built to handle slick boat decks and gravel-strewn peaks with equal ease.
When the ACG Lahar first appeared in 1996, it had no idea it would go on to become the poster child of countless Instagram feeds and Pinterest boards. Arguably, it’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing ACG models ever made.
Like many ACG silhouettes, the Lahar was offered in both low and mid versions, each finding its own following. The mid was favoured by light trekkers, while the low became a staple for outdoor enthusiasts and city wanderers alike, thanks to its cushioned midsole that delivered all-day comfort.
The Lahar low recently returned in a faithful re-issue, staying true to the original while introducing a handful of fresh colourways – including a particularly fetching wine-red version.
The early 2000s were a golden era for Nike ACG, and the Dri-Goat perfectly illustrates why. Channelling the styling of the new millennium, the silhouette featured a zip closure, GORE-TEX liner, air-unit sole, and a futuristic silver-and-red colourway that propped up its forward-thinking design.
Technically, the Dri-Goat was billed as Nike’s most advanced trail running shoe of the time, thanks to its Goat-Tek outsole, engineered for maximum grip on trails. In practice, the technology didn’t quite deliver – but that didn’t stop marketing from proclaiming it as the ultimate trail-running companion.
Appearing as a distant cousin to the Dri-Goat, the ACG Phassad was Nike’s answer to waterproof mountain biking footwear, without the bulk.
The most striking feature of the Phassad, was the waterproof flap closure, which is rumoured to originally have been inspired by the design of tent flaps. Combined with a water-repellent rubber toebox, rubberised toecap, and nylon heel quarter, it kept mountain bikers’ feet dry when the weather turned on the trail.
The Phassad also received a retro last year, and stands as one of the most accurate ACG re-issues to date.
Before everyone comes at us, yes – the ACG Air Mada was first introduced in 1994. We’re specifically focusing on the 2004 version here because, personally, we think it’s the most attractive.
Aside from looking great, the Air Mada featured thick leather, ripstop underlays, perforations, and contrast stitch detailing – design elements we’ve dearly missed from Nike and hope the ACG reboot brings back to the fore.
The air-injected midsole also helped boost the silhouette’s popularity, delivering unmatched comfort during long days out on the trail.
Our list culminates here: the ACG Wild Trail – a functional trail runner and lifestyle silhouette released during ACG’s 20th anniversary year.
The Wild Trail comes from a lineage of ‘Wild’ models, including the Wildwood and Wildedge, and while it might not be the most well-known of the trio, you can’t deny the silhouette’s minimal design and eye-catching colourway.
It also featured Nike’s ‘O.44 Sticky Rubber’ outsole, which delivered everything Goat-Tek promised to, providing serious traction for trail runners navigating slick surfaces, loose rock, and slippery roots.
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