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Reebok's new performance shoe is made from plants
Reebok is expanding its efforts in sustainability by launching a plant-based performance shoe. The Forever Floatride Grow uses natural materials in place of petroleum-based plastics and should help protect the environment while also holding up to the rigors of running.
The tech elite athletes use
When a field of 127 runners lined up in Central Park on September 13, 1970, to run the first New York City Marathon, the only gadgets, per se, that could help them were a smattering of watches. A grainy finisher photo shows winner Gary Muhrcke breaking the tape with a watch band on his left wrist. Both of his hands are throwing peace signs. The only equipment required then was a pair of shoes, short shorts and enough grit to run 26.2 miles without collapsing. Today, running without a GPS watch is as much a protest against screen time and the intrusion of tech as it is a tactical racing decision. Some of us, meanwhile, can't imagine running without headphones. Then there's all the self-care. Vibrating muscle relaxers help athletes recover. Sport-centric social networks, like Strava, help us bask in our best workouts. Meditation apps help us calm down before bed while calorie counting apps track our macros. Even the most basic of fitness devices capture heart-rate data; on running watches, it will soon be standard. Speaking of sports watches, we have an entire buying guide for that, which we recently published as part of this outdoor gear series. But we were also curious about what it means to be better, faster, stronger when money is no object. We asked five elite runners, all of whom are flush with sponsorship deals and prize money, on what they use to train and how they protect their most important piece of equipment: their bodies. A couple of items on this list were universally recommended, namely the Hyperice Volt ($349) massage-ball gun (as I'm describing it) and NormaTec's compression boots ($1,295), both muscle-recovery tools. And, of course, plenty were eager to tout the wares of their sponsor partners. Here's what they're using.
After Math: What could go wrong?
It's been a week of risk in the tech world, and I don't just mean Elon Musk's recent Twitter-on-acid experiment. Best Buy is wagering $800 million on a company that teaches your grandparents how gadgets work, Saint Louis University is peppering its dorms with Echos for some reason, and Reebok is hoping folks won't be too tempted to eat their vegetable-based sneakers.
Reebok's first plant-based shoes go on sale for $95
It took a while, but Reebok's first plant-based shoes are ready for your feet -- the company is now selling limited numbers of the NPC UK Cotton + Corn through its website for $95 a pair in unisex sizes. You'll have to be happy with a lone "natural/chalk" color combo, but you can feel better knowing that 75 percent of the shoe is made from USDA-certified biological material. The upper is made entirely of the shoe's namesake cotton, while the sole is made from a corn-derived biobased TPU (DuPont's Susterra Propanediol). Even the insole is made from castor bean oil, and Reebok avoids using dyes to maintain the shoe's eco-friendly credentials.
Reebok sports bra uses gel to change support as you move
Reebok is introducing a new sports bra that can relax or tighten depending on the wearer's movement. It's called the PureMove and as Fast Company reports, it uses technology that has been incorporated into bulletproof vests and NASA spacesuits. The bra's development began three years ago when Reebok designer Danielle Witek came across a gel-like substance called Shear Thickening Fluid while reading a research journal. Developed in 2005 by scientists at the University of Delaware, the substance acts more like a liquid when it's moving slowly and more like a solid when it moves at higher velocities.
Reebok’s new foam space boots bring comfy kicks to astronauts
Whether it's using corn to make sustainable sneakers, or 3D printing some pretty out there looking footwear, Reebok isn't afraid of taking bold new steps with its shoes. Now, however, it looks like the brand has decided to take one giant leap for mankind. On Tuesday, Rebook revealed that it's developing a new type of shoe for an upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Christened The Floatride Space Boot SB-01, Reebok's latest is looking to replace the tough and tragically uncool leather boots that have cramped astronauts' feet (and style) for years.
Reebok will introduce plant-based sustainable shoes this year
While others try shoes that lace themselves or have 3D printed soles, Reebok will have "plant-based" footwear on shelves this year. Adidas already sold a sneaker produced from ocean-plastic, but Reebok's "Cotton + Corn" push is focused on shoes that are made from sustainable, growing materials, that can even be used as compost after they're worn out.
Reebok Liquid Speed shoes use 3D drawing for a better fit
We've seen a number of limited release shoes built using 3D printing, but now Reebok is coming in with its own attempt to rethink the traditional molding process. Reebok's Liquid Factory draws the frame of these shoes in three dimensions, using a special "high rebound" liquid created by BASF. According to Head of Future Bill McInnis, this helps "create the first ever energy-return outsole, which performs dramatically better than a typical rubber outsole." Also, the Liquid Speed's winged frame wraps up and over the shoe, making for a tighter fit in all directions.
Testing Reebok's Checklight head impact monitor with a human punching bag
Last year Reebok showed up to CES with the Checklight, a head-impact sensor developed in collaboration with mc10. Problem was, the company didn't really have a way to demo the preproduction version of its G-force sensor. They simply slipped it into a black skullcap and let the press take photos. But, in the interim, it's come to market, offering protection to athletes young and old, for a reasonably affordable $149. This year, the companies came fully prepared with a pair of boxing gloves and some headgear. Naturally, being the masochist I am, I invited anyone who was interested to join me at the Reebok booth on the show floor where they would get to punch me in the face. The response was alarmingly enthusiastic.Not wanting to disappoint, I dutifully donned the black skullcap, with the sensor's blinking display hanging behind my head. Then it was just a matter of removing the glasses, putting on the foam headgear and accepting that I'd brought this on myself. To the Checklight's testament, it appears to work quite well. After taking a surprisingly strong blow from one of the many editors lined up to take a swing, the rotational and directional sensors inside triggered an alert that perhaps my coworker had gotten a little too enthusiastic. The light at the back flashed yellow to indicate that I absorbed a moderate impact. After assuring everyone that I was ok, we continued with the demonstration. But, had the light flashed red, the hands-on (fists-on?) would have been quickly called to a close. While red doesn't mean you have a concussion, it does indicate that you've taken a particularly hard hit and should get checked out. For more of this Engadget editor getting punched in the head, check out the video after the break.
