Drop everything: Nike’s self-lacing trainers are back and you could get your hands on them.
The new Nike Adapt BB shoes take Nike’s power-lacing system combined with a custom fit to create the best basketball shoes possible.
“We picked basketball as the first sport for Nike Adapt intentionally because of the demands that athletes put on their shoes,” said Eric Avar, Nike VP Creative Director of Innovation.
“During a normal basketball game the athlete’s foot changes and the ability to quickly change your fit by loosening your shoe to increase blood flow and then tighten again for performance is a key element that we believe will improve the athlete’s experience."
Nike has put out a few iterations of its self-lacing trainers in the past. There was the Marty McFly-inspired kicks that were sold in collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a Parkinson’s charity set up by the actor, and raised $6.7 million for research into the disease. Then in 2016, the company released Nike Hyperadapt 1.0 shoes, priced at a cool £620.
The Nike Adapt BB is the next stage in this quest for the perfect self-lacing shoe. How it works is: when someone places their foot into the trainer, a custom motor and gear train gauges the tension needed by the foot and adjusts itself accordingly.
Then, using the Nike Adapt smartphone app, or the buttons on the side of the trainer, the wearer can input different fit settings so the shoe adapts to different environments. You can customise the lights on the side of the shoes in the app too, going from blues to pinks, yellows to greens.
In a timeout during a basketball game, a player could loosen the shoe and tighten it up as they re-enter the game. Nike says a forthcoming feature will allow players to set different tightness settings for warm-ups, compared to when playing.
The new trainers are supposed to be the most tested shoe in the history of Nike. The company says testing included 300 miles of running, 30,000 impact pulses at 780 pounds of force, 2,900 continuous lacing cycles from tight to loose, and 5,000 cycles of flexing from left to right, to ensure the tech could withstand constant usage.
There’s also a Cushlon midsole foam to provide support and comfort, Nike’s classic Flyknit outer black shell design and a QuadFit mesh on the inside of the shoe that conforms to the foot and stays snug when you’re wearing it.
Nike says the shoes will get better and better too. The firmware in the shoe is connected to the app, which will be able to deliver updates to ensure the Nike Adapt BBs remain at the top of their game as well.
Just don't forget to charge them, which you can do with the wireless charging mat.
The new shoes will be available to buy in February. Nike isn't revealing any pricing information just yet but you can sign up to the pre-order list here.
