Trust The Process: Winter Sports
The impact of sports on the footwear world is extremely well documented. From Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to Fred Perry and Stan Smith, sports and the icons that play them have been muses, consultants and even designers for footwear brands from across the globe. One thing we have noticed though, is that most of these relationships in the public eye surround Basketball and Tennis, with a selection from the football pitch (both American and Soccer) like Nike Tiempos or Yeezy Cleats. With all of this influence in mind, It made us think that summer and indoor sports seem to take the crown when it comes to infiltrating the public sphere of footwear. Maybe it’s because of the lack of snow in most locations, or the higher barriers to entry with winter sports. Who knows? All we know is that there is a hell of a lot of lesser-known innovative footwear built for winter sports that need to be seen.
Bobsleigh/Skeleton
For anyone unfamiliar with Cool Runnings, the Bobsleigh is a winter team sport that involves hurtling down an ice-track at 100 miles per hour in a metal box with skates on the bottom. If you thought that was bad enough, the Skeleton is doing the exact same thing… except you’re on your own. The shoes are the only real place where equipment differs from team to team, and it just so happens that this is where competitors can make or break their run.
Adidas Adizero Bobsleigh Spike
Closely resembling track spikes, Bobsleigh shoes feature hundreds of miniature spikes in a brush formation across the front of the outsole - in order to create traction as the feet bend upwards - as well as a higher toe in a sprinters angle, with stiffness behind it to provide steadfast support, because what else would you need when you’re trying to sprint on ice? An in-depth experiment by product designer Nate Roese highlights the lack of innovation that occurs in the more niche areas of winter sports, as reasonably modern options such as the Adizero Bobsleigh Spikes are shown to hold very little development over those made decades ago, Nate’s own designs and models suggest options for where the Bobsleigh outsole could be developed, some of which are so cool we could see being applied to footwear outside of the realms of bobsleigh.
Nate Roese’s experimental bobsleigh footbed model and pressure research
Luge
The luge isn’t far off the aforementioned Bobsleigh sports in many aspects, as it consists of a one-person sled that is sat on feet-first as one uses the legs to apply pressure to either side for steering. One key difference with Luge is the exposure of the body, and thus the greater focus on aerodynamics within the footwear needed for the sport. Professional styles often feature ankle-high uppers with curved soles and a streamlined construction that enable the feet to hold their positions for minimal drag whilst bombing down the course feet first. The structural form of Luge footwear comes from the use of a specially created last that - science aside - just looks fast. Like a cross between a bullet train and a ballerina's toe-point, the unique shape is built to keep the foot in the optimal position, while protecting it simultaneously.
Adidas Adizero Luge
Christophe Ouvrard’s original Adizero Luge Trainer concept and product
Curling
For a sport that’s played entirely on ice, you might be surprised to find that the players don’t wear skates but an asymmetrical, mismatched pair of specially designed footwear. When ‘throwing’ the stone, the players will wear one shoe known as the ‘slider’ and another called a ‘gripper’. Which way round they are worn depends on the dominant hand used to throw the stone but both are always present with the dominant foot at the back. As their names suggest, the slider is used to glide smoothly across the ice and is therefore built with a Teflon or steel underside to ground the curler to the ice and eliminate friction as much as possible. The slider module is either full length, around the perimeter (giving echoes of the Adidas Tubular range) or in the form of twin circular discs like the underside of the hoverboards in Back to the Future II.
The rear foot is used to provide stability to the throw and should therefore be of equal weight and feature soft rubber sections to generate grip when needed. This rubber is placed on the outsole as well as over a small section of the toe box so that the trailing foot can function as a speed control while perpendicular to the ice. When not throwing, slip-on grippers are used to nullify the slipperiness of the slider, a function that we think could have links to the inspiration behind the ALYX Derby shoe’s removable Vibram sole. One of the most technically minded designs we've been able to source for curling is the Nike Zoom Hammer created in the Nike Innovation Kitchen under Tobie Hatfield in 2006 which tackled the difficulties of construction with the likes of teflon whilst successfully creating a unique shoe that stands out amongst the often formal offerings within curling footwear.
Left: 1017 ALYX 9SM Derby with Removable Vibram Sole
Right: Asham Regular Slip-on Gripper
Nordic Skiing
As we move into the realm of more recognisable forms of winter sport, everything gets bigger, bulkier and more like something from Robot Wars. With plenty of in-your-face technicality and a step-up in terms of durability, ski boots have varying differences between the assorted forms of the activity. The cross-country variation of the sport revolves around travelling across terrain using human muscle power rather than anything mechanical.
As with all Nordic skiing sports, cross-country utilises a single toepoint binding mechanism that allows the heel to rise off the ski in aid of greater flexibility and positioning, allowing the wearer to adapt to the necessities required to cover snowy terrains where the need to reduce the drag of footwear with snow is essential to improve efficiency and speed. Models such as those in Salomon’s S/Lab Carbon range or Fischer’s Speedmax are typical examples of the construction of such boots, with a slim and close-fitting weather-proof upper atop a sturdy yet flexible sole with carbon fibre heel support, bringing lightweight, strong structural support to refine the requirements needed for traversing arctic environments.
