By sneakerologist
Published: April 19, 2008
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Sixteen years is a long time, considering that governments fall, movie stars come and go and a baby can grow up to be a rebellious teenager during that time. But that's the time which Nike took to research and develop a shoe cushioning system called the Shox. I read an article in the magazine 'Popular Science' a few years ago about how Nike went through different prototypes of the Shox before settling on the final compressed foam pillar version they released in 2001. As I flipped through the pages of the magazine, I saw pictures of some early protos which would have well suited Frankenstein, with heavy metal springs in the heel and all. Eventually, Nike sought the help of experts from the automobile industry, and one of the suggestions Nike got was to use high density foam pillars instead of metal springs. Ultimately, they resorted to using a four column assembly of high density polyurethane foam and they finally released the Nike Shox R4 in 2001 as a culmination of sixteen years of combined efforts. Phew!
The Shox of the new millennium: The original Nike Shox R4 which was released in 2001. It is one of my favorite designs - I'm sure lots of other people think the same, since the R4 is the only original Shox design which has been re-issued by Nike over the years. The Shox R4 also caught the attention of the knock-off industry which has duplicated the Shox R4 in many colors. And oh, by the way, Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan wore these shoes in one of his movies, if that's of any interest to you.
Spring loaded: The outsole of the 2001 Nike Shox R4 featured the four column heel assembly, and you can see the circular base of the pillars in the heel area. The Nike Shox logo sits proudly in the midfoot area - it is a reverse "Z" between two bars, which represents a spring between two plates.
Since the launch of the original Shox in 2001, Nike released many more Shox models, including the uncomfortable looking Nike Shox Total, which had Shox columns from heel to toe. I don't know how many pairs of Shox did Nike manage to sell over the years, but it still would have lagged way behind 'Air', Nike's flagship cushioning system. Nike Shox, though it had the 'springy' feeling which Nike had originally intended it to have, did not have the pliability and the all day cushioning feel of Nike Air. They did come up with many variations of the Shox, including the Nike Shox VC (Vince Carter) which was a basketball shoe which had a heel to toe, albeit smaller, Shox pillars. But one thing ran common among all the Shox shoes - they were stiff. The polyurethane columns were sandwiched between two hard TPU plates, which did away with soft EVA cushioning and that robbed the user of the cushioned feel one was accustomed to in regular running shoes. The shape and feel of the different Shox variations felt more or less the same, until last year, when they released the Nike Shox Saya, which had much smaller columns and compressed more easily than the regular Shox columns, resulting in a softer ride. But Nike seemed have felt the urgent need to further fine tune the Shox platform, and they did it in style in form of the Nike Shox Experience which they released recently.
The Nike Shox Experience: Nike's fresh take on the Shox.
Sometimes, I really wonder whether Nike would have been as successful as they are today without Nike Air. Frank Rudy, the NASA scientist who first approached Adidas many decades ago with his concept of Air filled soles, was dismissed by the German brand which saw the Air as a mere gimmick. Frank Rudy then went to Nike to show them his concept, and the enterprising Americans immediately saw an opportunity where Adidas saw none. So, in a way, Adidas helped Nike become a global sports giant by showing the door to Frank Rudy. Nike played around with Rudy's idea of putting air in shoes till they met with success in the Nike Air Tailwind, which was released in 1979. But the real fun started for Nike when they launched the first Nike Air shoe in 1987 which had visible 'Air' chambers - and the series of 'visible air' shoes which followed were a huge success and probably helped Nike reach where it is today.
The Nike Shox experience is a brand new 'experience' altogether and a good reason for that lies in the innovative Shox cushioning unit in the heel, which is a combination of Nike's two most 'visible' shoe technologies - Nike Air and Shox. The Nike Shox Experience does away with the polyurethane Shox columns completely, and instead replaces them with cylindrical columns filled with gas. Though that takes away some of the springy feel which you used to get in the original Shox, there are some upsides too. Read on...
A new experience: In the Nike Shox Experience. Nike combines two of it's popular shoe technologies, Nike Air and Nike Shox.
Love child of Nike Air and Shox, but still Shox: Nike has not messed around with the name, and has retained the original Shox logo and heel outsole architecture. The circular lugs in the front area seem to be inspired by the original Nike Shox R4's outsole and even the entire outsole design has a very strong R4 feel to it.
Honestly, my first impression of the Shox Experience was that it looked like a me too version of Reebok's Mega DMX, which has similar, large translucent pods filled with gas. I happened to own one of shoes which had the Mega DMX pods and I was unimpressed with its rigid, unyielding cushioning. I eventually gave those shoes away after only having worn them for a week, so I did not have any high hopes around the new Shox Experience. It is true when people say that perception is usually influenced by experience, which in Reebok's case, was a very average one.
I have always found Nike Shox (except the Shox Saya) too firm for my liking, but the new Shox Experience wipes out that memory in an instant. Nike might call their new shoe the 'Nike Shox Experience', but it is very much a Nike Air Shoe, albeit of a different type. So when you're standing tall in these new shoes, your heel is resting not on the traditional polyurethane Shox columns, but on four Nike Air columns. Since this shoe was decidedly different, I decided not only to run 5k in them, but wear them for over a period of a few days to find out how it performs as a running shoe, and at the same time see how good would they be for a casual stroll on the city streets.
