Competition is a beautiful thing – well, sometimes. \u00a0Other times, new technological improvements catch many of us off guard no matter how great they are. \u00a0Earlier today Adidas unveiled a new technology, Adidas Springblade, that provides a whole new look and take on cushioning. \u00a0Have a flip through a quick list of shoe technologies that turned heads – for better or worse.<\/p>\n
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Adidas brought a ton to the revolution of basketball footwear design in the 1960s. The foreign brand brought in leather uppers, herringbone traction, cupsoles, and a rubber toe. Many back in the day were taken aback by this design that today we regard as a classic.<\/p>\n
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With an obsession to reduce weight and “listen to the athlete,” Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight cooked up something special with an outsole that was prototyped from the family waffle iron. The waffle sole put the young brand on the map with reduced weight thanks to less rubber and better traction for the track. 40 years later, well, yeah, you know about this brand.<\/p>\n
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Nike introduced Air cushioning in 1979 with the Nike Air Tailwind, but it wasn’t until nearly a decade later that the brand put their invention on display with the Nike Air Max 1. Legendary footwear designer Tinker Hatfield (you might have heard of him) was inspired by the Pompidou Centre in Paris for the creation. The building inspired the architect to put the technology on visible for all to see much like the building ran all plumbing and electrical conduit on the outside of the building.<\/p>\n
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Before Nike put its Air cushioning on display, it started toying with the idea of spring loaded cushioning in 1984. Nearly two decades later, Nike Shox debuted in October of 2000. With a somewhat annoying yet catchy commercial campaign, the Nike Shox debut was a success. Following its debut in basketball in the form of the Nike Shox BB4, a trainer and runner, the Nike Shox R4 were released.<\/p>\n
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The first decade of the new millennium was a rough one for Reebok’s running department, but the brand caught fire with the introduction of Reebok Zig. The shoe promised to be an “Energy Drink for your Feet” returning kinetic energy in a zig zag shaped system. Sneakerheads were not too warm to the new technology, but ask any sales associate at a shoe store – THEY SOLD.<\/p>\n
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Call in Kenny Powers, run a PG-13 ad campaign, and the shoes will sell like hot cakes, right? KSwiss pumps out excellent performance tennis products season after season, but received a piece of running market share with their Tubes technology – and a few weird looks.<\/p>\n
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Just announced today, adidas Springblade utilizes 16 blades that are composed of a highly elastic, high tech polymer that is angled forward for high energy return in any environment. Better return on energy sounds like a better return on investment. Look for these in stores in August for $180.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Competition is a beautiful thing – well, sometimes. \u00a0Other times, new technological improvements catch many of us off guard no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":307351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[618],"tags":[],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n