“There’s stuff you can do with a technical shoe that you can’t with a vulcanized shoe.”
Venerable skateboarding brand Airwalk ruggedized their 540 and 600 models with rubberized protection on the heels and ollie areas back in the late ’80s, and their Goodyear-mudguarded Royale from 1995 can be seen as one of the earliest sneaker collaborations. These kicks laid the groundwork for highly technical synthetic skate shoes to come, like the Nike SB Zoom Tre (AD). The newest model from SB marks the latest and most advanced model in that lineage, resulting in perhaps the most technically advanced skate shoe yet. Eric Koston says the Nike SB Zoom FP is, “Technical without all the bells and whistles,” which makes the ‘Future Prmitive’ Nike Skateboarding’s lighest shoe ever. The Zoom FP’s inner lining gives you a sock-like feel, with a Free-like sole increasing the custom fit feel. Koston promises to use his vast skating and shoe design experience to, “Save the feet of others,” and you can see him discuss the Zoom FP in detail by clicking the jump below.