The evolution of the Nike Shox R4: The original R4 was a beautiful looking shoe, and the new Shox Experience is no different. The next version of the shoe would face the inevitable 'curse of the sequel' - the only exception to this rule was 'Star Wars' and 'Lord of the Rings'. Alright, alright, maybe 'Pirates of the Caribbean' too...
Less is more: Seamless, welded TPU overlays on the upper make for functional, yet aesthetically pleasing minimalism. Nike goes a step ahead and uses a Zoom Air sole unit in the forefoot which does a decent job of cushioning your pavement pounding. Don't let the thin white midsole fool you - this shoe is half lasted, which means that apart from the white strip of midsole visible, there is another layer of foam midsole wrapped inside the upper.
As I gradually pick up pace during my run in the Shox Experience, one thing becomes abundantly clear: this shoe feels nothing like the Shox shoes of yore. Gone is the rigid feeling, and in its place is the all too familar feeling of Nike Air working overtime under your foot. Having said that, it is nowhere as soft as a typical high end cushioned running shoe would be, since the Shox columns are still sandwiched between two rigid TPU plates. Though the columns have a lot more 'give' than traditional Shox shoes, they still feel a bit firm and retains a little of the 'springy' sensation. If you look closely at the outsole, you will see that outsole area in the heel uses less rubber as compared to a normal running shoe so resultantly there is less surface area available for heel contact. This makes the heel to toe transition slightly inefficient and when you land on the heel, you can actually feel the pavement touch the cleft between the two Shox columns on the outer edge of the heel, and that takes away some of the charm. This also leads to insufficient outsole grip in the heel area, and there were a few occasions where I almost lost my balance on smooth surfaces. And since the materials used in the heel area is completely different from the one used in the forefoot (Gas filled columns vs. foam and Zoom air), the ride is also far from consistent. But the forefoot cushioning works like a charm and the combination of compressed EVA foam and Zoom Air sole work in near perfect harmony.
No knife this time: The forefoot combines Zoom Air and compression molded EVA for cushioning. Though I would have loved to shown you what a zoom Air unit looks like, I'll spare the Shox Experience and do my slicing act on another Nike Zoom Air Shoe which I will soon review.
A few more things which a runner might point out on the Nike Shox Experience: since the upper of the Nike Shox Experience uses a closed mesh with welded overlays, it feels a bit flat and you kind of miss the cushioned feel of sandwiched mesh, which is found on many high end running shoes. The heel area could also do with a bit more grip or padding, as I was not entirely comfortable with the way the shoe wrapped around my heel area, and there were a few moments during my five 5 run when I felt that my heel was slipping a bit. I also had an uncanny feeling that the upper feel and fit of the Nike Shox Experience felt quite similar to the Adidas Megabounce 2008, which I reviewed last month. So if you own a pair of the Megabounce, you'll know what I mean.
Nike Shox Experience+ : This shoe has a cavity in the left shoe (beneath the footbed) which can accommodate a Nike+ chip so you can use your Nike+Apple iPod kit if you have one.
I wore the Nike Shox Experience over a period of four days after the initial 5k run, just strolling around in them whenever I had a chance. It held up pretty well, and it is a decent pair of shoes if serious running is not your game. The Shox Experience looks like a million bucks, is comfortable enough for a short run and will also see through the day if you chose to just the hit the streets in them. Well, just look at the whole thing as a choice between a date with a gorgeous blond or a long term relationship with a brainy type. You'd like to do both naturally, so I suggest that you go on a date with the Nike Shox Experience, and leave a serious running shoe like the Adidas Adizero CS for a far more profound experience...
I do wish Nike gets this shoe into India, but do not expect it to be cheap. The Nike Shox Experience costs around USD 140 overseas, so a price of INR 8500-9000 is what you should see on the box sticker if it ends up selling here, at all.
Update, December 2008: The Nike Shox experience started selling in India a few months ago, so this ceases to remain a 'wishlist' shoe. We were bang on with the guestimate price of Rs.8500-8900 since the shoe is now selling here for Rs.8500!! The color reviewed in this write-up is not available, but the same model in other colors sell in the stores here.
The Lowdown:
Shoe name: Nike Shox Experience+
Color reviewed:Black/Varsity Red - Metallic Silver
Retail price (India): INR 8500 (this was a 'wishlist' shoe at the time we reviewed the shoe.)
Estimated US retail: $ 140
Available at: Major Nike stores in India
Recommended for: Recreational runners with normal arch types; casual street wear.
Not recommended for: Runners with flat foot / low arch. Not for racing or tempo runs.
Weight: 402 grams for a half pair of UK 9.5/US 10.5
Verdict: The Nike Shox Experience adds a new dimension to the Shox technology. Though it has its shortcomings, the shoe is absolutely drop dead gorgeous and you should be able to forgive its flaws just because of that, the same way you might forgive a pretty blonde even if she steps on your foot with her stilettos...
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