The Development of Under Armour's Hover Shoes

Early on, when developing the underfoot technology without, the team got it to a really soft durometer, but then they wrapped it with this textile which they're calling the energy web. They realized that the textile wrap was actually giving them the stability they needed, and that was an "aha" moment for them. After that, they progressed to the next level of technology, trying to understand how they could take the existing system and make it better.

A Unique Approach to Shoe Design

One approach to designing the hover shoes took inspiration from past speedform products. The team built on this success by creating a shoe that would utilize a cycling chamois as its internal design. This allowed them to achieve the feel of a cycling chamois within the shoe, with layers of foam and silicone working together to provide support and comfort. The fact that they were able to create this unique design was made possible by their work in an apparel factory, which takes a different approach to shoe design compared to other manufacturers.

The Focus on Performance

For the sonic shoes, more about tempo, the team focused on creating a non-stretch, flatten material, while also incorporating mechanical stretch through opening up Matt readability and light weight. This approach allowed them to create a shoe that was both comfortable and responsive, offering a nice contrast to their previous designs. The team aimed to deliver an ultimate experience at the end of the design road, with a finished product that would meet the needs of serious athletes.

Athlete Feedback

Under Armour enlisted the help of athletes capable of pushing the shoes to their limits, who weren't afraid to give feedback on the design and performance of the shoes. One such athlete is Aisha Proudly Ur, a world-class steeplechase runner based in Boulder, Colorado. Aisha trains primarily as a 5k and 15-hundred meter runner, but she also works on speed endurance and aerobic power. She runs 70 miles per week, many weeks in a row throughout the year, and has had to develop responsiveness within her training.

Aisha's Experience with the Hover Shoes

When Aisha tried on the hover shoes for the first time, she was impressed by their potential. The shoes transitioned smoothly from one activity to another, whether it was running fast or easy. She also found that the shoes held up well during intense workouts, such as pistol squats in the gym or hard 15-mile runs.

The Mental Aspect of Running

For Aisha and other runners, there comes a point in the New York City Marathon where mental fatigue sets in. The Queensboro Bridge is notorious for being one of the most challenging parts of the course, with many runners struggling to maintain their pace and energy levels as they climb the steep incline. Aisha found that her hover shoes helped her stay focused and motivated, allowing her to push through this difficult section of the course.

The Experience of Running on Air

Aisha described her experience running in the hover shoes as "running on air." She felt a sense of lightness and freedom within the shoe, which allowed her to move quickly and efficiently. The support around the toe box was particularly notable for Aisha, who praised its comfort and stability.

