In the world of athletics, professional and weekend warriors alike learn that the recovery process is as crucial to peak performance as the training itself. Muscles need to warm up before workouts, and are ideally treated afterward to manage the wear and tear of pushing performance limits. Nike, in collaboration with Hyperice, is adding a pair of tools to the recovery game with two new tech-enabled wearables on the horizon – the Nike x Hyperice Recovery Boot and Recovery Vest – each designed to make athletes feel better… and look and literally feel cool in the process.
If you don’t know Hyperice by name, you probably know of their technology in some form or another. The California-based brand has carved out a reputation as one of the most popular recovery technologists in the sports industry, a repute primarily built upon their percussion massage therapy tool, the HyperVolt 2 Pro, alongside other innovative methods to ease soreness and aid recovery.
Hyperice’s design language across their entire catalog evokes what hoops fans know as Mamba mentality, the intense “don’t quit” philosophy famously associated with the Laker icon, Kobe Bryant, perhaps no surprise considering the brand cites the late NBA star as an early adopter and collaborator.
The boot is designed with built-in controls giving the wearer the ability to adjust the boot’s dynamic air compression treatment. Athletes can synchronize the heat and compression of both shoes with the press of a button, or choose to run the left and right shoes individually, selecting from three distinct levels of compression and heat powered by a battery pack in each shoe’s insole.
The new Nike x Hyperice Recovery Boot sports the look of a Nike basketball sneaker, with an upper design somewhat reminiscent of the 2016 special edition Nike MAG Back to the Future, sneakers equipped with self-lacing technology. In the case of the new Recovery Boot, the therapeutic footwear has been outfitted with Hyperice’s Normatec technology, a series of dynamic air compression bladders that fill and empty to massage the feet and ankles while also applying heat. The reputed effect is a reduction in muscle soreness and improved circulation, while also keeping the fluid between muscles and tissues maximally lubricated.
With the boot designed for legwork, the new Nike x Hyperice vest is tasked to work on the upper body using Hyperice’s thermal technology, a mechanism engineered to deliver localized heating and cooling. It’s designed with a sleek fit ensuring a comfortable fit and maximum mobility while delivering therapeutic benefits. For anyone who runs hot during and after workouts, putting on the vest could help push endurance limits, while also promoting recovery without the hassle of ice or heat pads.
Professional athletes like LeBron James have already been using these devices. “From the moment I tried the Nike x Hyperice boots and vest while they were still in development more than a year ago,” remarked James. “I knew they were going to change the game for athletes’ warm-up and recovery.”
The Nike x Hyperice vest allows for instant heating and cooling, without the need for ice or liquid, to help athletes dial their body temperatures to their exact specifications during warmups and cooldowns.
Interested? Alas, you’ll have to wait after this summer. Nike plans to first use these two recovery technologies at the Olympics in Paris before announcing availability and pricing for us mere mortals with aching muscles.
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