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New Balance Zante Generate 3D Printed Running Shoe Midsole Sale
Shoes, Sports

New Balance 3D Printed Sneakers Go On Sale 9am April 15th

April 12, 2016

New Balance Zante Generate 3D Printed Running Shoe Midsole Sale

Last year we were very excited about New Balance’s announcement that they would bring to retail a running shoe featuring a 3D printed midsole. The running footwear is designed for heal strikers, with a design formula similar to the company’s Fresh Foam line of sneakers. After almost 5 months, the company has finally announced the details of the launch. The sneakers will go on sale April 15th at 9am for $400. The original plan was to launch the limited edition sneaker both online and in the company’s Boston flagship store, with other select stores offering the footwear later in the year. It seems that the company’s launch plans might have tempered a bit since November though. New Balance is now only planning to sell 44 pairs of the shoes starting April 15th and there is no mention of it reaching further retail outlets at a later point. To give you an idea of how constrained supply is, if they offer the shoes in size 7 through 12, this would mean only 4 pairs of sneakers in each size. We were hoping for a bigger role-out of the 3D printed running shoes and wonder if it is an indiction of production woes with the technology.  

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by Doug Parker
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OMsignal OMbra smart sports bra shirt women wearable fitnesstech
Sports, Wearable Technology

OMsignal Announces Smart Biometric Sports Bra

January 6, 2016

OMsignal OMbra smart sports bra shirt women wearable fitnesstech

OMsignal has been promising a solution for women looking to use the company’s smart shirt. The problem has been that the sensors integrated into the OMsignal smart shirt are only designed to work when properly fitted to a man’s body. Instead of introducing a new version of the shirt for women, the company has done one better and has managed to integrate the same technology into a sports bra, the OMbra. This results in a product that is seemingly superior to the men’s shirt; most guys probably do not wear a compression shirt, but women are more than likely donning a sports bra when they exercise. Despite the reduced size versus the shirt, no features were shed. The OMbra records heart rate information, breathing data, and activity metrics to a small black box attached to the garment. The black box can then either wirelessly transmits the data to your phone in real time or store it for retrieval later. The OMbra will ship this spring alongside a new app called OMrun. The new app offers information catered to runners including running economy and breathing rhythm.  

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by Doug Parker
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2015 Gift Guide Fitness Wearables Sports Best featured
Gift Guide

2015 Gift Guide: Fitness Wearables

December 17, 2015

2015 Gift Guide Fitness Wearables Sports Best

While activity trackers are great to make sure you removing around enough, they don’t do a very good job when it comes to sports. Over the past few years we have seen a sharp jump in devices specifically made for athletic endeavors. These devices are incredible because of the depth of metrics they provide. Users are able to gain an understanding of what they are doing right and what could be improved. But most of these devices are less a wearable and more of an accessory – the Zepp sensor attaches to your baseball bat, the Qlipp sensor attaches to your tennis racket, the Arccos system attaches to your golf clubs, and the Adidas Micoach Smart Ball is a sensor laden soccer ball. This year though, we finally started seeing wearable devices cover new ground in fitness and sports. Below we take a look at a few of our favorite fitness wearables from the past year.  

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by Doug Parker
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New Balance 3D Printed Running Shoe 2016 Gallery
Shoes

New Balance Preparing To Sell 3D Printed Running Sneakers

November 20, 2015

New Balance 3D Printed Running Sneaker 2016

New Balance has announced that it has developed a pair of 3D printed running sneakers. The news comes almost 2 months after Adidas announced a similar product. Both sneakers  utilize a printed midsole with a porous structure engineered for cushioning. The New Balance is designed for heal strikers, with a design formula similar to the company’s Fresh Foam line of sneakers. The previously announced Adidas Futurecraft 3D, on the other hand, is customized as it is created for an individual’s foot shape and running style. While the Adidas sneaker is still considered a prototype (though they intend to bring it to market at some point), the 3D printed New Balance kicks already have a launch date. The New Balance sneaker will hit the market in 2016; the limited edition footwear will initially be sold in the company’s home market of Boston in April and will become available at select New Balance stores later in the year. There is currently no price set but we expect to hear a lot more about the shoe when it is on display at the 3D Systems (the shoe maker’s printing partner) booth at CES in January. We are so excited that a 3D printed piece of apparel is finally going to be sold in a normal retail environment and cannot wait until people are able to put it to the test!

