14 Things You Need to Know About the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0

Key facts behind Nike's first autolacing sneaker.

By Gerald Flores

It’s the auto-lacing sneaker that no one saw coming. The HyperAdapt 1.0 is Nike’s first step into using power laces for performance and not just movie magic (© Marty McFly). How did Nike turn this 10-year fantasy into reality? Here, the brand’s senior innovator and one of the HyperAdapt 1.0’s creators Tiffany Beers breaks down the fine details.

The biggest challenge to making an auto-lacing shoe was waiting for the right technology.

“Getting the technology small enough and getting it durable to be in a shoe. A shoe is a very abrasive environment. It flexes. It twists. You sweat, which has salt content in it. There’s all these different dynamics. You wear shoes every day and abuse them basically, so we had to wait until the technology was small enough and strong enough for us.”
Flywire and Flyweave were the technologies that made the HyperAdapt possible.

“It’s a very intricate design. It uses Nike Flyweave. We have Nike Flywire going through the Flyweave, which has been used in Air Jordans and Nike Golf. Flywire’s been around since 2008. They were the perfect technologies to mix with our lace engine and our lacing system.”
The tooling of the Air Jordan XX8 was the inspiration for where to place the lace engine system.

“When I was planning for the architecture of it, I started with the Jordan XX8. It had great cushioning and great technology with the full length Flight Plate. It basically had a zone where there was nothing under it and it turned out to be a great platform, so we started innovating on top of that.”
Michael J. Fox (AKA Marty McFly) hasn’t seen the HyperAdapt 1.0

“We haven’t shown him this shoe yet. Who would’ve thought Back to the Future II would’ve predicted footwear so accurately? It’s like there really was an almanac.”
The shoe isn’t a Nike MAG takedown. It’s about custom fit.

“Sure it’s similar to the movie, but when we developed it we found that there was an amazing adaptive fit opportunity. Fit is very difficult. No two feet are exactly the same. Even your own two feet are not the same, so it’s hard to get the great fit for everyone. Coming up with a system that automatically adjusts for that will change footwear forever.”
There’s a sensor that automatically adjusts the laces to your foot without pushing a button.

“It’s measures the tension. Once it feels a certain tension on your foot, then it stops lacing. Even if you have a smaller foot, it’ll adapt. It’s balanced and even lacing. So even when you tighten and loosen it, it’s consistent lockdown.”

Power laces! ™ Marty McFly #Nike2016

A video posted by Gerald Flores (@imgerald) on Mar 17, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT
Back to the Future II’s Nike MAG isn’t referenced in the sneaker at all, but Pixar’s WALL-E is.

“It’s inspired by two things Tinker was inspired by: the Chuck Taylor and the film WALL-E. The traction is inspired by WALL-E’s traction. The clean light midsole takes a note from EV. Tinker was inspired by the love of those two robots and symbolically this is the marriage of wearable technology and performance footwear. It’s a beautiful symbiotic system.”
You’ll have to recharge the sneaker to keep it auto lacing.

As of now, the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 can go about two weeks without having to be plugged in. It's also water resistant, so you don't need to worry about getting electricuted.
The MT² printed on the lacing engine represents the designers of the sneaker.

“We’ve reviewed this project with Mark Parker for the last 10 years and he’s had a major influence on this product. M is for Mark. T is for Tinker Hatfield and the squared is Tiffany.”
E.A.R.L. on the tongue of the product sample stands for:

Electro
Adaptive
Reactive
Lacing
The next possible application for E.A.R.L. is basketball.

“We tested it on numerous athletes—basketball players, runners—in our sports research lab to get the right balance and fit for the lacing.”

@de11edonne giving the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 a test run.

A video posted by Sole Collector (@solecollector) on Mar 18, 2016 at 9:22am PDT
Don’t get too used to this version of the HyperAdapt because it’s not the version that will make it to market.

“Things like the dots on the midsole won’t be there. This isn’t the final production, but it’s very close.” White and silver colorways could also be on the way.
The first non-Nike employees to try the sneaker were...

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

2. Kevin Hart backstage at Nike's Innovation Summit in New York.

3. Stash
The Hyperadapt 1.0 will launch exclusively to Nike+ members.

The good news? It's free to become a Nike+ member. The bad news? The launch won't happen until Holiday 2016.

14 Things You Need to Know About the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0

Key facts behind Nike's first autolacing sneaker.

The biggest challenge to making an auto-lacing shoe was waiting for the right technology.

Flywire and Flyweave were the technologies that made the HyperAdapt possible.

The tooling of the Air Jordan XX8 was the inspiration for where to place the lace engine system.

Michael J. Fox (AKA Marty McFly) hasn’t seen the HyperAdapt 1.0

The shoe isn’t a Nike MAG takedown. It’s about custom fit.

There’s a sensor that automatically adjusts the laces to your foot without pushing a button.

Back to the Future II’s Nike MAG isn’t referenced in the sneaker at all, but Pixar’s WALL-E is.

You’ll have to recharge the sneaker to keep it auto lacing.

The MT² printed on the lacing engine represents the designers of the sneaker.

E.A.R.L. on the tongue of the product sample stands for:

The next possible application for E.A.R.L. is basketball.

Don’t get too used to this version of the HyperAdapt because it’s not the version that will make it to market.

The first non-Nike employees to try the sneaker were...

The Hyperadapt 1.0 will launch exclusively to Nike+ members.

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