An article of footwear may include an upper forming a void within the footwear, a sole structure secured to the upper, and a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid. The sole structure includes a depression. The chamber is located within the void of the upper and located on the depression of the sole structure. The chamber may include a plurality of fluid-filled subchambers, a manifold, and a connection fluidically-connected at least one of the subchambers to the manifold. The subchambers may enclose the pressurized fluid at different pressures. The subchambers may be separated from one another by a bonded area in the direction extending between the heel and toe of the chamber.

A method of manufacturing a women's high heel shoe having improved safety and usability features including an improved heal providing improved safety with a widened heel tip with improved traction and reduced surface penetration susceptibility while not detracting from the stylish narrowed high heel design of the shoe and a leather sole with a non-slip insert.

A force absorbing device for a footwear appliance includes a shoe upper and a shoe sole having a planar sole surface, such that forces between the shoe upper and planar sole surface in ground contact are absorbed by force mitigation assemblies disposed in the shoe sole. A force mitigation assembly adapted for an athletic shoe includes a linkage to a wearer interface responsive to movement based on activity of the wearer. An attachment to a sole surface receives ground forces transmitted from frictional contact between the sole surface and a surface against which the sole is disposed, such as for running, turning, etc. A force mitigation assembly absorbs these forces received from the sole surface for directing the received force in a controlled manner. An elastic field in the force mitigation assembly is defined by a resilient material adapted to deform in response to the received force.

An athletic shoe with an energy return system is provided. The shoe includes a shoe sole assembly having a midsole, at least one stabilizer plug in a recess in the midsole, and at least one outsole member. In an aspect, the stabilizer plug has at least one trampoline recess disposed in an upper surface thereof, and at least one projection extending from a lower surface thereof that substantially underlies at least a portion of the at least one trampoline recess. An upper surface of the outsole is adapted to complimentarily receive the at least one projection extending from the lower stabilizer plug surface such that when a force is applied to the lower outsole surface during a foot strike, the at least one trampoline recess receives underlying portions of the stabilizer plug to accommodate elastic deflection of the underlying portions of the stabilizer plug and the outsole.

Provided is a device for insertion into a heeled shoe, having a rear region positioned to underlying a wearer's calcaneal tuberosity, the rear region being shaped to accommodate a planer surface of the wearer's calcaneal tuberosity, an upper surface of said rear region having a raised portion underlying an area of the wearer's calcaneus immediately forward of the wearer's calcaneus tuberosity; and a forward region positioned to underlie at least a portion of the shafts of the wearer's metatarsals, the second upper surface of said forward region having a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex position to underlie the shafts of the wearer's second and third metatarsals.

An insole for open-styled footwear that includes a mating attachment system for variably affixing the insole into footwear.

A method of forming a plate for an article of footwear includes applying a first strand portion to a base layer including positioning adjacent segments of the first strand portion to form a first layer on the base layer. The adjacent segments of the first strand portion having a greater density across a width of the plate between a medial side and a lateral side at a midfoot region of the plate than at a forefoot region of the plate and at a heel region of the plate. The method also includes applying at least one of heat and pressure to the first strand portion and to the base layer to conform the first strand portion and the base layer to a predetermined shape.

A footwear last (1) comprising a hind foot section and a forefoot section joined by a midfoot section. The forefoot section is defined by a three reference points which define a reference point circumference (9, FIGS. 1 and 2). The hind foot section is equivalent to a predetermined shoe (20) size (37) while the forefoot section is equivalent to a shoe (20) size (37) between 2 and 3 sizes larger than said predetermined shoe (20) size (37) using the Paris point system. An article of footwear made using said last (1) comprises an upper (22), a midsole (30, FIG. 6) and an outer sole (40). The upper (22) has an outer layer (21) and an inner layer, which inner layer comprises an elastic panel (25) arranged to cover the first and/or fifth metatarsophalangeal joint of a user. The midsole (30) has a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer is arranged to line the footbed of the shoe (20) and the second layer is arranged to provide a shock absorbing layer. The outer sole (40) is secured to the upper (22) on assembly to complete the article of footwear. FIG. 3 A footwear last (1) comprising a hind foot section and a forefoot section joined by a midfoot section. The forefoot section is defined by a three reference points which define a reference point circumference (9, FIGS. 1 and 2). The hind foot section is equivalent to a predetermined shoe (20) size (37) while the forefoot section is equivalent to a shoe (20) size (37) between 2 and 3 sizes larger than said predetermined shoe (20) size (37) using the Paris point system. An article of footwear made using said last (1) comprises an upper (22), a midsole (30, FIG. 6) and an outer sole (40). The upper (22) has an outer layer (21) and an inner layer, which inner layer comprises an elastic panel (25) arranged to cover the first and/or fifth metatarsophalangeal joint of a user. The midsole (30) has a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer is arranged to line the footbed of the shoe (20) and the second layer is arranged to provide a shock absorbing layer. The outer sole (40) is secured to the upper (22) on assembly to complete the article of footwear.

An athletic shoe having cleats, includes an upper and an outsole, wherein the outsole has a front portion capable of receiving the front of the foot, a central portion capable of receiving the middle of the foot, and a rear portion capable of receiving the heel. The rear portion of the outsole includes a hollow shell and a heel seat, the heel seat being removably arranged in a recess formed by the hollow shell, and the rear portion has a portion that is thickened relative to the front portion, the thickened portion being adjustable by modifying the thickness of the removable heel seat.