fall shoe review 09 FINAL:Spring Shoe Review 09 8/1/09 9:22 PM Page 1
SHOE REVIEWS: Neutral—iii | Motion Stabilizing—iv | Performance—v
2009 FALL
SHOE REVIEW
T
his fall, three major trends continue among running shoes: gender specificity, ever-lighter shoes, and incorporation of innovative solutions in shoe development. Gender-specific design is becoming a best practice with each brand adapting its technologies and design to make its shoes better suited to consumers. The old “Shrink It and Pink It” approach won’t cut it anymore. All consumers, but especially women, expect that shoes will cushion or flex appropriately for their size, weight, and gait. New materials that provide the same or better quality but weigh less are resulting in shoes lighter than their predecessors. New compounds and components continue to migrate from other industries and shoes will improve as a result. These materials also are more durable; in fact, fully a third of the Performance shoes in this Review can handle the rigors of daily training. Innovations and approaches to biomechanical challenges are raising the bar for the industry as a whole. Some of these innovations have come from the automotive and aerospace industries, but more of the brands are finding opportunities and adaptations to refine their own technologies. This creative engineering and continual search for chemical solutions for all shoe components has resulted in more effective foot protection and improved shoe performance. —Cregg Weinmann