Comfort never goes out of style, and we all know that. But what happens when comfort and style come together? The end result for Adidas was the revolutionary Adidas Boost. However, Nike just reached this milestone with the brand new Nike Joyride. As we see it, Nike Joyride went head to head against its competitor’s Boost technology. Nike even claims that they will outdo them comfort-wise. So, how true is this statement? Let’s get down to business and compare these two babies!
Almost two years ago, we discussed how these two cushioning systems are similar (and different). But in 2021, are these two still relevant? Do people still consider the Boost tech as the best cushioning Adidas implemented?
Although the hype around the tech dropped, obviously people still think highly of Boost. We can see that from the newer Yeezys like Yeezy 700 V3. Although it’s a pretty cool-looking silhouette, it lacks a crucial detail: Boost cushioning. The lack of enthusiasm is obvious through this Yeezy’s resale value!
Although the Nike Joyride tech is pretty revolutionary, it’s apparently no match for the OG Air cushioning! The sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield completely revolutionized the Air cushioning. Although it wasn’t new, he took it a step further by making the Air bubble visible! And let’s face it, sneakerheads, especially Air Jordan fans, are a sentimental bunch. Air soles will always be a great thing to many of us, and we don’t think Joyride can compete!
In other news, Yeezy Boost 350s are going through a major makeover fit for the summer. How? Well, they’re dropping the Primeknit upper in favor of the Monofilament mesh! Mono mesh is a kind of woven material made of a single thread. It’s a durable and sturdy-looking material, to be honest.
So the mesh upper is a pretty interesting change of pace, especially that we’re used to the knit upper. Some people prefer Primeknits just because of the hype. Others think the Monofilament is much comfier. Naturally, this is all relative, what I like isn’t necessarily the same as what you like! Anyway, we’ll discuss the new Yeezy Mono pack in detail pretty soon, so make sure you check out our blog!
In 2013, Adidas redefined cushioning with their new Energy Boost. In fact, it was the first pair of shoes that introduced the Boost technology. Athletes highly praised this tech, one of them even set the world record in the Berlin Marathon wearing AdiZero Adios Boost!
However, these shoes were only popular among the running community and didn’t make such an impact on everyday wear. Adidas solved this problem in 2015 when they dropped the Ultra Boost. The Adidas Ultraboost 1.0 was the first shoe to drop and was a huge success in both sports and fashion wear. This release has set a new milestone in the sneaker industry. No wonder Adidas so boldly stated that the Ultraboost is “The Greatest Running Shoe Ever”, who can argue with that?
This technology features a material called TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). This material is produced by the German chemical company BASF (Badische Anilin & Soda-Fabrik). TPU provides shock absorption by compressing under pressure and bouncing back to its original shape afterward. What does this have to do with comfort though?
To simply put it, if brands use this material as a sole, it’ll provide soft cushioning with high energy return to give you a smoother run. In addition to that, the use of TPU makes the shoes much lighter to wear. Add to that, the fact that Kanye West’s collaborative line with Adidas, capitalizes very much on Boost. To the point where the boost-lacking Yeezy 500 was and still is a flop. He also helped make the kicks a fashion statement!
Joyride follows its predecessors React, Lunarlon, Free, and Air in the cushioning technologies by Nike. The idea behind this tech was to mimic the feeling of stepping into sand or sitting in a bean bag. How did Nike go on about it?
They tested and tried 150 materials before choosing TPE. They even re-did the sole design several times until they found the best one. The cushioning system in Nike Joyride is made of thousands of tiny TPE beads packed together in pods to prevent them from moving from their places and making the shoe uncomfortable. These pods are of different sizes and placed depending on how the foot strikes the floor.
Nike engineered Joyride to:
Nike also claims that this tech will make every move you make easier and that’ll fit every runner out there. Pretty bold statement too, but we believe it! Learn more about this epic technology here.
Being an ecologically aware company, Nike’s Joyride trainer is made of zero-waste material. Even the beads are recyclable! The shoes can also go through their Reuse-A-Shoe program which collects and transforms old shoes into Nike Grind. That’s the material the company uses to make courts and other sports fields.
Although the Boost tech is several years older than Joyride, people are still comparing them. That’s because both companies have made bold statements about their cushioning technologies. However, Adidas Boost is still on top in both running and lifestyle wear while Nike is still working on implementing the technology in lifestyle.
Nike also earned a fair share of backlash because the Joyride looks a lot like Puma’s Jamming. Is the Swoosh seriously out of ideas? Probably not, because Nike is always one of the pioneers in sneaker technologies. It’s only a matter of time before we see who wins the Battle of the Beads!
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