It was 11 degrees on a spring day in Seoul’s hip Hongdae district, where 40 runners had gathered to do a 5km street run. The chilly wind couldn’t dampen any spirits—the crew had only one thing on their mind as they sprinted through the alleys: putting their brand new Nike Air VaporMax sneakers to the test. It’s not every day that you get to try the most cutting-edge running technology before the rest of the world, especially one from Nike’s iconic Air Max family.
Nike has been putting visible air pockets in soles since the Air Max 1 debuted in 1987, so why is the VaporMax so radical? It’s because inspite of the shoe’s success, Nike has been tweaking the design for three decades, compressing this air (really nitrogen) into different mouldings for a bouncier, more cushioned footfall. The latest Air VaporMax is the lightest yet, constructed without the rubber casing and foam layers around the pockets. It’s almost a shoe hug as your foot is cocooned with their signature knitted FlyKnit while it sits on the airbag-like sole. “Foam breaks down over time because it’s porous, but air maintains the same resilience,” said Andrea Corradini, Nike’s senior product director about the concept behind the latest upgrade.
The sole’s design isn’t sleek exactly, but then Nike doesn’t do things merely for the aesthetics. Since performance comes first, the team went through 15 prototypes and wear-tested these designs for 2,03,000 kms with the help of 350 athletes before it landed on shelves. It may look like a wonky shoe, but after the run day in Seoul, everyone agreed that it delivered on its promise of cloud-like comfort. And at only 250 grams, the Nike Air VaporMax weighs half of the Air Max 1. For non-runners, this kind of light, flexible shoe will help you go way beyond your threshold. The only conundrum: should you wear them just on your run or could you get away with wearing them to cocktails later?
Flip through the gallery to see the landmark running sneakers that came before the VaporMax:
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