What Is It?: Nike Zoom

The first basketball shoe that used zoom was the Nike Air Go LWP in 1995, as Tensile air. Nike’s Zoom air cushion was originally named Tensile air. Tensile air was originally developed so that the cushioning system implemented on basketball shoes could be lower to the ground. The Tensile air was eventually re-branded into Zoom Air.

Tensed up fibres are added to a air bag to make the air bag compact. The tightly tensed up fibres allowed the air unit to more pressurised, making it more responsive than the primitive air unit. Every step than the wearer takes, the air bag and the tensile fibres are compressed which cushions the impact. As the Zoom unit returns to it’s original shape, it returns the energy back to the wearer springing the wearer forward. The ability of the Zoom unit to absorb impact and return the energy reduces the stress on muscles, joints and tendons.

Although Zoom technology is more than a decade, it is still the go-to cushion set-up for most basketball shoes. Kyrie’s line has a flexible Zoom Turbo unit to support his quick movements and KD’s signature line has implemented Zoom Strobel to accommodate his preference for comfiness in his basketball shoes. Zoom Air technology is a versatile cushioning system which can be used for athletes with different play styles.