- Editor-in-Chief
- Footwear fit testing, agent order logistics, running and basketball silhouettes, and measurement protocol design
Nora Whitfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Kako Buy Shoes, primarily writing fit guides, basketball shoe reviews and agent-order timing reports. She orders each review pair herself through an agent and photographs its unboxing on the bench. She uses digital calipers at the heel, midfoot and toe box of both shoes, and records their weight with and without the box. She wear-tests the pair on a 20 km route and rechecks heel slip and toe-box width at the 50 km and 150 km checkpoints before the score is written. Her coverage brings together shoe measurements, wear observations and the agent-ordering process.
- Footwear fit and sizing charts
- Agent order and warehouse timings
- Basketball and running silhouettes
- Midsole compression over distance
- Wet-pavement traction
- Returns and exchange terms
Career timeline
- 2009
- Fit specialist at a running store in Eugene, Oregon; fitted more than 2,000 customers and logged returns.
- 2012
- Assistant footwear buyer for a Portland outdoor retail chain.
- 2016
- Footwear category buyer responsible for markdown and returns analysis across 11 stores.
- 2019
- Founding editor of Kako Buy Shoes in Portland, Oregon.
- 2022
- Introduced the desk's 90-day retest cycle for top-ranked models.
- 2024
- Led the rebuild of the desk's fit measurement protocol and caliper table.
How I test
She orders through the agent process and photographs the unboxing on the bench. She uses digital calipers to measure both shoes at the heel, midfoot and toe box, and records weights with and without the shoe box. She wears the pair over a 20 km route and rechecks heel slip and toe-box width at the 50 km and 150 km milestones before the score is written.
