WATCH | Stepping up their game: Nike launches 'hands-free' sneaker

A sneaker is a sneaker, right? It has a sole, an upper and some laces or velcro straps. When you put the shoe on, you usually assume what's called in yoga a standing forward fold, stretching your hamstrings as you reach down to manipulate the laces in a bow. 

But what if you don't have hands? Or what if you're pregnant and can't reach past your belly? These are the kind of questions Sarah Reinertsen, a member of Nike Go FlyEase Innovation Team, frequently asks herself.

Reinertsen helps to create designs that draw insights and inspiration from adaptive athletes to reinvent footwear for all, and this week she helped launch Nike's latest innovation, the Go FlyEase, an "easy on, easy off" hands-free shoe that you have to see to believe.

As a paratriathlon athlete, Reinertsen stepped onto the world stage after making sports history in one of the toughest endurance events in the world — the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, becoming the first woman to finish the race on a prosthetic leg.

She is the current world record holder for the Ironman triathlon, which she set at the 2018 World Championship race in Kona, in a time of 14 hours and 41 minutes. More recently, she became the first amputee to complete the World Marathon Challenge — seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

As a mentor who helps other athletes teaching amputees how to run, spin, bike and swim, Reinertsen says on a Zoom call from Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, US: "This innovation makes putting on your shoes easier for all people, and it has a silhouette unlike anything that's ever been made. It sits in the 'ready' position with the insole at an angle, inviting you to 'step into' the shoe, press down your foot to lock the insole into place and you're ready to go."

She adds: "We've eliminated laces and straps; there's no need to tie, and so your shoes never become untied when you're on the go."

The shoe has a lockable continuous foot-bed that provides a cushion, making it super comfortable, and bi-stable hinges that keep the shoe in the "ready" position but locked in the set position. The hinge bifurcates the sole and is only activated on entry or exit from the shoe.

Reinertsen says they came up with the design after studying human behaviour around dressing: "People often kick off their sneakers using one foot at the heel of the other to force it off. Then they get irritated when they have to untie the laces and widen the shoe to get it back on. We've created a rubberised ledge at the back of the shoe, which is made for kicking the shoe off and the tensioner band around the base helps hold it in position and creates a satisfying snapping sensation."

These shoes come at a time when home-bound consumers are craving comfort. "We were inspired to create something amazing for people who don't have arms or hands, but they're also amazing for everyone," says Reinertsen. "And there's no touching, so hands stay clean."

The shoe is available via invitation for select Nike members, with broader availability planned for later this year.