Miaow…
Have you ever watched your cat sprint around the house and leap wherever it wants? That agility is definitely something to envy, and it seems that the boys over at Puma certainly agree.
Launching a new-to-market category of performance running—“Adaptive Running”, the new Puma Mobium Elite is inspired by cats paws, which compress together during its propulsion phase and expand during stance phase to provide cushioning, PUMA Mobium Elite’s ‘Expansion Pods’ on the outsole of the shoe expand and contract with the foot.
Imagine what happens when a cat’s foot hits the ground at speed – the pads underneath its paw spread out and then, as the animal’s leg rises into the air, the pads contract, providing cushioning.
The human foot uses the same principle, the only difference being there are no pads on a human foot and instead the bones in the foot, such as the metatarsals, spread out when hitting the ground before contracting again when in the air.
So the Mobium Elite aims to mimic this action. Like a cat’s paw, it has flexible pads on the sole. A strong rubber band (the Mobium Band) winds its way through the outsole of the shoe in a figure of eight pattern to enhance the foot’s natural spring.
This band is constructed to enhance the foot’s natural spring. Running through the outsole in a ‘figure of eight’ it’s designed to work dynamically like the tendons in the foot. The more force applied, the more spring it returns.
Meanwhile, the ‘Windlass Chassis’ is built to mimic the Windlass Effect of a foot’s expansion and contraction as it moves. This sculpted arch creates a platform for the foot in movement, helping the foot transition through the full running gait. Mobium’s upper and outsole works in unison with the Windlass Chassis, so that the entire shoe moves the way the foot naturally does.
Considering that the foot expands in three directions, longitudinally, laterally and vertically, PUMA’s innovative footwear adapts with the body in motion, encouraging a more natural and efficient mid-foot strike.
The three-part system of PUMA Mobium Elite’s innovative design encourages runners to land on their mid-foot, rather than a hard heel strike, which can mean more efficiency and less ‘braking action.’ The shoe is the result of two years of intensive development and testing and should go on sale for around £85.
Read a great review of the shoes here
Tech Runner 