As a proud Boomer, I’ve to confess that previous to final week, I had by no means heard of Kizik. Moreover, I had by no means heard of the idea of “step-in” footwear, both.
Apart from loafers, that’s.
So, when assigned to jot down concerning the new Athens step-in golf shoe from Kizik, I had numerous catching as much as do. At my age, psychological pliability is an effective factor.
So let’s begin this missive with a short primer on Kizik after which we are able to dive into the corporate’s new Athens golf shoe.
Sound like a plan?
What’s Kizik and why is “step-in” a factor?
Have you ever ever tried to power your foot right into a sneaker that was already tied, most likely since you kicked them off final evening whereas watching BritBox (advised you I used to be a Boomer)? If that’s the case, you already know that at finest it’s a 50-50 proposition. Are you able to get your foot all the way in which in with out the again of the shoe folding underneath your heel?
As life challenges go, it’s not up there with meals, shelter or private success. Thankfully for humankind, wherever issues exist, ingenious souls thirst for options.
Enter Kizik founder Mike Pratt.
“The concept stored me up at evening. How do you make a shoe that may collapse and pop again up? One which stays on after you step in, is extra snug and is a lot greater than a slip-on shoe?”
Pratt filed for his first hands-free shoe patent in 2009. Eight years later, in 2019, the Kizik model made its debut. A 12 months later, NIKE licensed Kizik expertise, making “hands-free” quasi-mainstream.
The idea took an enormous leap ahead in 2021 when Kizik launched the Cage®, a versatile assist system on the heel that supplied further bounce to make the again of the shoe pop again into place. At the moment, Kizik presents trainers, climbing footwear and informal footwear for males, girls and kids.
That, pals and neighbors, brings us to the topic at hand, the brand new Kizik Athens golf shoe.
About that…
The Athens is Kizik’s first golf shoe. The corporate says it’s a “pure extension of Kizik’s rising sport class.” Kizik provides that the brand new shoe options “course-ready traction” and “all-day consolation.”
That, pals, is correct out of the life-style brand-turned spikeless golf shoe playbook.
The hands-free step-in expertise is fascinating. The Athens does have laces which we are able to solely presume are there to tighten the footwear as wanted. The entire level of the “step-in expertise” is to free you of the day-to-day drudgery of tying and untying your footwear simply to take them off and put them again on once more.
I child, I child.
There are movies of the step-in course of on Kizik’s web site. When you get previous the “why would I need that?” half, the expertise is fairly cool. The rear portion of the shoe compresses and pops again into place immediately. And never for nothing, the footwear look extraordinarily snug.
One concern could be traction. We’ll know extra as soon as we get samples in however as with most life-style corporations that enterprise into golf footwear, the only real doesn’t appear overly aggressive. Kizik does name the outsole “excessive traction” with “multi-directional lugs for higher grip.”
We’ll see.
The opposite concern, which once more is widespread for life-style manufacturers branching into golf footwear, is stability. Once more, we’ll need to see about that.
Kizik Athens golf shoe worth and availability
Kizik’s new Athens golf shoe is obtainable in males’s and ladies’s fashions. The lads’s model is obtainable in two colorways. The primary is what Kizik calls “White/Surf the Net.” The shoe itself is white whereas the Cage® portion wrapping the heel is blue. The opposite is “HarborMist/Shadow.” That might be a sort of grey with a black Cage®.
The ladies’s model is obtainable in White/Surf the Net solely.
The Athens golf shoe retails for $149.95. It’s accessible now on the Kizik web site and at Kizik retail areas.
The put up Why Would You Need A “Step-In” Golf Shoe? appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
