Nike Flyknit shoes weigh as much as a sock, fit like a glove
Dan Seitz Marathon runners take shoe weight pretty seriously, for obvious reasons: the lighter the shoe, the easier it is on the runner. But Nike was also faced with a few problems, like the fact that socks aren’t known for their structural integrity.
So they decided to basically make a knit shoe, complete with sole, to deal with these problems. And, in the process, created a new form of running shoe that’s actually pretty interesting.
The key thing about the Flyknit is that it’s comfortable, really, really comfortable. That’s because it’s all one piece: everything about the shoe is knit into one layer. Yep, support, structure, everything, it’s all woven into the fabric, instead of multiple parts to the shoe.
For runners, that’s a pretty big deal because it makes the shoe extremely light: 7.7 ounces. That’s 19% lighter than the shoes Nike made for runners in the men’s marathon at the 2011 World Championships of Racing. They’ll be making their semi-professional debut at, where else, the Olympics in London, but normal runners hoping for a lighter, more comfortable shoe will be able to pick them up in July. No price announced yet, but assume expensive: engineered yarn doesn’t come cheap.
Nike Introduces Flyknit [Hypebeast]
comment on this story
blog comments powered by Disqus