Get HYPE

Watch the Road To Redemption vids.. they'll get you AMPED. Dang.. i love those old skool highlights of the Dream Team.

Yeezy

Another much anticipated release are these Nike Air Yeezys. There's been a ton of banter concerning these shoes.. and with just as much praise of how they look, there's been plenty of hating. Say whatchu will about them.. but it really is a dream team type of collabo. Like when Jordan and Tinker got together... only this time the star is also the designer. Kanye is super artistic and drew these bad boys himself. When was the last time Nike let a hip hop star design his own shoes?? Jordan doesn't even do that... well.. he gets to have input and such.. but he's not the one putting pencil to paper. The Air Yeezy deserves respect.

If you look closely at the midsole, you'll probably notice that its the AJ3/Air Revolution midsole. So Ye didn't exactly start from scratch.. but hey.. you try designing an upper.

No one really knows the release date.. but Ye himself says they droppin in November in this freestyle. If you cant listen through the whole thing.. i think they start talkin bout Nikes at around the 6:40 mark.

Pegasus

Dang, these joints bring me back to grade 6! I never understood the 2 different colours in the midsole.. the grey in the heel and white in the forefoot. I remember that they were definitely 2 different types of foam.. perhaps dual density. But this would not make sense if they were trying to make a motion control shoe. Perhaps the grey area simply encapsulated the air unit... both indicating this aesthetically and optimizing the use of the air unit using a different foam.. thus improving the heel strike and giving the runner an overall plusher ride. OK.. that was a bunch of BULL!! I just remember loving the colour scheme (wht/grey/blue) and the grey part of the midsole made this shoe interesting.. it always made me want to press into it.. and even cut into it.. cuz i wanted to know what the air inside looked like. AIR was just so darn NEW and AMAZING back then.
The retros will be releasing early next year.

Here's a pic of the OGs.

I Got Skeellz

KixandtheCity.com: McFly Nike Hyperdunk Release

The hype on this release is just incredible. There really hasn't been this much excitement surrounding a sneaker release in a long time.. and to think its for a newly designed performance basketball shoe too. Just amazing. This could be a turning point for future releases and how brands take on new projects.

On another note: whats the deal with the babies in the line up?? dang man, that just ain't right.

Zoom Kobe 4: First Look

Here's a sneak peak at Kobe's next signature shoe to be release in January of 09. First thing you probably notice is that they're LOW CUT! Its a bit surprising since most modern high performance basketball shoes made for taller shooting guards and forwards are higher cut.. but i gotta say, i really like that Nike and Kobe decided to go this way. I really can't entirely agree with the direction of the previous ZKs, but one thing is for sure.. Nike has kept us on our toes with this line.

The first Zoom Kobe is definitely nice to look at. Perhaps a bit bulky, but i've heard it plays well and is quite comfortable.

ZK2 my least favourite of the bunch, just looks like they ran outta ideas for this one. Looks like uninspired design. There's nothing new on this shoe that gets me excited. I love bright coloured midsoles tho, so the yellow midsole on this colourway does kinda touch my heart a bit.

ZK3.. I definitely applaud Nike for this one. When i saw these the first time.. i thought to myself... FINALLY.. we're starting to look into the future again. 

When first looking at this shoe.. its got that love/hate quality about them. They could look ugly at first appearance, but they can also grow on you. When a sneaker can do that, there's definitely something right about the design.. shocking at first, but undeniable beautiful design lines prevail. I don't think there was as big of a risk as these joints since Adidas' attempt at Kobe's signatures... but unfortunately the world wasn't ready for that one... and still might not be ready.

Zk4s are telling a story. These kicks kinda look plain and almost have a

 throw back appearance to them, but there's reason for that. Kobe lived in Italy for a portion of his childhood. He's fluent in Italian and has a love for soccer. Apparently he still plays in the summer 

as an alternate training method, he says it helps with his footwork. So, you get the idea right? At second look, it started to make sense. They definitely look like indoor soccer shoes. And then.. the emblem on the tongue is a dead giveaway. Its an appropriation from the Torino Football Club crest. Pretty cool concept indeed. Oh, and oh yeah.. they of course make use of Flywire tech.

How It's Made: New Balance Shoes

Love watching kicks get made.

Vectran

This is the fibre that makes Flywire technology work. It is a liquid crystal polymer and like Lunar Foam it was also originally developed for NASA which evidently is a great source to find super strong super lightweight materials. NASA uses Vectran for their current space suit and also the air bags that deploy whensoft landing a rover.

Vectran has definitely been around... when looking at Flywire i immediately thought of my fisher friend Tony and his fishing lines. I was right, Vectran is commonly used for fishing not only for the lines, but also for reinforcing the ropes and cables on the boats. Vectran actually has a TON of applications... bicycle tires, racquet strings, tape reinforcement, electronic components, hockey sticks, parachute chords, speaker cones.. just to name a few.

Props to Nike and their development team on picking up this fibre and using it in such a creative way. Design problem solving at its best.

Infrared

To be re-re-re-released this summer are the OG classic infrared Air Max 90s. To spice things up a bit, Nike has decided to release 2 different versions.. both i believe are going to be quickstrike, but one of them will be considered PREMIUM. The Premium version will feature an ostrich skin mud guard panel.

Chris Paul

One of my favourite players in the NBA right now... nice to see him tell stories about sneakers.

Design : Innovation : Sustainability

Lunar Foam

Not as exciting as Flywire, but very interesting nonetheless. I gotta say that Lunar foam in its raw green form looks so oowee goowee good!! Makes me wanna bite into that midsole insert... mmmmmmmm.

Asia Exclusive Olympic Hyperdunk

These are nice. Why did Canada get the boring white/obsidian colourway and Asia got the sleek dark obsidian/university blu colourway? Ah wells. Both have already been released.

Flywire

Yes yes, it seems as though i can't stop writing about those darn Hyperdunks, but what can i say, i haven't been this excited about a release since probably the original Foam Ones. Anyway, i want to back track a little here and post these videos about Flywire technology from the Nike Beijing 2008 Innovation Summit held at the Nike World HQ. Absolutely amazing stuff in my opinion.

What's really got me amped is that its a new technology thats NOT about the midsole and cushioning. Every performance footwear company in the past 30 years has been trying to figure out the best possible cushioning system.. from air, gels, hydroflow?, hexagonal forms, a cantilever system and several types of foams... TECH has always been about midsole midsole midsole. Unless you talk to the Fila rep, he'll tell you all the tech is in the LACES (sorry.. inside joke). There has of course been attempts at new technology in the upper.. such as Reebok's Pump and the Foamposite series of course, but i truly believe that there has not been a technology innovation for athletic footwear uppers as successful and makes as much sense as Flywire.

Glow In The Dark

Wow, didn't know the McFly's actually had glow in the dark elements to them. There should be more. Though i'm unsure if the "NIKE" on the heel cup glows. That would definitely top it off! Nice photo of them too.. i like the fact that you can see through the flywire upper.