A comfort system for Cowboy and work boots, including an insole chassis, an insole chassis backing board, and cushioning pads for absorbing and attenuating shocks encountered by a wearer of the boots. Cushioning pads are secured to a surface of the insole chassis backing board, and apertures in the insole chassis allow the cushions to pass through. Additional cushioning pads are retained in recesses in the midsole. Pads on insole chassis backing board and midsole are vertically aligned. A steel toe inset is utilized in conjunction with the comfort system for work boots. A rim may depend below the midsole to receive a foamed plastic pad.

A sole structure includes a first midsole portion, a second midsole portion disposed below the first midsole part, and a support plate stacked between the first midsole portion and the second midsole portion, disposed at a location corresponding at least to a hindfoot portion, and having a higher rigidity than the first midsole portion and the second midsole portion. The support plate includes: a base portion having a corrugated shape with at least one peak and at least one valley; and first and second support portions having a corrugated shape and branched apart from each other from a peripheral edge portion located on an inner side of the base portion toward the first midsole portion and the second midsole portion, respectively. The valley of the second support portion is disposed at a location corresponding to a sustentaculum tali.

An anti-fatigue shoe apparatus is presented that is designed to reduce foot fatigue and discomfort. The anti-fatigue shoe apparatus makes use of novel combinations of insole, midsole, outsole, and comfort material configurations and designs to provide comfort, support, and flexibility within work footwear. The anti-fatigue shoe apparatus includes a raised arch support piece that cradles the foot's natural arch, reducing torque and improving stability. Toe and heel comfort zones made of cushioning materials provide targeted support and pressure relief. In some embodiments an injection system for providing a liquid comfort material injected into the toe and heel zones through canals in the outsole are presented for customized cushioning. The invention comes in various material combinations.

A sole includes a midsole, and the midsole includes a toe support portion, a midfoot support portion, and an intervening portion. The sole includes a toe contact surface and a midfoot contact surface. The intervening portion has a recessed portion having a shape recessed from an imaginary curved surface toward a side of a wearer's foot. A length between the imaginary curved surface and the recessed portion is greater than or equal to 13% and less than or equal to 50% of a thickness of a portion of the intervening portion where the recessed portion is provided. The midsole has a front side region surrounded by a front line and a rear line, and an area of the recessed portion in plan view is greater than or equal to 35% and less than or equal to 50% of an area of the front side region in plan view.

An article of footwear has a midsole assembly that includes a fluid-filled bladder element having a substantially arc-shaped heel portion and having a lateral arm portion and a medial arm portion spaced from the lateral arm portion. Each of the arm portions extend from the heel portion. The bladder element is configured to be positioned with the heel portion in the heel region of midsole assembly, and the arm portions extending from the heel region to a forefoot region along a peripheral region. A method of manufacturing and a mold assembly for such an article of footwear are provided.

Provided herein are mid-soles, sole assemblies, footwear inserts and articles of footwear for walking and running. The midsoles include three cushioning members where the height of the midsole provides a zero drop elevation. The midsole architecture provides dynamic variable resistance that improves performance by using different densities and angles of component mid-sole members that will allow the wearer to move through a full range of motion during walking or running with muscle effort remaining constant while shifting the workload from muscles that have limited power in certain positions, to those with more explosive and endurance capabilities in those same positions.

An article of footwear includes an outsole structure, where the outsole structure includes a plurality of layers with at least two rubber layers and at least one textile layer disposed between the two rubber layers. The outsole structure can further include a base structure including the plurality of layers and a plurality of ground engaging structures coupled with and extending from a surface of an exposed rubber layer of the base structure.

A system and a method of asymmetric shock absorption and torsion cushioning for footwear. The asymmetric shock absorption system providing an upper plate attached to the upper section of the footwear and a lower plate attached to the lower section of the footwear. The upper plate may be in direct contact with or spaced apart from the lower plate. A flexible perimeter band extends around the entire perimeter of the sole of the footwear and permanently connects the upper section to the lower section of the footwear. The flexible perimeter band may have a low-profile and extend around only the perimeter of the upper and lower plates. The flexible perimeter band may wrap around one or more plate to provide for limited horizontal movement, e.g., lateral, longitudinal, or both lateral and longitudinal, between the upper section of the footwear and the lower section of the footwear.

A sole structure for an article of footwear is provided. The sole structure includes an outsole having a ground-engaging surface and an upper surface formed on an opposite side of the outsole than the ground-engaging surface. A first cushion is disposed proximate to a medial side of the sole structure and includes a first fluid-filled chamber attached to the upper surface of the outsole and a second fluid-filled chamber attached to the first fluid-filled chamber and disposed between the first fluid-filled chamber and the upper. A second cushion is disposed proximate to a lateral side of the sole structure and includes a third fluid-filled chamber attached to the upper surface of the outsole and a fourth fluid-filled chamber attached to the third fluid-filled chamber and disposed between the third fluid-filled chamber and the upper. The second cushion is fluidly isolated from the first cushion.

Safety shoes with a ventilation structure are provided. The safety shoes include a toecap on a front inner part, a plurality of longitudinal ventilation holes formed at one side of the toecap, an outer skin with an opening which laterally extends to overlap and communicate with the ventilation hole, the outer skin joined with an outer surface of the toecap, and an inner skin formed of a waterproof and breathable function material and joined with the inside of the opening. Thus, user's feet may be maintained always agreeably.