Hasta La Ideas

While most sneaker manufacturers use injection-molded EVA foam for their midsoles, a Beijing-based company called LuxCreo is going with 3D-printed midsoles.

LuxCreo says that these midsoles are “mega resilient” compared to EVA, with no loss of compression over time; the company makes the bold claim that the millionth step in one of their kicks offers the same level of cushioning as the first step.

The company says the uppers are made from “AirMore multi-layer fabric,” which in conjunction with the open-lattice design of the midsoles makes the shoes both waterproof and breathable. I’d never heard of AirMore and looked into it; it appears to be this stuff from Chinese manufacturer Yie-Cheng Textiles. I couldn’t find any meaningful information in English on their site, other than that the material is “either knitted or woven” and the aforementioned breathable/waterproof claims. LuxCreo says the material makes their sneakers easy to clean.

The 3D printing method they’re using is DLP (Digital Light Projection), a competing technology to SLA. LuxCreo’s brand name for their DLP process is LEAP, for “light enabled additive production.” Incredibly, they write that LEAP “enables printing speeds 100x faster than traditional 3D printers,” though it’s not clear what they mean by “traditional.”

Curiously, despite the customization benefits of 3D printing, the company is offering the sneakers in just two colorways, and only in half-sizes.

The Bisca360 sneakers are currently up on Kickstarter:

At press time they had $30,201 in pledges on a $5,000 goal, with 16 days left to pledge.