Loose laces get assist from self-tightening footwear
Nike has gone back to the future with its new self-tightening sneakers that will hit shelves Nov. 28.
Yes, the HyperAdapt 1.0 were inspired by Hollywood, based on the high-top “Nike Mag” sneakers Marty McFly sports in Back To The Future Part II, which was released in 1989 and set in the year 2015. Nike’s shoe design king Tinker Hatfield was actually tapped to dream up the concept for McFly’s footwear. (No word yet on why Nike needed an extra year, but predicting the future has never been an exact science.)
The shoes, which have been in development for 11 years, have a small motor at their base that controls nylon bands along the top. Those bands can be loosened or tightened electronically using buttons and sensors built into the shoe.
“When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten,” Tiffany Beers, a senior innovator at Nike, said in a news release. “Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.”
The company has not yet released the shoe’s exact weight or other specifications. But when a Twitter user remarked on how heavy the shoe must be, Nike’s spokeswoman Heidi Burgett replied, “I think you will be pleasantly surprised.”
Another Twitter user asked if the shoe would be lightweight and rechargeable. Burgett tweeted, “Yes and yes.”
No price has been set, nor is there yet word on retail locations where the shoes can be purchased.