Get used to seeing “3D printed midsoles” as an increasingly advertised feature accompanying the announcement of new sneakers. Joining the likes of adidas and New Balance, both who’ve ventured into developing proprietary adaptive 3D printed midsoles, Under Armor recently unveiled the UA ArchiTech Futurist – a limited edition 3D printed sneaker designed for the Crossfit demographic.
The ArchiTech Futurist is the evolutionary progeny of Under Armour’s UA Architech, a shoe concept that won the Advanced Concepts Technical Competition at last year’s AMUG Conference. Sporting a similar interlocking lattice structure as its predecessor, the ArchiTech Futurist TPU midsoles are also made possible using selective laser sintering (SLS), resulting in the characteristic lattice work. The 3D printed heel section is purported to return energy with every press toward the heel, catering to weight lifting exercises of Crossfitters.
The proprietary 3D heel structure was formulated by Lehmann & Voss & Co., a chemical engineering company specializing in technological material development.
The feedback has been really tremendous. The big thing that I’ve heard consistently from the athletes is, ‘I can train longer; my joints don’t hurt.’ It really solves a problem because we were really trying to go from a CrossFit shoe to a weightlifting shoe and really merge those two together. Through that process, the athletes have been saying that ‘It’s amazing because I don’t have to worry about changing shoes, but also my body feels differently. – Alan Guyan, Under Armour, Director of Design & Manufacturing Innovation
A compression lacing system hidden underneath an external zippered sleeve and UA SpeedForm upper section offers a tight and secure fit. The likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Washington Nationals Bryce Harper have already been beta testers, providing Under Armour feedback.
Even if you’re not one to claim any allegiance to Crossfit nation, you may want to nab a pair of these limited edition $300 shoes as a novel addition to your collection. There will only be somewhere in the range of 2,000 pairs made available beginning today, March 30 at 6pm.
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