Brendan Dunne 
There’s yet another hex-Zoom sneaker in the pipeline. This time around it’s the Nike Zoom Fit Agility, a new women’s trainer intended for for wear during grueling gym sessions and intense training activities. The model has a decent amount of overlap with yesterday’s Nike Zoom Hypercross between the choice of hex-Zoom, the overall shape, and a debut dedicated to the volt story. The upper here has more of a one-piece vibe though, and features a mixture of mesh and foam that’s locked downy by dynamic Flywire. You can get a more thorough design breakdown on this pair after the click and you can expect to see the Nike Zoom Fit Agility in stores starting October 1st, 2014.
The gym is home to incremental improvements. The athlete always strives to do just one more squat or one more box jump.
The extra effort necessary to better one’s personal bests can be difficult to generate, especially at the end of a long, grueling training session.
The Nike Zoom Fit Agility is designed with that athlete insight in mind. It features highly responsive Nike Zoom Air, which helps put an extra spring in the female athlete’s step. Armed with this responsiveness, she will welcome rather than worry about her workout’s final burpee.
In Nike Zoom Air, tightly stretched tensile fibers are woven inside a pressurized Nike Air unit. Upon impact, these fibers release their tension and then snap back to their original state. This generates ideal responsiveness for athletes looking to quickly navigate each step of their workouts.
However, traditional Nike Zoom applications often don’t provide the flexibility that female athletes demand in the gym. To solve for this, designers broke the Nike Zoom Air in the Nike Zoom Fit Agility into independent air bags, allowing the shoe to flex in multiple directions. Each bag is placed in hexagonal rubber pods and strategically positioned where the female athlete needs cushioning most.
“The Nike Zoom Fit Agility is a perfect example of our data-informed design,” says Nicole Mueller, the Nike Women’s Training Footwear Design Director. “We look at the female athlete’s six core moves — lunge, squat, push, pull, bend and rotate — and study the resulting pressure mapping data. The Nike Zoom pattern on the outsole provides cushioning and responsiveness where she feels the most pressure underfoot in her workouts.”
The shoe’s upper is a blend of lightweight mesh and foam. The mesh provides breathability, while the foam lends support, flexibility and comfort. Nike dynamic Flywire loosens and tightens with the movement of the foot for an adaptive fit.
In addition, the heel construction features added padding near the collar that works to deliver increased comfort and restrict movement for a more secure fit.
“When I first tried the Nike Zoom Fit Agility, I noticed how light it was,” says professional basketball player Skylar Diggins. “It makes me feel faster. And it’s really comfortable. If a shoe is uncomfortable, it becomes a distraction and takes away from your workout.”
The Nike Zoom Fit Agility will be available in select retailers and on nike.com beginning Oct. 1.
