No strings attached

Nike hopes to reshape the footwear landscape anew with the commercial launch of the Adapt BB. With these hotly anticipated high-tech sneakers, the sportswear giant debuts its FitAdapt platform, which combines an intelligent in-shoe power-lacing system with convenient controllability via a mobile app.

The Adapt BB is specifically designed for basketball—hence the “BB” in its name—because of how the game demands so much from a player’s foot.

With all the running, jumping, abrupt stopping, and side-stepping that the game entails, basketball players’ feet can swell up to almost an additional half-size over the course of a game. What might feel like the right fit at tip-off can feel too tight by half-time. Surely uncomfortable at the very least, and an injury risk at the worst.

From ‘footwear to firmware’

The Adapt BB comes on the heels of 2016’s HyperAdapt 1.0, improving on the latter’s Electric Adaptable Reaction Lacing system by leaps and bounds.

Incorporating a custom motor and gear train into the shoe, the innovative FitAdapt system detects the tension that the player’s foot needs at any point during a game. Using underfoot lacing with a tensile strength of roughly 32 pounds of force, the Adapt BB ensures a snug, “lock-down” fit around the foot, while still allowing a full range of movement.

The power-lacing features can also be controlled using subtle touch buttons on the shoe or by accessing the Nike Adapt app on a smartphone. Nike even threw in a cosmetic bonus—you can change the colors of the glowing buttons to match your team colors or personal on-court fashion sense.

The abilities and advantage of the FitAdapt platform will continue to grow as Nike continues to refine the technology. Through upcoming firmware updates, players can assign tightness settings based on what they need—from warm-ups to actual play.

Athletes can enjoy a couple of weeks’ worth of games before the Adapt BB’s battery runs out, and it only takes under three hours to juice them back up using a wireless charging mat. The shoes keep five percent of battery power on reserve to make sure that you can get out of them.

Game-changer

While it sounds like something straight out of a 1980s sci-fi film, Nike’s FitAdapt technology is no gimmick. The system is meant to see actual playing time and deliver improved athletic performance at the highest levels of competition.

In fact, the Adapt BB has already taken the court in the NBA. On January 17, 2019, young Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum delivered a productive 16-point, 10-rebound performance in a 117-108 win over the Toronto Raptors while wearing the Adapt BB.

“They don’t have laces,” Tatum shared, “but they fit like a glove.”

“It’s like putting a glove on, and it just grasps to your foot. It’s very, very secure.”

You can expect to see the Adapt BB brandished by other young NBA stars, including De’Aaron Fox, Kyle Kuzma, Collin Sexton, and even rookie sensation Luka Doncic.

Just warming up

The Nike Adapt BB hits store shelves starting February 17, 2019, tagged at US$350 (approx. P18,300) a pair. These sneakers will be the first in an impressive new line of smart sportswear as Nike continues to develop Adapt systems for other sports and even lifestyle products.