What’s It Like to Wear A 3D-Printed Sneaker?

Adidas’ Alphaedge 4D sneaker takes footwear to the future. (Photo: Adidas / Twitter)

What does a shoe with a sole 3D-printed from a base of light and oxygen feel like on your feet? The short answer: a little heavier than you might expect, but pretty good. The long answer is way more interesting though, I promise.

One of the great sneaker innovations of the last decade was adidas’ innovations in 3D printing. Using a process called Carbon Digital Light Synthesis, they pioneered the adidas 4D line, a series of shoes with soles printed using a process primarily based on light and oxygen particles to create pliable, sturdy shoe soles that are designed to best aid in human performance.

The tech first launched in April of 2017 in tight, limited quantities that restricted accessibility. Since then though, it’s expanded, adorning dozens of adidas sneakers and becoming far more accessible to the public.

Traditional shoe soles of just about any kind are created with injection molding. Carbon Digital Light Synthesis does away with the process entirely, instead opting for an elaborate building process that went through 50 different designs before being settled on – the current process allowing for the sole’s performance to be tested early on in the design phase, which eliminates the need for prototypes.

When speaking with sneaker publication High Snobiety, adidas explained that, “It is a photochemical process. It works by projecting light through an oxygen-permeable window into a reservoir of UV-curable resin.

Informed by a data-driven process.#ALPHAEDGE 4D is available now: https://t.co/xnTQqAiM8L pic.twitter.com/NSVgUcLZ9L

— adidas Running (@adidasrunning) November 17, 2018

As a sequence of UV images are projected, the part solidifies and the build platform rises. Oxygen inhibits the photochemical reaction so that there is always a thin, liquid interface of uncured resin between the window and the printing part.” What sets this tech apart from traditional 3D printing is that UV-curable resin – traditional 3D printing uses plastics, which are stiffer and more difficult to mold.

So what’s the end result? What’s it like wearing a shoe that has been 3D-printed using light and oxygen? Recently I got the chance to try out the adidas Alphaedge 4D and, well, it’s like I said: a little heavier than you might expect. Given that adidas’ most popular sneaker innovation of the last decade has been Boost foam, you’d expect a comparable lightness, right?

Boost is famous for being ultra lightweight and responsive. Wearing it makes you realize just how heavy every other shoe you’ve ever worn is. It’s cushy and pliable, making for one of the most comfortable shoes on the market today. Given this, wouldn’t a heavier shoe feel like something of a downgrade?

Born from liquid. Sculpted by light. Perfected by oxygen.

This is what happens when sport meets Silicon Valley.

ALPHAEDGE 4D, available at https://t.co/a8wPOU9UFo #ALPHAEDGE #ADIDAS4D pic.twitter.com/p6SNkqfJTU

— adidas (@adidas) May 31, 2019

Not necessarily. Yes, these 4D soles have a bit more heft to them than something like an Ultra Boost. But the weight serves a purpose, the first being durability. It might not feel like running on a pillow the way that Ultra Boosts do when you first put them on, but the support is unreal.

The printed webbing absorbs and redistributes shock and movement as your foot strides, seeming to respond to individual muscles and each part of your foot accordingly. It also, in the world of professional sports, allows for maximum customizability. The structure of the webbing can easily be altered in the design process (again, without the need for creating prototypes) to suit the needs of the athlete in question.

Cut sharper, push further.

Shop men and women ALPHAEDGE 4D or visit select retailers worldwide: https://t.co/nb1qLjV1kf #ALPHAEDGE #adidas4D pic.twitter.com/Yn1vvoJkIw

— adidas (@adidas) November 17, 2018

It doesn’t hurt that the shoe’s upper is comprised of an ultra-lightweight knitted material similar to that of the Ultra Boost or the Nike Epic React Flyknit. The obvious benefit is that it doesn’t add any unnecessary weight to the shoe, though it’s perhaps more important to note that knit uppers cradle your foot far better than most materials. It locks your foot down into the sole and conforms to the shape and contour in order to maximize the shoe’s performance as well as that of your body.

I’m not going to lie – it takes a little while to get used to. There’s a peculiar sensation to the 4D soles that isn’t quite like anything I’ve ever felt in a shoe before. It’s like walking on a bed of super-light springs. Once you’ve gotten used to the peculiar sensation and the strange weightiness of it though, you won’t want to take it off. This tech marks such a leap forward into the future of sneakers that it honestly makes sense that you might not initially be prepared for the sensation of wearing them. How can you be prepared for lacing the future onto your feet?

You can pick a pair of adidas’s 4D sneakers for yourself over at their website.

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This article was first featured at https://ift.tt/2NCOF8L on January 17, 2020 at 04:14PM by Tres Dean