Explosive Energy hits retail – all you need to know about adidas Springblade
We are in the middle of a revolutionary time for both adidas and the running community. Recently, we introduced the new Energy Boost to the world, a new running shoe we launched earlier this year which provides the highest energy return in the industry.
Following the successful introduction of Boost, we presented another groundbreaking shoe to media at the end of June: Springblade, the first running shoe designed to help propel you forward using specially designed blades. From today on Springblade hits retail in the US, Canada, Brazil and Russia today and will be rolled out across the world next spring. Let’s take the chance to shed some light on what runners can expect from Springblade.
adidas Springblade: design and performance together again
adidas Springblade: running or levitating?
This shoe is another example of adidas’ continued quest to transform the way we run by focusing on inventive products that not only provide great performance but also pushes industry boundaries.
Looking at the design of Springblade, I can tell you that what you see is exactly what you get: We looked at springboards, pole vaults and motorcycle suspensions to develop ways to bring explosive energy to runners whereas the nearly transparent design of the blades is inspired by the idea of levitation.
Each Springblade has 16 elastic blades that help translate that energy forward with each step while providing great cushioning and one of the highest returns in the industry. We used high-tech polymer, which delivers more energy return than traditional EVA cushioning, and then we precisely tuned the blades in geometry, thickness and position for each phase of the stride, providing support and flexibility.
The team behind the innovation
The adidas Innovation Team has been leading the development of Springblade.
Our mission at adidas is to be the leading sports brand in the world, and we achieve that through continuous innovation. Our adidas Innovation Team, which consists of engineers, researchers and designers, is great because they have the courage to try new things and combine high-performance function and great style without compromise. We are not trying to just raise the bar – we want to disrupt and create break-through innovations like Boost or Springblade. This is what sets us apart from any other brand in the sporting goods industry. Really, the industry is experiencing a shake-up it hasn’t felt since the introduction of EVA in footwear.
Performance innovation is the heart and soul of our business and we are continuing that tradition with Springblade. Innovation is in our DNA and adidas has delivered some of the biggest innovations in sports during the past decade.
The first feedback has been overwhelming
I’m very proud of what the adidas Innovation Team is delivering on a daily basis and being able to launch two groundbreaking shoes in a row is definitely a highlight for us this year. Since first introducing Springblade to media back in June, reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Colleagues sporting Springblades have been stopped by strangers on the street – and our partnership with Wolverine has certainly increased the excitement even further.
See how Robert Griffin III reacts when he first gets in touch with this great innovation:
Adidas has another new running shoe, this one even more divergent than itsBoost shoe and its new foam. It's a bunch of springs, basically, strapped to your foot. And it sort of makes a lot of sense.
They also look like hell to clean.
The Springblade's 16 blades are made form a propietary polymer, which has been in development for six years and is designed to be hard enough to provide the bounce-back energy return Adidas wanted, but soft enough so it doesn't just break from being brittle.
Beyond style, there are a few differences between the Springblade and the Boost, despite both being part of Adidas's Energy Running umbrella. According to Steve Vincent, Adidas's head of Innovation, Boost is more for "unlimited energy"—think long runs—while the Springblade is "explosive energy" you'll feel with every step.
Who would benefit most from this style of shoe? "A heel striker will probably get a little more out of it," Vincent says, "Since you're engaging all of the blades, but it will return energy for any style of runner." That's similar to our experience with the Boost, though the forward propulsion of all of the blades—as opposed to the upward bounce from foam soles—should be a bit more useful for forefoot runners. Also, the Springblades aren't really designed for trail running, and are probably best left for the road.
Like Adidas's CrazyQuick basketball shoes, the Springblade has a modular midsole that allows it to give different parts of your foot different feedback. The rear blades are thicker than those at the front of the foot, and even from side to side, the thickness of the blades differs. That sounds a little worrisome for extreme heat and cold, actually, but Adidas promises the thermoplastic material holds up to the elements. You'll want to keep an eye on actual tests for this, though.
