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With new Nike Flyknit technology, yarns and fabric variations are precisely engineered only where they are needed for a featherweight, formfitting and virtually seamless upper.

NIKE has engineered knit for performance to create running footwear that features only the essentials. Employing a new technology called Nike Flyknit, yarns and fabric variations are precisely engineered only where they are needed for a featherweight, formfitting and virtually seamless upper.

With all the structure and support knitted in, the Nike Flyknit Racer’s upper and tongue weigh just 34 grams (1.2 ounces). The whole shoe weighs a mere 160g (5.6 ounces) for a size 9, which is 19% lighter than the Nike Zoom Streak 3, a shoe worn by first, second and third place athletes in the men’s marathon at the 2011 World Championships.

While reducing shoe weight is one aspect of helping runners, the Nike Flyknit upper is also engineered for a precision fit, creating a feeling of a second skin.

An additional environmentally sustainable benefit to Nike Flyknit is that it reduces waste because the one-piece upper does not use the multiple materials and material cuts used in traditional sports footwear manufacture. Nike Flyknit is truly a minimalist design with maximum return.

The inspiration for Nike Flyknit was born from the common runner feedback, craving a shoe with the qualities of a sock: a snug fit that goes virtually unnoticed to the wearer.

But all the features that make a sock desirable have proven to make them a bad choice for a running upper. An inherently dynamic material like yarn generally has no structure or durability.

NIKE embarked on a four-year mission of micro-engineering static properties into pliable materials. It required teams of programmers, engineers and designers to create the proprietary technology needed to create the knit upper.

The next steps were to map out where the specific yarn and knit structures were needed. Applying 40 years of knowledge from working with runners, NIKE refined the precise placement of support, flexibility and breathability – all in one layer.

The result is precision engineering in its purest form, performance on display. Every element has a purpose: resulting in one of the lightest, best fitting running shoes NIKE has ever made.

Nike Flyknit will debut in a collection that celebrates the performance attributes of the technology, while at the same time hints at its future capabilities – HTM Flyknit.

HTM signifies the ongoing collaboration between style leader Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nike design legend Tinker Hatfield and Nike Inc. CEO and designer Mark Parker. Since 2002, the three have worked together to amplify new innovations, reinterpret existing designs and explore concepts that take the brand to new places.

There are three shoes in the HTM Flyknit collection:

HTM Racer
Identical to the Nike Flyknit Racer in function, it features the colors of the US Track and Field team. This version made its competition debut at the US Track & Field trials in January 2012.

HTM Trainer+
The HTM Trainer+ pushes the boundaries of what Nike Flyknit could do and showcases the aesthetic possibilities of fabrics and colors and patterns.

Pushing the technology in new ways, the HTM Trainer+ also integrates the tongue for an enhanced fit and shows off the personalization potential of knit, with knit-in the numbers of each of the collectibles, 1 to 100.

HTM Trainer+
The HTM Trainer+ features a more subtle complexity with a heathered, grey speckle in the fabric. It also features the Lunarlon midsole for all-day comfort.