The New Nike Air VaporMax Will Release on Air Max Day

Posted February 21, 2017

The story of Nike Air continues. On March 26, 2017, the company with the Swoosh celebrates Air Max Day by marking the 30th anniversary of the Air Max 1 – the shoe that brought the world visible Air.

In the run-up to the special anniversary, Nike is releasing a number of retros and special editions, including the Women’s Nike Air Max Jewell on March 8. But it’s saving the best for last: On Air Max Day, the next generation of Air-cushioned footwear will drop with the Nike Air VaporMax.

The extremely lightweight shoe features a flexible Flyknit upper atop a radically reinvented Air cushioning system. Built with entirely new tech and geometries, the VaporMax Air sole allows for entirely eliminating the foam midsoles found in most of today’s shoes for tremendous weight reduction.

Image courtesy of Nike.

From a technical perspective, the Nike Air VaporMax marks the continuation of a journey that began with 1979’s Air Tailwind, the shoe designed by Frank M. Rudy that introduced Air technology into athletic footwear. While previous versions of Air – including the Tinker Hatfield-designed Air Max 1 – relied on injecting the technology into the sole, the VaporMax takes it one step further.

Because in the Nike Air VaporMax, the Air cushion actually is the standalone outsole. Previous versions relied on insulating the Air unit with a secondary layer of rubber. But now technological progress allows designers to blend the Air unit and exterior layer into one single holistic VaporMax Air unit. As a result, even more Air can be packed underfoot in increasingly lighter shoe designs.

Watch the video for an animated view of the outsole.