Classics Revisited: Nike Air Tuned Max (1999)

John Kim November 5th, 2013 (updated)

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NIKE AIR MAX CLASSICS WEEK

Air Max is the embodiment of Nike’s leading standard of Innovation and Technology, so for the final Classics Revisited segment of the week, we’ll focus on one of Nike’s game-changing breakthroughs of Air Max history – Tuned Air. While Tuned Air first debuted a year prior in the Nike Air Max Plus (also referred to as the Nike Air Max TN), the Air Tuned Max (hope you’re following us) featured the first full-length system of Tuned Air. To quickly summarize what Tuned Air is: this breakthrough in Air technology combined Nike Air with Tuned mechanical elements for high performance impact protection. The Pebax-built Tuned hemispheres provided low pressure cushioning at the heel, providing a natural foot-landing while providing the stability of the Air Max. In other words, it made an already-perfect cushioning system even better, and the Air Tuned Max provided the system on a much larger scale than the Air Max Plus did. Although Tuned Air itself isn’t used anymore, the idea of creating an anatomically true cushioning unit still embodies itself in Nike’s latest concepts in Air engineering, making Tuned Air one of Nike’s greatest achievements in history. Revisit some of the first colorways of the short-lived Air Tuned Max below and stay tuned for more Classics Revisited next week!

Nike Air Tuned Max
1999
$155

Nike Air Tuned Max Og