We’ve been to our fair share of product announcements and showcases, but Nike’s innovation summit on Wednesday displayed ambition on a scale most companies would never attempt.
At New York City’s Moynihan Station, Nike unveiled new products that span running, basketball, soccer, and training. This was more than the yearly new colors and updates. It truly was a reveal of totally new products, spotlighting years of research and development.
Kicking off the event, Nike President and CEO Mark Parker said they’re in an “era of personalized performance,” meaning athletes want tools tailored to help them reach their individual potential. Here are some of the big highlights and notable innovations from the event.
Nike Air VaporMax
Runners have long dreamed of running on air—see the many shoes from different manufacturers named after or inspired by clouds. But this is the first shoe to totally replace foam with, well, nothing. In development for more than seven years, Nike managed to remove all the layers between you and the road, utilizing a two-chamber Air unit.
Seana Hannah, Nike’s VP of Innovation, told Runner’s World the two pieces have different air pressures—the heel chamber is firmer—to tune the ride. Each bag is highly segmented, so it will flex as you move forward.
Not much is known about how an exposed air unit will hold up to rocks, glass, and nails, but Hannah tells us hundreds of runners (including elite Matt Tegenkamp) logged thousands of miles in prototypes. There’s no pricing information available yet, but expect the shoe to make its way to stores in Spring 2017.
Nike Air VaporMax
The Free lineup continues to evolve. It’s still positioned as a natural footwear option, allowing freedom of movement and foot strengthening not found in more conventional builds. But the new RN Motion gets a midsole comprised of triangular lugs that splay in all directions with each footstrike. This mimics how your foot expands, up to a size in length, with each stride. Two layers of foam make the ride softer than previous Frees—and accessible to more runners.
Vapor Track & Field Kits with AeroSwift technology
It’s been three decades since Marty McFly strapped on a pair of self-lacing shoes, but the masses are finally going to be able to have the same experience. When you step into these shoes, dubbed EARL (“electro adaptive reactive lacing”), a sensor in the heel triggers the shoes to tighten automatically to an ideal tension. (See it in action in the video below.)
Need to snug or loosen it? There are buttons on the side so you can dial in the fit to your liking. Designer Tinker Hatfield envisions a day when the shoe can anticipate sudden lateral movements and tighten on the fly. For now, the application is reserved for this cross-training shoe. Expect the HyperAdapt 1.0 to be available by the end of the year.
Zoned Performance Tights
While most of us haven’t laced up a pair of track spikes since high school, they’re still paramount for competitive athletes. The connection between foot and track has to be tuned to eliminate as much wasted energy as possible during each step. That was the goal for the Superfly Flyknit, a shoe Allyson Felix will be wearing in Rio.
Tony Bignell, Nike’s VP of Footwear Innovation, tells us the plate on the bottom of the sole has been mapped with biomechanical data from Felix, specifically aiming to improve her speed through the track’s curve during 200- and 400-meter races. They’ve used 3D printing to create 30 different iterations, tweaking the configuration to dial in stiffness and flexibility, while also adapting the snug Flyknit upper more than 70 times before landing on the optimal fit for Felix.
Zoned Performance Tights
By now, runners are familiar with compression garments—often used in recovery after a hard race or workout. Nike’s new line of performance tights focuses on keeping you feeling fresh longer during your activity.
Its Power Speed Tight is designed to reduce muscle vibration and support your large muscles—hip, thigh, calf—when you’re running in a straight line. The women’s Zoned Sculpt Tight (shown) is suited for the gym and knit in a way that lets you do dynamic moves like lunges and squats while still supporting your core.
Vapor Track & Field Kits with AeroSwift technology
Look for Nike-sponsored athletes to be decked out in sleek, form-fitting tops and shorts with small aerodynamic blades attached. We’ll admit, this is totally geeky, though the fastest athletes are always looking for even the slimmest edge on the world stage. Nike reports that it’s done wind-tunnel testing to show these little yellow fins reduce drag, not only for sprinters but also middle distance racers and marathoners.
LunarEpic Flyknit
The company’s recent launch of the LunarEpic Flyknit with a high collar that rises above the ankle was met with a mixture of excitement and skepticism. While the collar isn’t really noticeable to most runners once you start moving, we were still excited to see a traditional cut version on display at the event. We expect everything under the foot to remain the same on both versions: a soft midsole that resists being mushy, while laser siping along the sole gives the shoe excellent flexibility and traction.
Nike+ App
When introducing the new Nike+ app, Parker suggested “athletes want more than a dashboard; they want a relationship.” To build that connection with its customers, Nike is creating a digital hub that’s one part personal store—showing you products for your preferred sport—A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
Plus the app wants to be a link to limited releases and hard-to-score footwear. Noticeably absent from what we’ve seen is any run tracking capabilities like you’d find in a Strava or MapMyRun app, or its separate Nike+ Run app for smartphones.
Kevin Hart
The special guest throughout the afternoon was actor and comedian Kevin Hart, who has teamed up with the brand for a special “Hustle Harts” training shoe. Hart has been trying to motivate thousands to get moving through his #RunWithHart pop-up 5K runs while on tour.
He laced up those bright red kicks for an evening workout with about 100 media members—half doing intervals on treadmills, the other half doing a core strength workout that included burpees, jump lunges, and more.
Hart was buzzing all around the room, doing intervals and strength training, and was joined by sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross and New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz to keep everybody motivated.
Other Hearst Subscriptions Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
