Nike HyperAdapt Self-Lacing Sneakers Are Flawed

By Vamien McKalin / 1458620508
(Photo : Nike) The Nike HypderAdapt 1.0 is the first auto-lacing shoe, but we're not yet convinced because the design is not good and it doesn't seem to have real laces.

Power-lacing sneakers are the future, well, that's what Nike would love to happen. The company is working on the first sneakers that are able to automatically tie the laces, just like in Back to the Future.

The sneaker is called the HyperAdapt 1.0 according to Nike, and will be the first sneaker to take full advantage of Nike's adaptive lacing (self-tying) technology. The company says this an entirely and interesting platform for sneakers. The good news is, the technology is not exclusive to Nike, but to any other brand, as long as the manufacturer is willing to pay for it.

So, how does it work? Well, from what we can tell, HyperAdapt 1.0 doesn't have regular laces. It doesn't appear owners would be able to manually tie these things or even replace them. When it comes down to automatically dying themselves, the shoes just seem to contract the laces to tighten around the wears feet, and that's it.

Now, we understand that as soon as the owner drop their feet in a pair of these things, they will automatically tighten without the need to press a button or make weird gestures with the toes. Basically, the heel of the owner would hit a sensor, the HyperAdapt 1.0 recognizes this, and then it tightens.

"Your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten," explains Tiffany Beers, the project's technical lead. "Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it's perfect," according to a TechCrunch report.

It's a neat concept that will actually make it to market this year, but we are concerned over the possibilities of the sensor going bad. Whenever that happens, and it will, how should users respond? That's the big question that needs answering before we'd ever consider throwing down cash on a pair of HyperAdapt 1.0.

No pricing has been announced just yet, but we do know these things are going to cost a lot to own. It will be up to first responders to decide whether or not the price is worth taking a trip Back to the Future.