Trainers join gold, steak and truffles as Adidas releases lightest ever basketball shoe

[Jazzy]

Adidas, the sportswear giant, wants to turn trainers into one of life’s luxuries you’re prepared to pay for in ounces. Well, it’s one specific pair of trainers: the AdiZero Crazy Light.

Designed for basketball players, the shoe weighs in at 9.8 ounces and will sell for $130 (£80). Or, when you’re next in a shoe shop, at just over £8 an ounce. The Germany company claims the shoe, which will go in sale in June, is 7.5pc lighter than the nearest offering from arch rival Nike, named after Kobe Bryant, one of the game’s biggest stars.



The secret to the weight loss, says Adidas, is an ultra-thin exoskeleton that eliminates the layers and the glue typically used in basketball shoes.



“The design process did not start with a pencil,” explains Robbie Fuller, the lead developer. “Scissors, glue, sewing machines, then test, fail, startover.”



Adidas and Nike are waging a battle on several sporting fronts to make trainers and boots as light as possible, and those who wear them, faster. Just don’t expect to suddenly start making those three-point shots if you’re not any good to start with.



Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...s-releases-lightest-ever-basketball-shoe.html