Lower and lighter

Drawing inspiration from unexpected places – the football field

Nike and Kobe Bryant today unveiled the new Nike Zoom The Kobe V basketball shoe is the lightest and lowest-cut basketball shoe that Nike has ever launched. Bryant challenged Nike to create a lighter, lower-top signature shoe than the Nike Zoom Kobe IV basketball shoes he wore during his 2008-2009 championship season. Nike successfully responded to Kobe's challenge with the Nike Zoom Kobe V. The thickness of the forefoot of this sneaker is only 10 mm and the weight is only 10.6 ounces (292 grams), which is a full 1 ounce (28.3 grams) lighter than the Nike Zoom Kobe IV. ).

“I want to challenge the performance limits of basketball shoes and hope to meet the requirements of my basketball style,” Bryant said. “Kobe V is lighter, lower, and more stable. Nike has It worked.”

Different sports, similar requirements

The design of Kobe’s low-top basketball shoes comes from an unexpected place: the football field. "I watch a lot of football games, and I've witnessed many of the world's top football players wearing lightweight, low-top sneakers to cut and run at high speeds," Kobe said. "Their demands on their feet and ankles are the same as mine. What they do on the basketball court is no different, and all of these top football players are wearing low-top sneakers.”

The Nike Sports Research Experiment was inspired by Kobe’s observations on the football field. Hundreds of hours of testing were conducted in the laboratory to create a low-cut basketball shoe without sacrificing stability or foot locking. By adjusting the midfoot arch and sculpting the external heel counter, Nike researchers created a high-performance basketball shoe that follows the foot's beat while still allowing the foot to change directions in all directions. A reinforced lateral brace provides lateral stability, and a grooved heel maximizes contact surface. The sneakers also use a glass/carbon fiber woven shoe core support plate to improve midfoot control and stiffness.

“The evolution from high-top to low-top is very complex, and as the Zoom Kobe IV proved, it’s not just about cutting off the collar at the ankle,” said Senior Nike Sports Research Lab Researcher Matt Nurse said, "We constructed a lighter support system for the Kobe V that can provide an excellent one-to-one locking effect and can follow the rhythm of the foot without hindering the movement of the foot. The Movement of the Foot."

The Evolution of Lightweight Performance Technology

Despite the success of the Nike Zoom Kobe IV, Nike's creative director of athletic footwear Eric Ava (Eric Avar) Still wants to further reduce the weight of the shoes while enhancing the support and stability of the shoes.

“With the Kobe V, we started with technology and performance elements and built from there,” Evar said. “We wanted this shoe to truly reflect Kobe’s skills and personality. Kobe is constantly improving as an athlete, and so should the shoes we build for him.”

The Nike Zoom Kobe V basketball shoe also features Nike’s innovative Flywire technology, which is lighter and stronger. It's like bundles of artificial tendons carefully arranged in key areas, surrounding the foot like a second layer of skin. The overlays of the sneakers are made using high-temperature fusion technology, which is lighter, stronger and more wear-resistant than traditional stitching technology. The Nike Zoom units in the heel and forefoot and the Phylon injection-molded lightweight midsole together form a perfect cushioning system that can reduce impact without adding any weight.

Kobe’s advice and inspiration also played a key role in the design of the Nike Zoom Kobe V basketball shoes. Ava and the design team at Nike Creative Kitchen incorporated Kobe’s game-playing traits and personality into every detail of the shoe. The outsole uses an electrocardiogram-style traction pattern, and its design is inspired by Kobe's enthusiasm, passion and self-proclaimed "fanatic will" on the court. The dot matrix logo on the front edge of the outsole represents a coded language sequence that appears on the shoes and jerseys worn by Bryant this season. Nike will provide clues to decipher these codes during the season.

NIKE Zoom KobeV basketball shoes will be available for customization on NIKEiD on December 26, 2009, and will be officially launched in China on January 1, 2010; on January 16, 2010, they will be available in the United States , retail stores in Canada and Europe.