Nike launched its FlyEase hands-free shoes, five years ago, and ever since it has become increasingly easier to get into your favorite sneakers. Unlike the hands-free shoes introduced by Nike, the other shoes always required you to use at least one hand with the help of which you could strap it up, tie, or zip the shoe. But this is different and as the name suggests, you do not have to use your hands at all for getting into the shoes.
New Nike Hands-free shoes- Features galore
The hands-free shoes Nike has made available for its customers have a bistable hinge in the midsole of the Nike GO FlyEase shoe. The shoe helps in the transition from the so-called ready or open position to the closed or set position.
All you must do is just step in and rest your feet on the footbed and when you want to take out your feet, to take it off, with one foot, step on the ledge of the shoe at the heel with the other foot and the hinge releases your let so that you can slide it out with ease.
The lead of the project design stated that the company wanted to design something new and that was different. The project design’s lead is Sarah Reinertsen, who also happens to be the first woman to complete the Ironman World Championships with a prosthetic leg. She is also a record holder in the Ironman Triathlon.
The design was conceived in an internal Nike design competition. The main feature of the hands-free shoes for seniors is the patent-pending hinge design. It allows for the shoe to be stable in open and closed positions. These Nike shoes will continue to remain flat on the ground in both positions, regardless of whether it is in closed or open positions.
It will not break the new Nike Hands-free shoes into halves. It gets activated only when you put your feet into it or take it out from the shoe. The unique feature of the shoe is that the footbed will continue to remain as a single continuous structure, and the hinge will let the heel drop away.
As we normally do, to open the shoe, you can step on the other shoe and take it off as mentioned in the above paragraphs.
There is a lace-less upper portion that has a mesh construction. It includes a tensioner band that wraps the exterior of the shoe so that the foot stays locked in while you are walking. The band material used in the tensioner is made up of an outsole that is durable and is equipped with UV protection to keep it protected from the sun.
According to Reinertsen, with the help of known materials of Nike coupled with many technologies, multiple systems work simultaneously to keep the legs in the proper position, whether open or closed, and render adequate comfort and support to the one wearing them.
The project lead in designing Reinertsen also said that this was the first time that Nike was using bistable hinges technology in the shoe. So, it required intricate engineering so that the appropriate usage could be figured out.
The Nike Hands-free shoe release date was February 15th when it went for sale. The Nike Hands-free shoe price is USD 120 and the number of pieces that were made available was in limited numbers only for the subscribers of the free membership program on the website of Nike shoes.
Ever since Nike launched the FlyEase, with the help of technology it has designed shoes using the same technology for sportswear, basketball, and running shoes.
