SportsShoes Blog

Well we all know that every year Nike likes to come up with something fresh and new and, unsurprisingly, this year it’s all centered around the Olympics. Their latest grand design is the Lunar shoes. With their distictive designs this is a shoe you will be seeing a lot of on the TV during the olympics - especially when it comes to the athletics.

Nike lunar trainer

• Introduces the Lunar lite foam - mega springy and lightweight
• Has an anatomical last - based on nike free technology
• Has pillow waffle outsole - lighweight with cushioning value

WHAT WE THINK…

The hype is good - it always is with Nike. This shoe is ‘out there’ - the colours are bold and the outsole has a futuristic shape - but it works. The fit is fantastic, the feel plush and it is very light. Time will tell if stands up to serious road training but so far it feels fantastic.

Watch the lunar trainer designer video

Nike lunaracer

• Nikes lightest shoe other than the Mayfly (which is limited to 100K)
• Flywire upper adds structure without weight
• Pillow waffles - add cushioning without weight

WHAT WE THINK…

Nike promise ‘a super lightweight experience that makes me wanna run’ - well that is a little over the top from our amigos in the US of A - but the truth is that there’s some excellent technological thought gone into this shoe… and ultimately the scales don’t lie - it’s progressive and incredibly light (oh and it looks the business too doesn’t it?!)

Watch the lunar race designer video

Wow - I’ve spotted these little corkers on the website and they look great - can’t wait to see them in the flesh and maybe give them a try.

Only reason I’m excited by them is that I used to use Nike’s Tupu trail shoes which I thought were brilliant and could never understand why they dropped them. These look like a new version of the Tupu but even lower and leaner.

If they work like they look I reckon they’ll sell very well…..

Checkout louise redknapp in her fit flops!

Fit flops are continuing to fly our here at sportsshoes.com and it looks like they are catching on in celeb-land too.

If you haven’t read the previous blogs on them, fitflops are a revolutionary new sandal that work you ‘bum’ muscles as you walk - as such they bill themselves as the shoe with ‘gym built in’.

For more information on how they work click here

 We have a few different types of fit flops in stock at the moment - take a look.

AND WHATSMORE We’re one of the only stores in the country stocking the mens fit flop - so the guys too can have buns of steel!! - take a look

Well I’ve given my 320s some stick now so I thought I’d let you have my thoughts.

Firstly they are a very good looking and comfy shoe with no pinch points or loose areas that can rub and cause blisters. Like other Inov 8s they also have a very roomy toebox (area around the toes) which I really like as it prevents the loss of toenails when doing long descents.

The lacing system is simple but effective and the laces themselves are good at staying tied.

The cushioning is good - perhaps a little too good for a trail shoe - but Inov 8 would argue that the 315 is there if you want less cushion.

The tread pattern is fantastic for off-road use - just nice simple blocks that stay clear in all but the worst of clag.

On the downside, they do tend to feel a bit heavy when wet and don’t appear to dry as quickly as a 315. More of a worry is their performance on wet rock where you have to be REALLY careful on certain rock types (particularly that found on Scafell!!!). The boffins at Inov 8 need to get their thinking caps on here and develop a compound that wears well but prevents the wearer looking like a pig on stilts whenever the floor’s wet.

Overall, I think they’re a great shoe capable of handling anything from long road runs to ultra distance trail runs to fell races that are predominantly track based (pure fell needs a lower profile stud such as a Walsh).

My last piece of advise would be to make sure you don’t buy a size that’s too small - I would always advocate going up a half size rather than down if ever you’re unsure.

As fresh as fresh can be - just through the door we have some new mizuno running shoe deals.

Mizuno are a technical sports company. Known within the trade as being incredibly product focused. They tend to invest in imporoving the product rather than in marketing - which I guess ultimately benefits us runners.

Their major running technology is the mizuno wave plate. This sits alone in the market place as the only technology that deals with the twin issues of cushioning and stability at the same time.

Read about mizuno’s history

The shoes we have on clearance are their most popular ’runners’ and we’ve got them in mens and womens:

mizuno wave rider 11 - a favourite high mileage shoe of neutral runners - £50

mizuno wave inspire 4 - popular high mileage support shoe -£55

mizuno wave elixir 3  - £45 - lighter weight performance running trainer

Interested in more mizuno technology?

Take a look at this wave rider japanese ad we’ve found

Visit our mizuno technology glossary

Take a look at our mizuno specialist store 

We’re here to keep you all informed of interesting technologies…

Well …. what with it being summer and everything it seems the eternal quest for a beach body is on - and this ties in nicely with the technology that is catching our eye at the moment……..fit flops.

What’s more fit flops seem to be catching everyones eye - not only are they selling well, they seem to plastered all over the women’s glossy magazines - featured in such style bibles as vogue and grazia.

Anyway …… from a shoe technology perspective what’s it all about?

Well, several leading studies have shown that wearing Fitflops actually extends the amount of time that your slow twitch muscles are engaged during each step by between 10-12%. They do this becasue they have a multi-density midsole which works your big leg and bum muscles in a slightly different way through the foot strike. So, just by wearing them, walking to work, working around the house or shopping and you’ll feel and see the benefit. Fitflops have even been clinically proven to increase the amount of time that the gluteus maximus muscle is activated during walking…meaning they work your bum muscles more.

Our view? …. Although the multi density midsole technology isn’t necessarily revolutionary, the way it is being applied (to help tone muscles) is new and interesting. The stats back up the hype, they’re mega comfy and they’re as hot as hell.

These sandals get a big thumbs up from us

Click here for more shoe technology

Just got a guy come into our office who is going for the “world’s fittest man” record. This is what he has to do:

Here is the place where you can find all the latest technologies when it comes to sports wear.