Checklight, the head impact indicator from Reebok and mc10 is now on sale for $149.99
At CES 2013, mc10 and Reebok revealed the Checklight, a product built to help protect athletes who play football, hockey and other impact sports. Today, you can purchase one of your very own in men's, women's or children's sizes for $149.99 from Reebok's website. For your money, you get the sensor strip, a skull cap to keep it snug on your noggin and a micro-USB charger to keep it powered up. For those who've forgotten, the Checklight's a head impact indicator powered by mc10's flexible electronics technology that gives athletes and medical personnel simple, actionable information about impacts to the wearer's head. It's not a concussion detector, per se, but it does provide information about the location, number and intensity of impacts to your dome -- so it's a valuable tool that can help identify those in danger and keep them out of harm's way. Well worth $150, we'd say.
Reebok Fitness shakes up stale exercise routines on Android and iOS (video)
Despite Reebok being a cornerstone of the athletic scene, it hasn't been as quick off the mark as Adidas and Nike in embracing mobile apps as coaching tools. It's making up for lost time with a low-key launch of Reebok Fitness for Android and iOS. The app skips active movement tracking in favor of creating a truly varied exercise program: athletes can customize the ratios of multiple activities over a given period and manually shift the schedule if they find themselves bored. The app also provides video guides for novices, and a mixture of achievements and reminders should hopefully keep us from retreating to the couch. We'd prefer a best-of-all-worlds app that can both plan our workouts and gauge our progress, but the diversity in Reebok Fitness will at least put yoga on an equal plane with a neighborhood run.
The Daily Roundup for 01.11.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Reebok and mc10 team up to build CheckLight, a head impact indicator (hands-on)
Concussions have always been a concern for those who play contact sports. However, there's been a renewed focus in recent years by the sports community -- the NFL in particular -- to learn more about concussions in the interests of promoting player safety. Pro leagues aren't the only folks tackling the problem, though. Verizon, Intel and Ridell are all building systems to help identify concussed players. Reebok and mc10 have collaborated to create CheckLight, a head impact indicator meant to make it easy to see when an athlete has taken a dangerous blow to the head. The CheckLight is composed of two parts: a sensor device built by mc10 and skull-cap made by Reebok. The sensor itself is a strip of plastic filled with flexible sensors connected to a small microcontroller module with three indicator LEDs and a micro-USB port. One LED serves as a battery level indicator, one flashes yellow after moderate impacts and a third flashes red for severe blows. mc10 wasn't willing to share the exact hardware inside, but we know that it's got a rechargeable battery and has rotational acceleration, multi-directional acceleration, impact location and impact duration sensors. Data from those sensors is then run through the company's proprietary algorithm to determine when to fire the LEDs. We got to chat with Isaiah Kacyvenski -- mc10's Director of Licensing and Business development and ex-NFL player -- about the CheckLight and the role it has to play in keeping athletes safe, so join us after the break for more.
Reebok sets sights on flexible computing sportswear, partners with startup team
Science has prototyped flexible versions of just about everything a ever-loving geek needs: displays, memory, batteries, LEDs, speakers and an input device or three. Now, Reebok's looking to put some of that computing power up our sleeves. The apparel manufacturer's teamed up with MC10 -- a startup founded by our old friend John Rogers, who helped pioneer the field -- with the intent to build "conformable electronics" into high-performance clothing for athletes over the next couple of years. Though the company told MIT Technology Review the devices typically consist of thin silicon strips printed onto flexible materials, and that they might they might measure metabolism and performance using embedded sensors, hard details are few -- the only thing we know for sure is that a flexible tech scientist just scored a partnership with a major company, and we're hopeful they'll make something neat. PR after the break.
Reebok goes Madden, gives free PS3 DLC
Hopefully, this redemption works a bit easier for you than today's LittleBigPlanet offer. Reebok is offering PS3 owners free DLC for Madden 10. The AFL Legacy Pack, which originally costs $7, adds eight original AFL teams and 15 AFL Legacy Game matchups. American PlayStation Network users will be able to register for this Reebok contest and get a free DLC code.Enjoy![Via Slickdeals]
EA Sports' Moore sets sights on eclipsing Nike brand
Peter Moore is on a mission. In an interview with MCV, the EA Sports president is looking to poise his company as "the leading sports brand in the world." That's a rather ambitious claim, given the brand dominance of sports industry companies such as ESPN, Nike and his former employer Reebok.Said Moore, "We need to globalize our business, provide even more opportunities for our customers to interact with us online, knock down the barriers to those who find the learning curve of our games too steep, and discover new areas in sports – and health and wellness – in which our brand can truly make a difference." In other words, Moore is looking to expand the demographic and potential audience of EA Sports titles to every human in existence. May we suggest Michael Phelps Pro S-wii-ming 2009 for the Nintendo Wii?
