Most running shoes come with a pre-determined shape and feel. Your foot, once you slip it into the shoe, decides whether it has found a comfortable home. The shoe may feel good but provide too little support. Or the support might be there but the shoe feels too tight around your midfoot. You hang your head, put the shoe back in the box and move on to the next pair.
With the Reebok ZPump Fusion, you control the shoe. The shoe's tagline, "The shoe that adapts to you," could not be more true. Reebok's famous pump technology sits on the side, allowing you to inflate, or pump, the ZPump Fusion to the precise pressure and fit you like. It's almost like watching a shoe being built around your foot in real time.
"I think the PUMP is a very comfortable shoe," said Cam McDaniel, a running back from Notre Dame who tested it this off-season. "I think it'll be great for straight-line speed, and you'll be able to use it functionally for lifts and workouts."
The ZPump's upper is called the Fusion Fit Sleeve, and it conforms to your foot as you pump up the shoe. The toe box sits on its own, unaffected by the pump, so you can move your toes freely when you're running or cross training.
The outsole, inspired by ZRated tires, features carbon rubber beneath both the heel and toe box for maximum traction as you come in and out of cuts.
The ZPump weighs in at just under 10 ounces and features a 10mm midsole drop.
"They are definitely lighter than my cross trainers, said Aaron Bradley, a former wide receiver at Ohio State. "It really gripped the ground, and I was able to push out."
The ZPump Fusion is available at Reebok.com right now for $110.
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