First of all

First of all, let’s talk about Nike’s new upper construction which is called Flyknit. Flyknit is a special woven fabric that makes the upper of a shoe feel like a sock, by placing yarns and knits strategically around the structure in order to support the foot of the runner when needed and leave it free everywhere else.

Flyknit running shoes are lightweight, flexible and breathable. The technology is new and exclusive to Nike, so expect to pay a premium for Flyknit shoes.

Most notable examples of Nike Flyknit Air Max Shop are the Flyknit Racer (as the name implies, a fast and light shoe for racing distances all the way to the marathon) and the Flyknit Lunar1+ (a great everyday training shoe with lots of cushioning and comfortable upper).

nike zoom stefan janoski dunk mens mid blue white

Soles of running shoes are made of foam. Each company has their own trademark foam mix that tries to achieve the following: be as light weight as possible, be soft in order to absorb the impact with the ground, be elastic (in order to compress on impact and release propelling you forward), be durable (foam does deteriorate with use, so all foam materials need to be engineered to maintain its characteristics for a decent amount of time).

Nike’s traditional foam material is called CUSHLON, and it is the foam material you find on their “Air” running shoe models.

In 2009, Nike introduced Lunarfoam, later renamed Lunarlon. Lunarlon is Nike’s softest, most cushioned and lightest foam compound.