I was wondering if anyone has tried out those Shox shoes from Nike. (Here’s a pic) If you have, how do you like them? Do they work better than a conventional heel? I’m a runner and I’ve thought of trying a pair, but they’re pretty expensive (US$150/pair). My gut instinct is that they are just a gimmick. I’d also have a couple other concerns: water and dirt might accumulate inside the heel (the weather isn’t always nice when I go running), and that I’d look like a dork. 
I haven’t tried them ($150.00 is about $140.00 out of my range for sneakers), but Popular Science did a write-up on them a couple of months before they came out, and THEY were all about them.
I have one question about these shoes: How does having some sort of shock/spring in the heel help you?
When you run and jump, it seems to me that it’s mostly done from the ball/toe area of the foot. I’m sure I must be missing something here. A little help please?
The ball/toe area is used when sprinting and the springing part of jumping. However, when just running around (ie, basketball) or long-distance running, the heel is used more.
Check out the March 2001 issue of Runners World. They do their Spring shoe review. The Shox is one of the shoes they review. Can’t remember the details, but depending on whether you pronate or not, they seemed to think they’d not be right for you. Depends on what kind of stability you need. I’d check it out, if I were you.
Personally, I think you can get a better pair of running shoes for less money by staying away from Nike. Asics, Saucony & Mizuno (just to name my favorites) have plenty of choices.
Oh, and if you think you’ll be bounding around like a kangaroo with them on your feet, I think you’ll be sorely mistaken. But…I know a few people who work at specialty running stores who have tried them. They were skeptical (as am I) about them, but seemed to think they were a decent shoe. They were not sure that it was worth the cost, though.
For now, it’s just me and my Mizuno Wave Riders…
I think the major selling point can be summarized as thus:
Ohhh. Pretty colors… MMMMmmmmnnn.
Cash register -shiny-!
I think what we all want to know is, do they really make that “boing-boing” sound? If they do, I want a pair.
Wile E. Coyote’s revenge.
I have the same issue. It says
It adds that the technology is not intended to speed you up or ease the difficulty of running, but simply to protect your heel with a durable shoe.
As a runner, you probably know if you pronate or supernate and can judge from this info if these shoes are any good.