Running up the hill
Nike recently issued the latest LeBron James signature line of basketball shoes, the most versatile pair for the most versatile athlete — the Zoom LeBron VI.
Both comfortable and flexible, beautiful and stylish, the Zoom LeBron VI created by footwear designer Ken Link not only represents LeBron James, but also lets LeBron stay in control.
Working closely with LeBron, Ken has created a shoe that represents the essence of LeBron James: team spirit, toughness, passion, and vision. It’s all about durability, strength, and comfort on and off the court. A quick and powerful player, LeBron provides a little something for everyone. His love of basketball transcends the game; it’s about the basketball life and style. The Zoom LeBron VI, the latest in the signature series, designed specifically for the performance needs of LeBron James.
Basketball players need footwear that is both cushioned and durable — it needs to last the length of the season. The Zoom LeBron VI has a full-length Nike Zoom unit in the mid-sole for the ultimate responsive ride, as well as a Nike Zoom unit double-stacked in the heel. The cushioning system helps the forefoot for transition when jumping. Deep sipes in the shoe allow for natural motion, which means the shoe works with the athlete’s movement, rather than against it. On the collar, graffiti art highlights LeBron’s mantras — passion, family, winning, fearless, and vision.
Lunar Launch
Also launched by the brand is the Women’s Nike LunarTrainer+, one of the lightest, most comfortable and cushioned shoes Nike has ever produced. It epitomizes innovation in the 2008 footwear lineup. The entire shoe has been engineered to be simple, light, comfortable and breathable to give you maximum comfort during your long runs. Built on the Nike Free last, the Women’s Nike LunarTrainer+ gives the runner a superb, long-distance training shoe with exceptional cushioning and stability. Designed by footwear designer Kevin Hoffer, the Women’s Nike LunarTrainer+ is like no other shoe created. It will transform one’s expectations of a running shoe.
After seeing a quote by Geoff Hollister, one of Nike’s first employees, saying that an early Nike running shoe felt “like running on pillows,” a couple of Nike designers, including Kevin, started looking at foams in the advanced materials lab in an attempt to replicate that “pillowy” feel, searching for anything that could help create a lightweight, low-profile shoe that didn’t compromise on cushioning and flex while still giving a bouncy, snappy feel during a run. In the lab they found a foam developed by NASA. A mixture of EVA foam and nitril rubber was combined in a patented process, resulting in a cushioning material that is 30 percent lighter than typical molded EVA/Phylon.
The Women’s Nike LunarTrainer+ is also able to incorporate Nike+ so vital data about one’s run, such as speed and distance, can be transmitted to an Apple Nano.
Nike’s Most Famous Running Shoe Turns 25
The first Nike Pegasus running shoe was once described as “looking like a rainy day,” with its gray base color and navy accents. But ever since the shoe made its debut on the running circuit in 1982, it’s been mostly sunny skies for Nike. Designed to provide runners with a durable, comfortable, and affordable option, the Nike Pegasus has experienced numerous alterations and modifications while aiming to be the shoe for every runner. After more than 25 years on the feet of elite and everyday runners, the Pegasus continues to prove that it’s capable of running through just about anything with its latest incarnation, the Air Pegasus+ 25 SE.
Footwear designer Craig Conahan decided to create a new, celebratory graphic to commemorate the Air Pegasus shoe’s 25th birthday. But after sifting through the extensive catalog of past ads for the shoe, Craig ended up designing a celebratory shoe that was not only a nod to the original, but that also encompassed the innovative updates you see in today’s Pegasus.
Utilizing the same outsole that was used in the previous version, Craig worked with the Nike development team to reengineer the upper so that it resembled the original aesthetically, but still had all the features you’d expect from our greatest cushioning shoe.
Knowing that most runners look for a comfortable and consistent fit, Craig designed the Air Pegasus+ 25 SE with a fresh aesthetic but made sure the shoe delivers the same trusted ride and performance as the previous generation. Using the previous generation as the measuring stick, Craig created a go-to, neutral running shoe renowned for its exceptional cushioning and fit, thanks to full-length Air Sole unit and a Nike Rideliner mid-sole. The Nike Rideliner is composed of polyurethane (PU) foam placed across the Phylon mid-sole, which adds even more cushioning. PU is the most durable foam that mid-soles can be made from, ensuring long-lasting cushioning.
These latest models from Nike are available at Nike stores nationwide.
