Over the last few years, we’ve seen graphene used in a number of applications that suggest it’s going to be a very important material in our very near future. If you’re a hiker, runner, or gym buff looking for the greatest mix of grip and durability in your sneakers, then the supermaterial just might be very important to your present moment, as they use it to build the outsoles on the Innov-8 G-Series Shoes.
That’s right, the outfit’s newest line of shoes use rubber that’s reinforced with graphene, giving it a durability that’s downright unmatched in the industry. Specifically, the shoes’ outsole comes rated at 1000 miles of use, which is double or triple the lifespan of every other running footwear you will find today.
The Inov-8 G-Series Shoes is the first ever footwear to utilize the revolutionary material, which was first isolated from graphite just 14 years ago. To the unfamiliar, graphene is a material that’s 200 times stronger than steel while coming in at just a single molecule thick, rendering it incredibly lightweight. It’s also flexible, transparent, and impermeable to liquids, making it an ideal material for integrating into the outsoles of footwear.
According to the outfit, most running shoe outsoles fall in one of two categories: the extra-grippy variety that can handle wet terrain with ease and the hard rubber variety that’s designed for long-lasting use. Integrating graphene and its unusually strong properties into the rubber allowed them to combine both those qualities into a single outsole, as the rubber handles the necessary grip while the graphene provides the needed reinforcement to keep the wear and tear away. Innov-8, in fact, claims it will deliver “the world’s toughest grip” while being durable enough to hold up for 1,000 miles or more.
While they use graphene liberally on the outsole, the Inov-8 G-Series Shoes also employ Kevlar on the upper. No, they didn’t actually make these sneakers bullet-proof, but they wanted a similarly strong material, so that the upper will hold up as long as the outsole. We mean, what’s the point of having a shoe sports an outsole that can last 1,000 miles if the upper is tearing and punctured before it even gets there?
Three models of shoes are included in the line, namely the Mudclaw G-260, the Terraultra G-260, and the F-Lite G-290. The Mudclaw is the outfit’s mud-running shoe, boasting 8mm studs that should allow it to grab a strong hold in soft and wet ground, making it ideal for Tough Mudder-style competitions and training workouts. The Terraultra, on the other hand, is designed for more conventional hard-packed trails, with an underfoot that emphasizes comfort and responsiveness, while the F-Lite is designed for use in the gym, giving all the Crossfit diehards and gym rats an insanely tough alternative to Nike Metcons, Reebooks, and whatever else people find to be the most functional shoe during their workouts.
Slated to go on sale July 12, the Inov-8 G-Series Shoes are priced starting at $150.