Louie Lingard, a 19-year-old artist and comedian who lives with a rare form of Arthrogryposis, says the shoe is a “great concept”. He’s previously worn other versions of FlyEase trainers and says Nike is his favourite manufacturer. “They are comfortable to wear but do fit snug, especially with my orthopaedic leg splints I wear, so I can see how they would maybe not be the best for some people with disabilities,” he says of the GO FlyEase. This is one of the most universal shoes ever," Nike American Paralympic triathlete Sarah Reinersten said as the GO FlyEase were unveiled earlier this year. It could be used by anyone, she said: people living with disabilities, women who are pregnant and the “lazy husband who wants to walk the dog”. As a result, there was a lot of hype about the potential of the new shoe and the accessibility it could offer.

Nike Reveals the All-New Glide FlyEase Premium | Hypebeast

The Nike FlyEase project began with Tobie Hatfield‘s vision to create no-lace sneakers with easy entry-and-closure systems for athletes who have trouble getting in and out of shoes. Since then, the distinct silhouettes in the FlyEase series have garnered mainstream adoption due to their comfort and convenience. The FlyEase wraparound zip technology lets the heel fully open up so kids can slide their feet in and secure them with a strap over the top. A reviewer gave their pair to Lingard following a viral TikTok where he said Nike should have done more to make the shoes available for people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Owens says she got a Nike membership through the company’s app and set up notifications so she could get them as soon as they went on sale. “I don’t know how Nike could have made sure to roll out to people with disabilities but if they had found a way, I can say the disability community would have been ecstatic and felt heard and special,” Owens says.For now, the GO FlyEase are unavailable from Nike. The company did not respond to a request for comment about the launch and the controversial rollout of the trainers, but it has said it will be putting more of them on sale later this year. It hasn’t given a date or said how many pairs it will make available.

Nike FlyEase. Nike UK

In a similar way there’s no getting away from the size of the trainers: they’re chonky. When walking in them they feel stable – there’s no chance of the hinge opening – but they feel very big on your feet. You really know you’re wearing them. The classic slip-on features a collapsible heel that kids can easily stomp on to slide their foot into the shoe. For the last four years, Nike has been focused on making people run faster. Much of the company’s shoe innovation has been centered on its carbon plate technology – it’s been creating shoes that help people break world records. But away from the controversy around supershoes, Nike has been quietly reinventing how we wear shoes entirely. Enter the Nike GO FlyEase. First revealed in February, the trainers are the ultimate in convenience: they have a hinge that allows them to bend in half and thus avoids you having to tie any laces. You just step into the shoes and they envelop your feet. When it comes to taking them off you stand on the heel and lift your foot out. The shoe took three years of “hard development,” Nike says. Nike has been criticised for not using the word “disabled” in its marketing of the trainers, despite the accessibility they provide. When the GO FlyEase went on sale they were made available to buy through a limited release, which made them only available to people who have signed up to be a Nike member.Nike FlyEase lets you enjoy sport no matter your ability with technology developed from insights from the disability community. As Nike’s sell-out release for the Go FlyEase revealed, there’s a real appetite on the market for shoes that can be slipped on and off easily. So many people wanted the first “hands-free” sneaker, in fact, that the intended audience of people with disabilities found themselves shut out from a shoe that could make getting ready significantly easier. Lindsay Owens, an amputee who lives in Vermont, agrees with Lingard. She says the Go FlyEase were easy to put on and take off. But ultimately due to the prosthetic she was using, the shoes didn’t work for her. “I think the shoes could be a benefit to people with disabilities, maybe just not my specific disability or not my specific prosthetic,” she says. “I will also say that the heel of the shoe is kind of clunky which could be difficult for some.”