The Future of Under Armour's Hover Shoes

The success of the hover shoes has been impressive, with many athletes praising their performance and comfort. However, the company is not resting on its laurels. With new innovations in store, Under Armour continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in shoe design and technology. The team remains committed to delivering an ultimate experience for serious athletes, while continuing to explore new ways to improve the performance and comfort of their shoes.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: endespite offering its own extensive line of footwear and even partnering with such star athletes as Steph Curry the Baltimore based sports apparel company Under Armour knows and openly admits it's yet to make anything it considers a defining shoe product with the upcoming hover line of shoes slated to release this February the brand invited us to its portland-based HQ to show off this new technology it hopes can become that defining piece of footwear it really started an innovation where we wanted to really define a new underfoot experience both from a cushioning and from a tempo but in order to get there we were kind of trying to get the ultimate cushion with the ultimate energy return often those things are mutually exclusive you know of each other and we tempted to bring that together with some partnership with Dow that we worked on for many years and through that process you know you think we've delivered on that the really kind of the ultimate ride I mean early on when we were developing this underfoot fun without we got it to a really soft durometer but then we wrapped it to get stability we wrapped it with this textile which we're calling the energy web and once we have that system and realized that the textile wrap was actually giving us the stability we needed we kind of had that aha moment like okay now we're progressing to that next level that we attempted to and then probably after that the next level was like how did we approach the actual shoes so this one takes inspiration from some past speedform product that we have it's called speed form 2.0 inside and what's significant about this product called the hover phantom is that we built it and modeled it off actually a cycling chamois so it's built internally exactly how you feel a cycling chamois with layers of foam and layers of silicone and we were able to achieve that because we did it in the apparel factory which takes a much different approach so very very unique approach on the hover phantom and then on the sonic more about tempo we really focused on this non stretch flatten it and getting this mechanical stretch through opening up Matt readability and light weight so they're kind of a nice contrast to each other in many ways but still deliver on kind of this ultimate experience at the end of the design road and with a finished product in hand Under Armour needed to put the shoe through its paces to do this it enlisted the help of athletes capable of pushing the shoe to their limits and who weren't afraid to give feedback one such athlete although Olympian task for the job was Aisha proudly ur a world-class steeplechase are based in Boulder Colorado we as steeple chasers train mostly like 5k runners and also 15-hundred meter runners so we're really working on speed endurance aerobic power I'm running 70 miles a week many weeks in a row all year and so I'm training like any real middle-distance runner but also with the element of being very athletic and doing a lot in in the gym and having having to have responsiveness and so the shoes have held up really well for me doing all of you know doing pistol squats in the gym or out on a hard 15 mile or so they really transition well from in the gym out of the gym running fast running easy it's just like it's all smooth and I just don't have to think about it with an intense short distance runner giving the hovers all they could handle under everyone to see how the shoes performed over longer distances enter Rae Hales Under Armour athlete and founder of the New York City running group resident runners when he wasn't running through NYC traffic this summer Rae train for the New York City Marathon and even strapped on a pair of hovers for the big race so the first time I put on the shoe I actually tried on my buddy the co-founder and the resident runners Eric I put I tried on his shoe because he's been we're testing it for a little while and as soon as I put it on like wow this is what they're working on this is incredible and then maybe about two weeks before the New York City Marathon I was blessed with a pair and I'm like yes I'm excited usually they say don't switch up what you're wearing before a marathon but I was so excited because they felt so good when I tried his on and it wasn't it wasn't even the final pair it wasn't even the final product so I wore it I put about ten miles in before I did to the New York City Marathon and then during the marathon it just felt like I was running on air it just felt great the support around the toe box is what I love and then the forefront and you run and it just kind of pushes you off you know along with the shoe there comes a point where it's a mental kind of thing when it comes to the New York City Marathon when you go up the Queensboro Bridge that's usually when a lot of people start to like you know trail off and just fall off because it's such a it's like one mile and it's just like steep uphill right with these they felt like I was just being pushed and I don't know for me usually when I'm running I usually run with like headphones and music but I created I ran to like my own kind of beat and I was listening to other people's footsteps but in my body I was just like okay this is a rhythm rhythm and then my breathing connected with my my feet and it just helped me get up the hill so the shoes don't release for another few months the fact that limb pians and athletes have nothing but positive remarks about the hover but it's incredibly well for the product Under Armour and the brand's attempted his signature innovationdespite offering its own extensive line of footwear and even partnering with such star athletes as Steph Curry the Baltimore based sports apparel company Under Armour knows and openly admits it's yet to make anything it considers a defining shoe product with the upcoming hover line of shoes slated to release this February the brand invited us to its portland-based HQ to show off this new technology it hopes can become that defining piece of footwear it really started an innovation where we wanted to really define a new underfoot experience both from a cushioning and from a tempo but in order to get there we were kind of trying to get the ultimate cushion with the ultimate energy return often those things are mutually exclusive you know of each other and we tempted to bring that together with some partnership with Dow that we worked on for many years and through that process you know you think we've delivered on that the really kind of the ultimate ride I mean early on when we were developing this underfoot fun without we got it to a really soft durometer but then we wrapped it to get stability we wrapped it with this textile which we're calling the energy web and once we have that system and realized that the textile wrap was actually giving us the stability we needed we kind of had that aha moment like okay now we're progressing to that next level that we attempted to and then probably after that the next level was like how did we approach the actual shoes so this one takes inspiration from some past speedform product that we have it's called speed form 2.0 inside and what's significant about this product called the hover phantom is that we built it and modeled it off actually a cycling chamois so it's built internally exactly how you feel a cycling chamois with layers of foam and layers of silicone and we were able to achieve that because we did it in the apparel factory which takes a much different approach so very very unique approach on the hover phantom and then on the sonic more about tempo we really focused on this non stretch flatten it and getting this mechanical stretch through opening up Matt readability and light weight so they're kind of a nice contrast to each other in many ways but still deliver on kind of this ultimate experience at the end of the design road and with a finished product in hand Under Armour needed to put the shoe through its paces to do this it enlisted the help of athletes capable of pushing the shoe to their limits and who weren't afraid to give feedback one such athlete although Olympian task for the job was Aisha proudly ur a world-class steeplechase are based in Boulder Colorado we as steeple chasers train mostly like 5k runners and also 15-hundred meter runners so we're really working on speed endurance aerobic power I'm running 70 miles a week many weeks in a row all year and so I'm training like any real middle-distance runner but also with the element of being very athletic and doing a lot in in the gym and having having to have responsiveness and so the shoes have held up really well for me doing all of you know doing pistol squats in the gym or out on a hard 15 mile or so they really transition well from in the gym out of the gym running fast running easy it's just like it's all smooth and I just don't have to think about it with an intense short distance runner giving the hovers all they could handle under everyone to see how the shoes performed over longer distances enter Rae Hales Under Armour athlete and founder of the New York City running group resident runners when he wasn't running through NYC traffic this summer Rae train for the New York City Marathon and even strapped on a pair of hovers for the big race so the first time I put on the shoe I actually tried on my buddy the co-founder and the resident runners Eric I put I tried on his shoe because he's been we're testing it for a little while and as soon as I put it on like wow this is what they're working on this is incredible and then maybe about two weeks before the New York City Marathon I was blessed with a pair and I'm like yes I'm excited usually they say don't switch up what you're wearing before a marathon but I was so excited because they felt so good when I tried his on and it wasn't it wasn't even the final pair it wasn't even the final product so I wore it I put about ten miles in before I did to the New York City Marathon and then during the marathon it just felt like I was running on air it just felt great the support around the toe box is what I love and then the forefront and you run and it just kind of pushes you off you know along with the shoe there comes a point where it's a mental kind of thing when it comes to the New York City Marathon when you go up the Queensboro Bridge that's usually when a lot of people start to like you know trail off and just fall off because it's such a it's like one mile and it's just like steep uphill right with these they felt like I was just being pushed and I don't know for me usually when I'm running I usually run with like headphones and music but I created I ran to like my own kind of beat and I was listening to other people's footsteps but in my body I was just like okay this is a rhythm rhythm and then my breathing connected with my my feet and it just helped me get up the hill so the shoes don't release for another few months the fact that limb pians and athletes have nothing but positive remarks about the hover but it's incredibly well for the product Under Armour and the brand's attempted his signature innovation\n"