Sport Shoes
by Nike Hyperdunk+
Being
a dedicated, if aging, pick-up hoops player, I was initially excited about the
new Hyperdunk+ b-ball kicks. The shoes feature a series of sensors embedded
throughout, and a small rechargeable dongle that gets inserted in the sole
under your foot will wirelessly transfer your stats via Bluetooth to your
iPhone. My excitement faded pretty quickly, though, when I saw the price $250
is a lot for shoes, especially given that I sometimes burn through a pair in as
little as six months.
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Now
Nike has expanded its “+” empire by issuing both cross-training and basketball
shoes equipped with the company’s digital dressing. This lets us non-runners
taste the thrill of tracking our accomplishments, sharing them with friends,
and virtually competing with others who’ve bought into the Nike+ ecosystem. The
Nike Hyperdunk+ basketball shoes use the same tiny
sole-mounted sensor found in the Nike+ line of running shoes that communicates
wirelessly with your iPhone 4S/5, but to measure your prowess on the basketball
court. You can track your steps per second, your vertical leap, or your hustle
on the court (shown as a Nike Fuel number), then share your scores on the Nike+
portal or on Facebook.
Sneaker (Click Image To Buy)
The
Nike Hyperdunk+
calculate and track three
metrics. Firstly is Fuel Points,
Nike’s proprietary system for measuring overall activity. Fuel Points are the
same catch-all stat used by Nike’s new Fuel Band, and while they aren’t as
clear as calories, steps, or some other comprehensible movement stat, they
actually don’t take that long to get a handle on. You quickly learn how much
activity it takes to reach, say, 1,000 points. The secondly and probably the most fun to play around with, is vertical
leap. The shoes measure this by calculating time spent in the air, and it turns
out this is pretty effective. Unless you are actively trying to cheat, the
shoes give consistent readings. It doesn’t matter if you lift your legs, leave
them straight, or kick out your feet David Lee Roth-style, your vertical leap
stays the same. Finally, the shoes
gauge quickness by measuring steps per second. This seems simple, but it
remains a little fuzzy in my head. (What about stride length?) It’s enough to
know that if you simply run faster, you score higher.
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Download
the Nike+ Training App, which measures your performance while you run through a
bunch of pre-set drills. It’s a little like having an interactive private trainer.
The app provides a good workout. You can’t, for example, see all your jumps in
a month, or even review jumps from a single game on the website. Nor can you
easily compare quickness from day to day. Transferring data from the shoes to
your phone can be painfully slow if you played a long game. (Trust me, one
thing antsy pick-up players won’t tolerate is waiting for you while your shoes
download.) Presumably, Nike will be improving all of this over time. In
addition to tracking your game, there are two other things you can do with the
shoes. In “Showcase” mode, you can use your iPhone to record yourself
practicing for 30 seconds, then watch the results to study your form. It
sounded corny, but the feature turned out to be pretty fun and actually kind of
helpful.
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As
one would expect from a pair of high-end Nikes, they’re light and supportive,
and the advanced impact-absorbing materials feel great on the court.That said,
after playing a couple of games, I found having only these stats a little
underwhelming. It just didn’t feel like much. Worse, the shoes didn’t integrate
well with my Fuel Band. Whatever Fuel Points my shoes awarded me didn’t get
added to my total on Nikeplus.com. To complete the circle, I had to wear my
Fuel Band on the court. After a couple of weeks, however, I started to warm up
to the Hyperdunks+. By paying close attention to my stats while fiddling around
with how I jump, I managed to increase my vertical leap by almost two
inches just by changing the way I leave
the ground.
Basketball Shoe (Click Image To Buy)
Started
concentrating on moving around more to increase quickness points, and this in
turn made me a more active player. As a bonus, I realized that I really like
the shoes themselves. All this brings me back to the price. They are expensive
shoes. For a while, this made me wonder who they’re for. Ideally, they’ll work
best if you have a bunch of friends who also use them so you can all compare
stats on Facebook. But how many high-school or college kids have the money for
these? Conversely, how many aging ballers (who may have the disposable income)
really care enough to spend this kind of cash? No one in my cohort is even
considering them, which means I have no one to share data with. Overall, Nike+
Basketball still feels very 1.0. Even the ways in which you can crunch the few
stats it tracks are very limited.
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Tectical Smart Watch (Click Image To Buy)
Compared
to golf, cycling or tennis, there isn’t a lot of fancy equipment to purchase.
So maybe laying out $250 for shoes isn’t so bad. They are great shoes, and, I
found that they actually do inspire you to work just a little harder. They also
make the game just a little more fun, if only for yourself. So yeah, maybe they
are worth it. But maybe I’ve been looking at this wrong. Basketball, when you
break it down, is not an expensive sport. You don’t even need to buy a ball
they usually just show up wherever you play.
Hyperdunk TB (Click Image To Buy)
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