To give you an idea of how quickly 3D printing technology is moving, in 2013 New Balance pushed the tech as far as possible at the time to create customized 3D printed cleat plates for elite athletes. Moving from a mostly rigid sheet to a highly flexible, cushioning shoe-bed in 2 years is incredible. The leap is made possible largely due to technology developed by their partner, 3D Systems. Perhaps the most notable achievement is a newly developed elastomeric powder crafted from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The powder, named DuraForm® Flex TPU, is used with a selective laser sintering (SLS) printing system to create the midsoles. SLS is a 3D printing method where a laser is used to transform a powder into a solid; the laser outlines a shape in a thin layer of powder as the heat from the laser hardens it, another thin layer of powder is then added on top and the process is repeated until an object is crafted. Head past the break for more images and a video of the shoes in motion.  

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by Doug Parker
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Adidas Futurecraft 3D Printed Running Sneaker
Shoes

Adidas Shows Off Running Shoe Made With 3D Printing

October 8, 2015

Adidas Futurecraft 3D Printed Running Sneaker

Adidas is no stranger to pushing the limits to finding new ways to construct their shoes. We were crazy about their Adidas x Parley sneakers revealed this summer. The upper of the sneaker was constructed from salvaged ocean garbage, including seized illegal gillnets (as incredible as the shoes were, the story of how the gillnets were acquired was stunning!). Adidas is at it again, pushing the needle of innovation in the shoe industry. The company just unveiled the Futurecraft 3D running shoe. The entire midsole (the cushiony part of the shoe between the your foot and the ground) is 3D printed. Adidas has created a way to 3D print the midsole so that the shoe is firm when standing but just squishy enough to protect your joints when running. Furthermore, the design allows for the midsole to be customized to your foot, crafted to take into account your foot shape, pressure points, and impact pattern. The company envisions that one day you will walk into an Adidas store, run on a treadmill for a few minutes, and then the perfect, custom running shoe will be instantly created for you.

While the Futurecraft 3D running shoe is currently only a prototype, Adidas believes strongly in the concept and views it is a statement of intent. According to Paul Gaudio, Adidas’ creative director, the company is focused on “driving material and process innovation, bringing the familiar into the future.” With that approach, we expect to continue to see more compelling ideas emerge from Adidas and are excited to see which of them make it to market. Additionally, it is great to see the company not only focused on innovation, but also on new technologies that help eliminate some of environmental harm the fashion industry is responsible for. Head past the break for a video that shoes the creation process:  

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by Doug Parker
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Sensilk Take Flight Fitness Tracking Sports Bra
Sports

Sensilk Sports Bra With Integrated Fitness Tracker Launches

June 5, 2015

Sensilk Take Flight Fitness Tracking Sports Bra

In order for a fitness tracker to be integrated into a men’s shirt, the shirt has to be tight and form fitting. Women luckily don’t have that issue since the tight fitting band of their sports bra can be used. Sensilk is looking to capitalize on that with their “smart” sports bra. The bra utilizes sensors to monitor heart rate, distance, breaths per minute, and calories burnt. It also monitors heart rate recovery and heart rate variability to track your overall fitness level. The bra collects all of the data through a small module on the front of the garment and transmits it via Bluetooth to your phone, providing unique data summaries before, during, and after the workout. While the bra doesn’t sound as full featured as some of the smart shirts on the market, the companion app looks stellar. It seems to be designed to present as much usable information to the wearer as possible, including an overall fitness score. As an interesting side note, Hap Klopp, the founder of North Face, is one of the company’s advisors. The Sensilk Take Flight Bra cost $140 and has just started shipping. Head past the break for a video:  

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by Doug Parker
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Hexoskin Junior
Clothing

Hexoskin Launches Shirt For Kids

January 6, 2015

Hexoskin JuniorFor the obsessive parent, or overachieving youth, Hexoskin has announced the launch of a junior sized version of their activity monitoring shirt. If you have a child that demands to know what their VO2 Max is, then this is the device for you (look how happy the kid in the press photo looks). Just like the adult version, the Hexoskin Junior monitors heart rate variability, heart rate recovery, breathing volume, and breathing rate in addition to steps, calories, and sleep. The shirt has wires integrated into the fabric that monitor your vital information and relay it to a small box on the shirt. The box can either store the information for later or stream it via Bluetooth 4.0 to your mobile device. Hexoskin Junior is on sale. You can purchase it as a starter kit for $379 that includes everything you need or if you already have a Hexoskin “box” you can purchase the shirt for $149.

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by Doug Parker
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