[pedestrian]

Running shoe "innovations" that didn't go the distance. Can anyone remember any of these systems /ideas that failed to set the running world alight. Perhaps you can add some more...
Reebok ERS (Energy Return System).
Brooks Hydroflow (or do they still use that one?).
Brooks Kinetic Wedge.
Reebok Pump. (Adidas had a similar system which employed a tiny pump with which to "inflate" the shoes' mid-soles. This pump had a built-in digital pressure gauge!).
Nike Huarache (shoes based on a sandal). Nike also introduced a shoe which "separated" the big toe from the rest of the toes: the footwear equivalent of the mitten. You had to buy special socks to go with these shoes. Good marketing!
... there are a few more, I think. Can anyone add to the list? Maybe we should add some of the more successful ones as well?

 

[almost_no_specifics]

Those Nike shoes (the one with the seperated toes) were purely for fashion I thought?!

 

[sensible]

Reebok - DMX (air pods that made up the sole of the shoe)
Brooks - still use hydroflow I think!!
Brooks - brought out a shoe with a 7 degree wedge

I'm sure there are plenty more.....

 

[richardsimkiss]

I've not been around quite as long as you lot but I remember in my childhood I REALLY wanted a pair of these trainers that had a rotating disc on the laces, I think it was to actually tighten the laces but I could be wrong!

I also remember the 'pump' trainers with a little bubble on the toungue/laces so you could pump the trainer up, lol.

 

[richardsimkiss]

Those Nike shoes (the one with the seperated toes) were purely for fashion I thought?!

I thought so too? I still think they're quite cool :embarrassed:

 

[almost_no_specifics]

I've not been around quite as long as you lot but I remember in my childhood I REALLY wanted a pair of these trainers that had a rotating disc on the laces, I think it was to actually tighten the laces but I could be wrong!

I also remember the 'pump' trainers with a little bubble on the toungue/laces so you could pump the trainer up, lol.

How about those trainers with the flashing lights when you walked? They were awesome. I had a pair of Lion King ones

 

[richardsimkiss]

Haha!! Welcome, the Queen of COOL...

I remember those... they were by some company who I tihnk are pretty obsolete by now Cica? (I remember it being pronounced "seek-ah").

Either Reebok or Fila have released similar kids shoes more recently though which I think are in shops as we speak!

 

[almost_no_specifics]

Yeah, possibly! BUT I got mine from the disney shop... that's how cool I am!

 

[Dave]

Flashing lights.
Disney shop.


Can we stop this thread now please.

It makes me feel very old.................

 

[oh_bugger]

Flashing lights in shoes, my son has had those for several years now on and off, they seem to fade in and out of fashion.

His latest shoes have little compartments in the bottom to hide toys in, all good but he keeps smuggling money out the house in his shoes and getting the child minder to take him to the sweet shop.

 

[Dave]

His latest shoes have little compartments in the bottom to hide toys in, all good but he keeps smuggling money out the house in his shoes and getting the child minder to take him to the sweet shop.

Your boy will go far BB..............................:d

 

[almost_no_specifics]

LOL that's hilarious!!! Clever boy hahaha.

 

[cheriton]

Dose anyone remember those little plimsoles or daps as they were called in these here parts!

They had a little piece of elastic for the tongue perhaps they still make them although i haven't seen them in my local up and running!!!

 

[pedestrian]

... but I remember in my childhood I REALLY wanted a pair of these trainers that had a rotating disc on the laces, I think it was to actually tighten the laces but I could be wrong!

I knew that someone would remember those! :d It was the Puma Disc System shoes. You're right Richard, the disc was a tightening mechanism.

 

[pedestrian]

Those Nike shoes (the one with the seperated toes) were purely for fashion I thought?!

Are they still on the market?

I'm not 100% certain, but when they were first launched there was some kind of Kenyan link. The shoes possibly had the word "rift" as part of their name; an allusion to the African rift valley, origin of many of the top Kenyan athletes. I remember thinking that the shoes merely had a higher potential to blister the toes.

 

[almost_no_specifics]

You could, of course, buy seperated toe socks! There's speciality manufactueres... and also accessorize

 

[pedestrian]

You could, of course, buy seperated toe socks! There's speciality manufactueres... and also accessorize

Nike actually manufactured socks specifically to be worn with the shoes. Good marketing, methinks.

 

[pedestrian]

How about those trainers with the flashing lights when you walked? They were awesome. I had a pair of Lion King ones

I managed to get hold of some of the actual light units from out of the shoes. In the Winter months I fastened them to the straps on my rucksack when I ran... used to scare people to death!

 

[almost_no_specifics]

That's well ingenius!! Couldn't you just buy a small LED light that's meant for bikes or something? I usually scare the crap out of people in the office when I come in from getting changed in my DayGlo running top heh. They always seem to say "you won't get missed in that", and I'm always like, "well yeah... I think that's the point" Silly people.

 

[pedestrian]

That's well ingenius!! Couldn't you just buy a small LED light that's meant for bikes or something? I usually scare the crap out of people in the office when I come in from getting changed in my DayGlo running top heh. They always seem to say "you won't get missed in that", and I'm always like, "well yeah... I think that's the point" Silly people.

The shoe lights were readily available (and free) at the time, so I just had to make use of them. :d

I'm not sure the "day-glo" stuff is always that effective in keeping us safe from eejit motorists. Late last year, I was out on my morning run, wearing a fluorescent jacket with reflective strips. I was also wearing a head torch (focused on the ground about 10m ahead of me). In the space of about 800m I was forced off the road twice by drivers who were seemingly veering towards me for a closer look!
So, Unfortunately "you won't get missed in that" takes on a more sinister meaning.