Hard to believe. It’s virtually impossible to get your hands on a recurve bow in the United States without ordering through a catalog, but two competing companies are selling archery shoes. Both Nike and Adidas have a shoe for Olympic archery. Adidas has the “Adistar” archery shoe. It looks like a (very) high top cross training shoe. Nike’s contribution is more subdued with their Nike Akribis used by many archery teams. USA had a different design in mind however.

Team USA’s archery technique was so different from the rest of the competition that Nike designers built a custom shoe specifically for the Federation. The US asked for footwear that facilitates a more grounded stance, with the heel less elevated than that of the Nike Akribis. The answer was a modified version of the Nike Dunkesto, Nike’s hybrid between the iconic Dunk basketball shoe and the Nike Presto trainer. Taking the best of both shoes – Dunk’s flat sole and Nike Presto’s lightweight breathability – the Nike Dunkesto archery shoe adds customized abrasion-resistant leather vamps for each athlete, dependent upon where they rest the bow on their shoe. The colors and graphics used on the upper are also designed to compliment Team USA’s uniform. The style is Sport Red, White, and Obsidian Blue and the sockliners are decorated with tattoo-inspired detailing featuring a torch and the number “1776.”

Read more here about the Nike Akribis:
Nike Akribis (Greek for “Accurate”)

More about the Adidas Adistar:
adidas adistar Beijing Archery - Mens Cross Training Shoes