The LDV, short for Long Distance Vector, is a Nike running shoe from 1978. Nike gave a pair to every member of that year’s American K2 expedition, including John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway, and many hiked the roughly 130-mile approach to base camp in them instead of leather boots. This 2016 experiment took the shoe as its starting point. We made it internally, Nike Brand Design EMEA with Nike Sportswear, and Nike Brand Design briefed and creative directed the outside agencies.
The LDVs never climbed K2. They were never meant to.
Nike, source
