I Tested Nike’s Top Secret Shoe

Futuristic Air Jacket [00:17]

• The jacket utilizes air as its core material for temperature regulation, featuring an interconnected system of tiny airbags.
• Users can adjust their comfort by using a small pump to control the amount of air within the jacket.
• When fully inflated, it can keep the wearer comfortable in temperatures up to 20° cooler than when deflated.
• The air management system ensures even distribution throughout the jacket, including the collar.
• Initially released for professional athletes, it is expected to become available to the general public later.

It's very immediate. And the interesting part of it is while the air is coming in from one particular point, it's managed to flow to every nook and cranny of the jacket.

Nike Sports Research Lab & Shoe Innovation [01:38]

• The lab analyzes around 4,000 athletes per year, using motion capture and force plates to understand stress points.
• This data informs the design of shoes that counter these stresses and enhance performance.
• Findings include the importance of forward grip for momentum and the risks of excessive rotational grip, leading to V-shaped studs for forward grip and rounded studs for pivot.
• Detailed 3D foot scans reveal subtle differences in foot shape across genders and ethnicities, influencing regional shoe designs (e.g., Japan vs. US).

They're using the world's largest set of motion capture cameras combined with the world's largest set of force plates under the surface to essentially find out the stress points on the athletes bodies so that Nike can build shoes that counter them.

Project Amplify: Powered Footwear [02:50]

• Project Amplify is described as the world's first powered footwear system, with a launch anticipated around 2027.
• A working prototype was tested, featuring a shoe with no laces, an arm containing the motor and processing power, and a cuff for tightening.
• After 6-8 steps, the shoes use processing power to determine gait and stride, then actively lift the wearer's feet.
• This system provides an estimated 20% increase in overall leg power.
• The shoes can detect when the wearer starts running, initially feeling heavier but quickly enabling faster speeds.
• Potential applications include health benefits by increasing metabolic efficiency, making walking a faster alternative to short car trips, and enabling individuals to keep pace with others.

So there's the shoe, which importantly is actually a pretty great shoe without anything else added to it.

Aerodrift Sports Clothing [06:36]

• Aerodrift is Nike's new line of next-gen sports clothing designed to address overheating in athletes due to rising global temperatures.
• The core problem addressed is that sweat's cooling effect is lost if it soaks into clothes rather than evaporating directly from the skin.
• Nike utilizes lab simulations, including artificial sweat-producing dummies and monitoring sweat pools, to measure wasted evaporation.
• The Aerodrift line uses new materials and a looser stitching pattern to allow for increased airflow.
• Fabric designs are tweaked based on sport-specific airflow patterns, guiding air across the body for maximum sweat absorption from the skin.
• For running, air intake is maximized from the front, with dense meshes directing air to the sides and out the back. Tennis apparel features larger perforations on the sides, while weight training tops prioritize air intake at the core and upper body.
• Air permeability of Aerodrift is reported to be 238% more than legacy Dry-Fit.

But the thing that I find so interesting about it is the company has looked at athletes playing each sport separately in their laps. They've realized that air travels in a different way around the athlete depending on which sport they're playing.

Nike Mind Shoes [09:34]

• Nike's Mind science department has developed shoes by focusing on brain activity rather than solely foot structure.
• The Mind shoes (slider and sneaker versions) feature 22 nodes designed to trigger brain reactions, positioned like acupressure points.
• These nodes can be pushed in any direction, and due to a thin layer between the nodes and the foot, wearers can feel a massaging effect and the texture of the surface they are walking on.
• This sensory feedback is intended to ground the wearer and bring their mind to the present moment, similar to meditation techniques.
• They are primarily designed for athletes in changing rooms to enhance focus before competition, but also have potential for everyday use.
• The effect is noted as more pronounced in the sneaker version due to better foot contact.

And because your feet feel so connected to them, you can feel how they're being pushed, which is the weirdest thing because it means while you're wearing these shoes, you can feel the texture of the surface that you'r