seanahue.roxa element; for an iso sole they actually have a good bit of rubber on there, so i guess thats also part of the reason why i'm curious if gw makes any big difference in some way i'm unaware of
GripWalk isn't just about easier walking (in fact, most of us here don't give a shit about that since we know how to walk in ski boots). The main benefit to NSers will be added traction and not having to swap soles (or boots) or constantly adjust toe heights.
The tread pattern that GripWalk allows for is WAY more robust & deep than what is allowed thru the Alpine Norm 5355. If you ever spend time scrambling or walking across terrain that is slippery, it is far better than normal alpine soles. It does not, however, offer the same level of grip as full-rubber Touring Norm sole... but it also skis better than a full-rubber touring sole. Touring Norm soles move/compress more in a binding while skiing, so the power transfer of your boot to binding suffers. If you really want your 130 boot to flex and ski like a 130, a full-rubber sole prevents that from fully happening.
As long as you have GripWalk compatible bindings, a GripWalk sole will allow you to use one pair of boots and not have to swap soles or adjust bindings when you move from carving skis to park skis to pow skis. That is not possible to do with a Touring Norm sole.
If you don't have a carving/race ski, and you only have freestyle/freeride skis, then adjustment thing probably won't matter to you. But GripWalk will still offer you way more traction compared to Alpine Norm and more skiing performance compared to Touring Norm.