It was 2 degrees on a chilly winter evening in Seoul, and the last thing you’d think of doing is running your way through the piercing cold winds. But when you get to test new game-changing running tech — Nike’s Epic React Flyknit — you brave your way through.
After putting it through the grind for over 2 years and 17,000 miles (that’s 649 marathons) of testing by professional and everyday runners, Nike launched the new Epic React Flyknit at the Dongdeamun Design Plaza, the centerpiece of the city’s luxury fashion hub. The running shoe is the first ever to house a one-piece foam technology called Nike React, that’s developed by Nike’s inventors in-house and glued together without any carrier or cement. “We asked our runners what they wanted and they said — everything,” said Ernest Kim, Director, Advanced Footwear Innovation, Nike Running, who has been working on the design for 2 years. “Today, nobody wants to strike a compromise between performance and style or lightweight vs durability,” says Kim. Which is why you’ll be hooked to this swanky sneaker that offers 10% more energy return and is 5% lighter and 11% softer than its predecessor, the LunarEpic Low Flyknit 2.
The Epic React Flyknit delivers exceptional performance throughout your run, making it a perfect fit for marathoners as well as running newbies. The responsive foam cushions your foot in comfort and is designed to take the impact of each stride and gives you an almost bounce-like energy return to help you breeze through every mile. To make up for the soft foam, the midsole is taller, wider and extended to the heel to give the runner more stability and to prevent bottoming out. Plus, there’s also a two segments of rubber under the forefoot and heel for added traction and to enhance the durability of the shoe. The upper too follows suit and has a one-piece Flyknit bootie to give you just the right support and flexibility where you need it the most.
Notice the intricate pattern on the sole of the Epic React Flyknit? It’s there for a reason. A data-driven process allowed for engineering the surface of the midsole to deliver cushioning and support in the specific spots needed during a run, while eliminating material wherever it’s unnecessary to keep the shoe feather-light. The pattern varies in depth, where the deeper parts offer more cushioning and shallower ones give firm stability.
The Epic React Flyknit is sleek, performance-driven and outranks others in terms of comfort. Now would you give in if we said, it made a run feel like bouncing on a cloud-like trampoline?
The Nike Epic React Flyknit is available on Nike.com and at select retailers.
