Nike Inject Less Air For More Bounce on the New Air Max DN
Via Nike
As month fast approaches, are set to continue the line’s legacy with an all new silhouette. New Air Max models have been a firm feature of the celebrations over recent years, with the Air Max Dawn and being welcomed into the family. But for 2024, the Swoosh are set to take things a step further, reimagining what it feels like to walk on Air with the new .
From its inception, the Air Max DN has been developed as part of a collaboration between Nike’s designers, engineers and scientists in their Air Manufacturing Innovations division and the team in the Nike Sports Research Lab, with the two teams coming together to find a way to design a more efficient Air system that offered better comfort and motion. Standing for ‘Dynamic Air’ the Air Max DN builds upon its predecessors by offering up new levels of comfort and cushioning. The Dynamic Air concept is brought to life in a new dual-chambered, four-tubed Nike Air unit for a more comfortable ride and added bounce.
The Air unit itself is made up of two pressurised chambers, which each feature two tubes. The rear two tubes are tuned with higher pressure (15 psi) while the front two are tuned lower at 5 psi. While moving, the air is able to flow between the chambers, responding to the changes in pressure and delivering an interactive experience – hence the dynamism.
Reggie Hunter, Product Director for Nike Lifestyle Footwear explains: ‘The independent set-up of the chambers means that the Air unit can respond to the load of your body with each step. The feeling of heel-to-toe movement is seamless, because the air unit is interacting in real-time with your foot and moves with you. The Air Max Dn was the first time we were able to unlock that feeling.’
The testing process involved processes such as Finite Element Analysis, which could digitally simulate a year’s worth of wear and tear on the shoe in just a few hours. This allowed the athlete testing process to happen much quicker, allowing the Swoosh to perfect the model through refining, retesting and repeating things until they were just right. Once the Air Unit had been perfected, the Nike teams worked together on the sole, uppers and styling, adding a TPU Shank Clip for extra stability, Phylon foam around the Air cushioning and a TPU heel counter for added support around the Achilles. The uppers were also designed to emote the same fluidity of the Air unit underfoot, with textile uppers featuring wavy silicone textures to reflect the shoe’s techy nature.
The invention of Dynamic Air also ushers in a new Air Max era. 'Dynamic Air raises our benchmark for what Air feels like,' says Kathy Gomez, Nike VP, NXT Footwear. 'We’re always raising our expectations of what we can deliver for athletes. We’re using every tool at our disposal and every bit of our expertise to create new sensations with Air, while doing it more precisely. Maybe most important, we’re creating something that’s legitimately pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with comfort and motion. And this is just the beginning of the future of Air.'
The Nike Air Max Dn will launch in a full-family size run on March 26. Keep it locked for all the latest Air Max Dn news here.