Nike has created new, hands-free shoes that allow you to slip them on and take off in a breeze.
The Nike GO FlyEase is the company’s first design where you don’t have to use your hands to put on the shoes. This new, laceless shoe includes a bi-stable hinge that lets the shoe move in two positions. When in the upright, open position, the shoe sits at a 30 degree angle that allows you to slip your foot in with ease.
Once placed in, the collapsed, ready position secures the foot inside of the shoe; each shoe also has two layers (inner and outer) that fit snug around the foot as you walk or run. It also includes a tensioner band that replaces shoelaces and acts as a midsole for even more security.
When you are ready to remove a shoe, you can just step on either heel with your opposite foot.
Making It Easier
Nike designed the new GO FlyEase shoe—and the entire FlyEase line— with accessibility in mind, highlighting its focus on a “better is temporary” mentality; the company wanted to make it easier for those in a hurry or those with physical disabilities to put on their shoes without any hassle.
“In the Nike GO FlyEase, this translates to serving the broadest range of active lifestyles possible — whether the wearer is champion fencer Bebe Vio, a student racing to class or a parent with their hands full,” Nike said in an official statement.
Bebe Vio is an Italian wheelchair fencer, having won several championships over the last few years, including winning Gold at the 2016 Paralympic Games. After contracting meningitis as a child, Vio lost both of her legs, as well as her arms from the forearms.
“Usually I spend so much time to get in my shoes,” Vio said in a statement to Nike. “With the Nike GO FlyEase, I just need to put my feet in and jump on it. The shoes are a new kind of technology, not only for adaptive athletes but for everyone’s real life.”
Previous Nike FlyEase designs also made it easier to put on and remove for athletes and non-athletes, but they were never 100 percent hands-free shoes as they included zippers and cords.
Furthermore, the release of the GO FlyEase comes at a time where people are limiting the amount of surfaces they touch during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shoe received positive praise on social media as well.
The Nike GO FlyEase comes in three color sets and is priced at $120. According to Nike, it will be available to purchase on February 15 for “select Nike members,” and will have a broader release to consumers later in the year.
