The epic Hyperice X Nike Hyperboot was selected for our 101 brilliant gadgets roundup last year and now Nike – in cahoots with fitness recovery specialist Hyperice – has taken some of the same tech and whacked it into… a pair of sliders.
Now these sliders – known as the Hyperice X Nike Air Zoom Hyperslide – are no ordinary flip-flops. I mean, the epic price tag of $250/£239 should tell you that. They’re built for recovery after training and include some pretty crazy tech thanks to some Hyperice add-on packs that both heat and vibrate – I’ll tell you more about those shortly.
So I decided I should try them out as I was fairly sceptical – how can they possibly be worth that much? As I opened the box I found a beefy slider in a color that Nike refers to as Light Orewood Brown.
But let’s not beat around the bush – these are beige. They’re also available in black with white trim and, to be honest, that’s probably a better bet unless you’re going to be wearing them on carpet all the time. They do get marked. However, they are supremely comfortable. I guess that’s no surprise – as you’ll probably have noted from their name, they have full-length Nike Air soles and looking at the cost of other Nike Air Zoom footwear, the cost seems a little more palatable – and that’s without the recovery tech I’m going to talk about in a second. I’m sure many will be bought for their looks as much as their recovery properties as they are highly distinctive. I think they look great.
The sliders have a Velcro strap that folds over a lot of the top of your foot and it’s within this that the magic happens – not in the base/sole of the slider. There’s a pouch in each strap into which you place a detachable Hyperslide Pod. These are USB-C chargeable and clip onto a bespoke holder on each slider. The pods use Hyperice Venon tech to deliver targeted heat or vibration to the top of the foot to “reduce tension, relax feet and support everyday recovery.” They also glow with the Hyperice logo when in action which is quite cool.
How intense things get is up to you. There are three levels of heat are available up to 117°F or 47°C and there are three vibration levels with 15-minute recovery cycles. There’s a button for heat and vibrate on either side of each pod. The battery in each pod will last for an hour of use and the whole product is travel-friendly.
Now, I live in the UK and so we haven’t had really cold days this winter as of yet – but I can imagine the heating would really help after winter runs to return my feet to the right zone. But since I was using these in the late Summer the heating aspect had a more limited use. I’ve actually been running less this year because I have been struggling with plantar fasciitis a bit (which is a lot better now, thanks) but that was a good test for these; the vibration of the Hyperice units really did help with keeping my feet moving even when I was sitting still after movement. Indeed, after any kind of physical exercise like cycling or hiking they really helped to take away any soreness from my feet.
Of course, these sliders are going to be most at home with pro or semi-pr sports people but as Nike says, anyone with a body can be called an athlete – you don’t need to be running marathons to feel the benefit. Indeed, Nike adds they could also be helpful for busy people “managing travel, work and everyday movement”.
Of course the footwear seems expensive compared to other sliders, but when you consider just one of the pods is available separately for around $100/£100, it makes a lot more sense. And if you think you’d benefit from the recovery potential, it’s actually quite a fairly-priced package. Plus, your feet will thank you.
Also read: I tried the brain-altering Nike Mind shoes – here’s my verdict
