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Running is an intense old business. All that pounding the pavement, racking up the miles — it takes its toll on the body. Especially the feet: even if you’re wearing running trainers, they tend to hurt after you’ve hit the 10k mark a few days in a row.
Enter the new Nike x Hyperice Hyperboot. The brainchild of exercise recovery tech company Hyperice and, well, Nike, it’s the smallest item of its kind on the market and the first to work as an actual shoe. These boots are battery powered, and use inflatable bladders bonded to the sole (as well as heating coils) to provide a therapeutic massage both pre and post-workout.
And a pair of them just happens to cost £899.
But are they worth it and what do they do? We put them to the test.
The boot
These boots have been designed for elite runners, or at the very least, people training to do the kind of long-distance running that requires serious hours on the go.
They have been designed with three inflatable chambers and heating coils, all of which come with variety of settings that can be customised to provide a physical therapy experience that can be personalised to work for you. There are four buttons: one for power, one for compression, one for heat and one to start a 15-minute massage ‘programme’.
I tested them before and after my runs for three or four consecutive days, putting them on for half an hour before and after the run to let them do their magic.
I found them a little like wearing a Moon Boot. The inflatable chambers are located primarily around the back of the foot, and continually inflate and deflate, squeezing and massaging the foot in the process.
When the inflatable chambers inflate, they really inflate, to the point where it’s almost uncomfortable.
It’s an oddly relaxing experience, though it is strictly limited to your heel and achilles. People who have plantar fasciitis (a common running injury that causes pain in the heel and arch), be warned: this will do absolutely nothing for you.
When combined with the heating elements, though, it really is a killer combo. When I say heat, I do mean heat: the three settings range from 43 degrees, to 47 and then 51 at the highest level. That last setting can prove a little too hot, especially if your calf is already being squeezed, so I tended to keep things around level two.
The battery life is also impressive. According to Hyperice, the boots will last 1.5 hours on the max settings, which meant charging them up again every day. This was fine, as long as I remembered to do it a few hours before setting off on my run.
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The design
With their large, blocky design, the boots actually look rather like a fashion item: a statement trainer of the type celebs tend to make famous. There are two huge Velcro straps that fasten around the front, while the boots themselves reach just above the ankle line.
They also feature an actual (curved) sole, which means it’s possible to walk around in them. I did try and take them on a walk around the office, though the sheer size of the boots (and the fact that they were aggressively massaging my feet at the time) made movement difficult. One to wear around the office (or living room, depending on if you want to get laughed at) but nowhere else.
Do they work?
The boots are designed to be worn both before and after a run, to limber up the feet and then massage away any aches and pains. As somebody who hits the gym and pavement for 10k runs multiple times a week, the feet do tend to start hurting after a few consecutive days.
So the shoes were wonderful at keeping my feet feeling spry and limber before the runs, and helping massage the pain away after. They’re certainly an impressive piece of kit, though whether I loved them enough to drop the better part of a grand on them is a question I haven’t yet figured out the answer to. At least I have until October to decide, when they launch in the UK.
The Nike x Hyperice Boot is out in October; find out more here
