A little while back, Jeff Johnson (think:Nike employee number one) shared an observation with product developers at the company. On his casual runs, he tended to veer out of his way to hit a soft patch of pine needles, even if the detour only rewarded him with a few strides on softer terrain. Could Nike design a shoe that replicated that soft-pine-needle feel all the time?
The answer comes in the distinctly silhouetted form of the , a running shoe dedicated to creating that extra bit of underfoot cushioning.
The Flyknit upper is complementedby the sock-like collar, which makes the shoe feel like a seamless extension of your lower leg, rather than a clunky appendage.“By increasing the surface area of the upper, you eliminate some of the pressure points that can typically be there in a running shoe,” says Kathy Gomez, vice presidentof Nike Running Global Footwear, “So the result is, the upper kind of disappears on your foot. You don’t feel it.”
Other innovations include a new midsole construction that uses heat and pressure, rather than glue, to fuse two different densitiesof Lunarlon foam, and an outsole that'smarked by laser-cut grooves, or “sipes,” for added flexibility and traction.
And, in case you’re wondering, the shoe is meant to be worn with or without socks.
Weight: 8.3 oz. (Men’s size 10);6.55 oz. (Women’s size 8)
$175,