I have a confession to make. I haven’t tied my shoes in a very long time. It’s not that I don’t know how, have shoes with Velcro, or haven’t left the house in so long that I don’t even need shoes anymore. Rather, I have successfully mastered the art of kicking my shoes off and forcing my way into them without needing to ever untie them or utilize my hands at all like a civilized person. At first I thought this just made me lazy. Until I heard about Nike’s newest offering: sneakers that are specifically designed to be slid into. Meaning that I must not be the only person out there doing this. In fact, soon we all will.
The Verge sums it up best:
“The core innovation here is a so-called bistable hinge that lets the shoe move between two positions: an upright one in which the inner sole of the shoe sits at a roughly 30-degree angle so you can easily slip your foot in, and the collapsed position in which the outer layer sits snugly around the inner one while you walk or run. It is effectively two shoes in one, with the inner shoe popping out as needed.
The concept comes from the standard motion most people make when taking off slip-on shoes like Crocs, slippers, or plain old loose sneakers that involves using one foot to pull down on the heel of the other, according to Fast Company. With the Go FlyEase’s ‘kickstand heel,’ this motion lets you slip out of the shoes while simultaneously sliding the hinge to prop them up. The whole process is hands-free, Nike says.”
I do wonder if these shoes will be as comfortable as normal shoes or be more prone to breaking since there are more moving parts but those concerns are quickly erased once I think about how cool this concept it and how easy they will be to use. In fact, I can see this concept becoming so popular that it becomes the new standard way of wearing shoes and sneakers. Take that shoelaces!
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