This week we heard about a feel good story, where Nike is helping competitive amputee athletes by adapting its shoe technology for use with prosthetic legs. The Nike Sole has been designed to work with the Össur’s Flex-Run prosthetic running blade, which is used by competitive amputee athlete including Sarah Reinertsen (above).
The sole features a stacked design and comes with a stretch rubber leash over a rubber waffle outsole. Reportedly this material is made up of “regrind” soles that come from recycled shoes, while the polyurethane foam midsole is topped by a thermal plastic that was created from recycled air bags. So not only does this technology offer a benefit for amputee athletes but it is good for the planet in the process. And time will tell how this might help disabled athletes perform. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the Weekend Reading List. We moved the list to Saturday to give our loyal readers something new for the weekend, and as a way to catch up on stories that they might have missed. This week we being with Sh*t Barefoot Runners Say (video above).
Mountain bike shoes are good for mountain biking and not so good for hiking, while hiking or trail shoes don’t always work so well on the bike. What’s a multi-sport athlete to do? The answer is to consider the Pearl Izumi X-Alp series.
The newest model, the Seek IV WRX is a $130 mountain bike shoe that will let you clip in when you need, offering a stiff nylon plate to make sure there is adequate power transfer, while still offering padding and a bit of flexibility to be used as trail shoes. These are still hybrids so the WRX aren’t going to be better on the bike than dedicated mountain bike shoes, nor will these replace trail runners. But for those who want to be able to hike and bike with a single pair of shoes, these will do the trick very well. More photos after the jump
Last week at SIA we saw a number of skis, snowboards, accessories and boots that aren’t quite in production. One thing we liked was the new X-Spin boot from Lizard Footwear. The boot was incredibly light, yet durable enough for some rugged winter adventures.
Last week at SIA Snowsports Show we saw lots of products for activity, but also a few post-workout goods that are worth mentioning. LodgeSoxx is a pair of socks designated for wearing around the lodge or other areas you want to take off your ski boots, but you don’t want to walk around in just your socks.
It snowed at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver during the SIA Snowshow.
Last week KineticShift headed to SIA, the Snowsports Industries America Snowshow, to check out winter sports gear coming out this year. Here are some of the highlights from the show. Click on the images for a larger view and more detail.
Shoe maker Nike isn’t headed to the moon, but rather has ascended to the lunar surface in another way, as in on the fairway. Nike Golf has announced its new innovative rich lightweight summer golf shoe, the Nike Lunar Ascend, which builds on the success of the Nike Lunar Control. This new summer footwear features Nike’s Hyperfuse construction and Integrated Traction. Additional images after the jump
Numerous companies do socks, and throughout the year we see a lot of socks, but Teko Socks, which was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2004, works to make a leave a smaller footprint of sorts. The company, which showed its latest line at the Outdoor Retailer Show, uses proprietary fiber combinations mixing traditional organic wool inter-weaved with polyester. The result says the company is a sock that is comfortable and functional, while also being sustainable and have a low ecological impact. Sounds like a step in the right direction!
Mercury ran like the wind with wings on his shoes. These days wings aren’t required, just some advances in construction that allow for lighter and lighter shoes. This week adidas unveiled the new adizero Rush, which weighs 7.5 ounces. At that weight, you could shave a few seconds off your training run.
In a country of over 300 million people, the United States has very few manufacturers making shoes for all of those feet. Most of those jobs have headed outside our boarders into countries with lower wages and lower environmental regulations, but not all have left. In fact, there are some companies that have started up and are thriving based on the idea of creating a niche product instead of trying to become overly diversified. One such company is Okabashi Brands, Inc. of Buford, GA. Their low-cost, environmentally friend shoes are 100% recyclable and are made in America. Read the rest of this entry »
There are boots that can be good for walking in deep wet snow, but these aren’t exactly good as hiking boots. Fortunately Hi-Tec Sports will bring out the new Pará Boot, a new pair of boots that offers “the best of standard rubber boot with the flexibility, comfort and performance of a hiker.” It features a Vibram sole and removable footbeds, along with a waterproof rubber upper, neoprene lining and a “toggle closure” to make them watertight. These weigh just a pound and a half on each foot, and at $105 they might be more than other pairs, but it is like two boots in one!
Sounds like a great boot that won’t let your feet slip or get wet!
Expecting a Nike shoe to be able to dunk is… well, like expecting Michael Jordon to dunk. Of course it can happen and more importantly will happen. But we’re not talking about basketball this time, we’re talking about golf! The Nike Dunk, which is available now, has been weatherized and spiked. Thus it can handle a very different kind of dunk as the video above proves! Press Release after the jump
We’ve heard about quite a few interesting Kickstarter projects, but the spnKiX could give skaters a kickstart and a lot more. Essentially these are motorized, battery-powered shoes that can allow the wearer to travel up to speeds of 10mph.
While not technically skates, and thus not exactly fitness products, these do offer a new method of making short trips as the motorized shoes can travel some two to three miles.
This week we heard about a feel good story, where Nike is helping competitive amputee athletes by adapting its shoe technology for use with prosthetic legs. The Nike Sole has been designed to work with the Össur’s Flex-Run prosthetic running blade, which is used by competitive amputee athlete including Sarah Reinertsen (above).
Mountain bike shoes are good for mountain biking and not so good for hiking, while hiking or trail shoes don’t always work so well on the bike. What’s a multi-sport athlete to do? The answer is to consider the Pearl Izumi X-Alp series.
Numerous companies do socks, and throughout the year we see a lot of socks, but Teko Socks, which was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2004, works to make a leave a smaller footprint of sorts. The company, which showed its latest line at the Outdoor Retailer Show, uses proprietary fiber combinations mixing traditional organic wool inter-weaved with polyester. The result says the company is a sock that is comfortable and functional, while also being sustainable and have a low ecological impact. Sounds like a step in the right direction!
Mercury ran like the wind with wings on his shoes. These days wings aren’t required, just some advances in construction that allow for lighter and lighter shoes. This week adidas unveiled the new adizero Rush, which weighs 7.5 ounces. At that weight, you could shave a few seconds off your training run.
In a country of over 300 million people, the United States has very few manufacturers making shoes for all of those feet. Most of those jobs have headed outside our boarders into countries with lower wages and lower environmental regulations, but not all have left. In fact, there are some companies that have started up and are thriving based on the idea of creating a niche product instead of trying to become overly diversified. One such company is Okabashi Brands, Inc. of Buford, GA. Their low-cost, environmentally friend shoes are 100% recyclable and are made in America. 
