Blow-molded air-sole??

[clkru]

What is this exactly and how does it differ from a regular or Max Air sole?

Thanks!

 

[ny giants 11]

The way the air is injected into the insole is the difference. Perfomance and comfort wise, its identical.

 

[corporatejp]

Really, it's old versus new is what it comes down to.

Everything now is "blow molded", where it used to be formed, fused, and injected until a few years ago.

Think Air Max pockets with the line midway versus what it is currently.

 

[el bro]

Any chance Nike would go back to the old way on some shoes seeing that they still use the old technology for the forefoot air in shoes like the AM 95,Sensation, AM Plus, etc.

And I definitely have to disagree on the comfort. It is not the same. For example, the newer Sensations are no where near as comfy as the ones From 02, aswell as the AM 95 and many other shoes.

 

[clkru]

Hmmm... seems like there could be potential for slighlty more Air with a blow-molded design...?

 

[goosebear10]

nike changed the forumla for air making the old air units unusable because the older style air units were unable to keep the air in the bladder hence the lowerwolume air max units

 

[clkru]

I wonder if Nike's new Air formula has any impact on the air seeming "harder" under the foot... I read somewhere that the old Air from the mid90's and earlier was deemed to be an environmentally toxic gas and Nike decided to change it what it is today. Any merit to this?

 

[jbv1]

LOL where's MenOfOregon & the other heads on this post? IIRC they don't even use air. What' the name of that inert gas they use or used to use?

Nike does not need to change anything since we still buy the retros even if they suck or are of lower build quality. Sadly enough. AM95s are not what they usedto be. OG Air sole units are damn sexy

 

[jfeezy]

Originally Posted by jbv1

LOL where's MenOfOregon & the other heads on this post?

My spider-sense is tingling!

If you want to get up to speed on airsoles and why they've changed over the years, you can start with my old post here, and then follow the various links within thatpost/thread.

To answer your "what's blowmolding" question: essentially, it's like blowing a big bubble of melted plastic, then quickly slamming a moldclosed around that bubble. If you search YouTube or Google Video for "blowmolding", you'll find a few clips of plastic bottles being molded(this is by far the most common industrial application). My past posts go into why blowmolding has been largely phased out in favor of thermoforming, so Iwon't beat it into the ground here. But let me know if something's still unclear...