Alpine Skiing
When it comes to Alpine skiing - the downhill variety that you might have practised in Meribel or St. Moritz - things get a little more technical due to the continual downward force being applied on the footwear by the wearer, who is subject to the full force of gravity in the direction of movement. It is here that you realise why models such as Scarpa’s Alien 4.0 or F1 LT are so decked out in unorthodox, technically advanced binding mechanisms. Both feature carbon support, BOA™ fit fastening systems, Vibram sole units and adjustable Speed Locks in order to alter the angle of the forward lean and secure the feet for ski-walks. The Alien 4.0 also sports a particularly interesting cord-centred leg speed lock, that really caught our interest. The latter model also includes the use of Recco technology - one that the likes Arc’teryx has consistently implemented into their GORE-TEX PRO line of jackets, trousers and gear - an in-built signal transmitter to aid with recovery of stranded people in remote locations and harsh weather situations such as avalanches.
Speed Skating
While figure skates aren't a far cry from those you might have hired from your local rink for a Friday night disco, the need for speed in Speed Skating requires some tweaks in the construction of the shoes. For starters, the blades themselves are almost entirely straight and can reach up to lengths of 18 inches long. The boots are set closer to the ground for a lower overall centre of gravity in order to reduce wind resistance and prepare for rapid close-quarters movement. When it comes to the elite levels of the sport such as the Olympics, speed skaters have universally used clap-skates since their rapid rise in popularity in the mid-90s. This technology implements blades attached by a sprung hinge at the rear to allow semi-independent movement that stays in contact with the ice - similar to the attachment design of the aforementioned nordic ski boots - long after the heel has been raised to make the next stride. The suspended nature of clap-skates may well be inspiration for countless other shoes in the sneaker realm, the first design link that came to our mind was Balenciaga’s X-pander trainer which features a two-point mechanical hinge at the heel.
While it would be easy to assume they provide an advantage by reducing friction when kicking off at the front, the clap-skates design advantage lies in its ability to generate more power from the knee with each push. The sheer amount of technical engineering that goes into speed skates can be found at brands such as BONT, whose made-to-order Long Track Vaypor boots feature a scratch-resistant Durolite upper, memory-foam padding, anti-stretch interlining, premium carbon base and the application of a epoxy thermoset resin heat moldable base for precision fit for a precision sport.
Snowboarding
For those of us whose childhood consisted of tearing down slopes on SSX or Shaun White’s Snowboarding, the coolest winter sport out there seems a little closer to home than most. Similarities with skateboarding and surfing help with this of course, while it’s success as a leisure activity has improved access to the sport. Style and brand recognition is also more prominent, although that may be largely down to Burton’s link-ups with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design, Paul Smith, New Balance, Off-White and Playboy and the recent refocus on outdoor clothing which instantly brings to mind the snowboarding garments of early days ACG.
The footwear needed for ‘boarding is the bulkiest of all our winter sports, as protection and stability take precedence in contrast to the sleek build of other shoes mentioned. Synthetic uppers and thick textured soles keep feet solid and dry in snowy conditions, while thick laces or BOA™ Dial systems secure boots to the feet to prevent any internal movement. The BOA™ technology is used across various sporting categories and can be seen in the snowboarding world. Nike did have its fingers in the snowboarding footwear pie which produced one of the most SSXesque pairs in the Nike LunarENDOR QS. Integrating the light up swoosh the pair instantly takes us back to the light up shoes we all wore or wanted to wear as kids. Though nostalgic, this unusual detail has a practical side and can act as a beacon or signal for anyone trapped on the mountains after dark.
The board is almost always attached to the rider’s feet, meaning there needs to be enough cushioning on the top of the boots to prevent discomfort from the straps. The bindings themselves are arguably more important than the shoes in the sport, as optimising control and energy absorption between the board and the human body is key to successful riding. The integration between boot and board that comes through often ratchet fastenings and streamlined structures in the bindings are our favourite technical feature in snowboarding footwear.
Mountaineering
Outside of Winter Olympic specific footwear we came across some honourable mentions we felt we had to share. Though not a Winter Olympic sport, mountaineering, in all its cold weather forms, and the footwear used in the sport needed to be covered. On the lighter side, the modular mountain trail running system of the Salomon S/LAB X Alpine Modular combines their Sense 8 trail runner with their Alpine Skin. Creating a hybrid that is versatile through its ability to switch in and out of the protecting cover as and when needed, be that on the incline or the decline.
For harsher mountaineering conditions and even ice climbing, the Arc’Teryx Acrux AR Mountaineering Boot incorporates a slightly toned down modular system through GORE-TEX HIGH-LINERS which pair with the waterproof zipped bootie to ensure no water gets in no matter the conditions. The coolest detail for us is the subtle notching integrated into the sole on the heel and the toe to allow for further modularity when crampons are attached for scaling ice walls. This theme of modularity to overcome changing and difficult terrains piqued our interest, so hopefully we’ll be seeing these concepts applied to shoes outside of performance footwear at some point soon.
From heel hinges and brush-like spikes to interchangeable modular attachments, the engineering of footwear towards the conditions of winter sport is an interesting case study in design-for-purpose in response not only to the requirements of specific sports, but also extreme environments and weather conditions. While we briefly touched on a few hypotheses, we can’t help but feel that there is a deep pool of inspiration here for wider footwear development, a mostly untapped source of inspiration. From aerodynamic lasts for luging to custom thermo moulded bases for speed skating the attention to detail and utilised technology in the world of winter sport footwear is unrivalled. Of course, the fact that all these models are built for ice and snow has a big impact on their relevance elsewhere, but if there isn’t at least something that can be transferred onto grass or concrete then we’ll be very, very surprised.