Adidas says that it's even calibrated the blades to respond to the average weight of a person wearing each size shoe—so a size 10 men's shoe will have different reflexive properties than a size 7 women's.
The Springblade isn't going to be out until August 1st—meaning it misses most of the summer-running season. That's unfortunate, especially since it looks so great. But we've also got plenty of reservations about how well this is going to perform, since we haven't been able to try on a pair, and the entire Springblade line is being launched with significantly less pomp than the gigantic Boost/Energy Running event earlier this year.
The upper is a fairly standard treatent, with Adidas's TechFit four-way stretch snug on the foot. Robbie Fuller, Design Director of Advanced Concepts at Adidas, said the idea from the start was to keep things simple, since the blades are so striking on their own. At one point there was an idea to match lines to each blade, but that ended up camouflaging them too much. So, the basic design is simple, but with "inferno red" on black as the launch color.
The material underwent a bunch of official-sounding tests, like having ballistic steel balls fired at the shoes, but the best thing Adidas said was that a bunch of people ran hundreds of miles in them and felt great and didn't get hurt. Which, of course, we'll want to test for ourselves, but that's all that really should matter here. We'll have samples in for a full review soon.
The Springblade will be out on August 1st for $180.
Adidas has another new running shoe, this one even more divergent than itsBoost shoe and its new foam. It's a bunch of springs, basically, strapped to your foot. And it sort of makes a lot of sense.
They also look like hell to clean.
The Springblade's 16 blades are made form a propietary polymer, which has been in development for six years and is designed to be hard enough to provide the bounce-back energy return Adidas wanted, but soft enough so it doesn't just break from being brittle.
Beyond style, there are a few differences between the Springblade and the Boost, despite both being part of Adidas's Energy Running umbrella. According to Steve Vincent, Adidas's head of Innovation, Boost is more for "unlimited energy"—think long runs—while the Springblade is "explosive energy" you'll feel with every step.
Who would benefit most from this style of shoe? "A heel striker will probably get a little more out of it," Vincent says, "Since you're engaging all of the blades, but it will return energy for any style of runner." That's similar to our experience with the Boost, though the forward propulsion of all of the blades—as opposed to the upward bounce from foam soles—should be a bit more useful for forefoot runners. Also, the Springblades aren't really designed for trail running, and are probably best left for the road.
Like Adidas's CrazyQuick basketball shoes, the Springblade has a modular midsole that allows it to give different parts of your foot different feedback. The rear blades are thicker than those at the front of the foot, and even from side to side, the thickness of the blades differs. That sounds a little worrisome for extreme heat and cold, actually, but Adidas promises the thermoplastic material holds up to the elements. You'll want to keep an eye on actual tests for this, though.
Adidas says that it's even calibrated the blades to respond to the average weight of a person wearing each size shoe—so a size 10 men's shoe will have different reflexive properties than a size 7 women's.
The Springblade isn't going to be out until August 1st—meaning it misses most of the summer-running season. That's unfortunate, especially since it looks so great. But we've also got plenty of reservations about how well this is going to perform, since we haven't been able to try on a pair, and the entire Springblade line is being launched with significantly less pomp than the gigantic Boost/Energy Running event earlier this year.
The upper is a fairly standard treatent, with Adidas's TechFit four-way stretch snug on the foot. Robbie Fuller, Design Director of Advanced Concepts at Adidas, said the idea from the start was to keep things simple, since the blades are so striking on their own. At one point there was an idea to match lines to each blade, but that ended up camouflaging them too much. So, the basic design is simple, but with "inferno red" on black as the launch color.
The material underwent a bunch of official-sounding tests, like having ballistic steel balls fired at the shoes, but the best thing Adidas said was that a bunch of people ran hundreds of miles in them and felt great and didn't get hurt. Which, of course, we'll want to test for ourselves, but that's all that really should matter here. We'll have samples in for a full review soon.
The Springblade will be out on August 1st for $180.
To give you a sense of what others think about Springblade just click on the following links:
Hypebeast.com also sat down with me to discuss Springblade. You can see the video here
