Packing for a camping trip can quickly turn into a footwear conundrum. You’ve got a hard working pair of boots for the trail, something slip-on for around the fire, and if you’re smart, maybe a pair of slippers for the tent.
Back in 2020, New Balance’s Tokyo Design Studio answered all three with a single shoe, the Niobium Concept 1. The silhouette promptly built a cult following and then vanished. Now it’s back as the TDS MSNB1, and the beloved transforming act is still fully intact.
One Shoe, Three Jobs
The gimmick here is actually in the hardware. A zipper runs down the tongue and wraps around the heel, and depending on how much of the shoe you leave attached, you get three genuinely different pieces of footwear.
Fully assembled, it’s a waterproof mid-top boot with an eVent membrane, a stretch rip-stop upper, and bungee laces that cinch down with zero tying required. Unzip the collar and it becomes a heel-less trail mule for camp duty. Pull the inner bootie out entirely and you’re left with a soft slipper for the tent.
Straight From the Tokyo Design Studio Archives
The Niobium Concept 1 first surfaced in August 2020 as a Snow Peak collaboration, built on the bones of the classic MT801 trail runner. A general release followed that fall, a few more colorways trickled out into early 2021, and then the well went dry.
Scarcity did what scarcity does. The shoe became a fixture on gorpcore mood boards, clean pairs got picked over on resale, and the faithful spent years asking New Balance for another run. Six years later, they finally got one.
Pick Your Palette
The revival lands in two colorways. “Zinc Blue/Shadow Blue” is the moodier option, a dusty mineral blue with blacked-out overlays and pale blue lugs peeking out from the outsole. “Morel/Pistachio Butter” runs warmer, blending muted olive and soft yellow-green tones that’ll pair with basically any earth-toned shell hanging in your closet.
Underneath both sits ABZORB cushioning and a chunky lugged rubber outsole, so the trail-readiness is actually legit here.
Spec Sheet
Brand: New Balance (Tokyo Design Studio)
Model: TDS MSNB1 (Niobium Concept 1)
Upper: Stretch rip-stop with welded PU overlays
Waterproofing: eVent membrane
Closure: Bungee lacing with tongue and heel zipper system
Cushioning: ABZORB EVA foam
Outsole: Lugged rubber
Colorways: Zinc Blue/Shadow Blue/Black, Morel/Pistachio Butter/Pale Olive Green
SKUs: MSNB17UQ, MSNB18XB
MSRP: $300
Pricing & Availability
Both colorways of the TDS MSNB1 are priced at $300 and dropped on July 2 Head over to New Balance’s website to grab a pair.
Recap
New Balance TDS MSNB1 Hybrid Hiker
New Balance’s Tokyo Design Studio revives the 2020 Niobium Concept 1, a waterproof boot that unzips into a trail mule and a tent slipper.
