Articles of footwear, including athletic footwear, include one or more of: (a) an upper; (b) a sole structure including a midsole and an outsole, the outsole having a plurality of polygonal lugs arranged about a base surface of the outsole. The outsole may include one or more regions wherein the characteristics of a portion of the lugs within a region differ from the characteristics of a portion of the lugs in another region. The lugs may differ, for example based on size, construction and/or spacing between the lugs. Methods of manufacturing such articles of footwear also are disclosed.

A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a sole plate that has a foot-facing surface with a forefoot portion, and a ground-facing surface opposite from the foot-facing surface. The sole plate has a plurality of grooves extending at least partially transversely relative to the sole plate in the forefoot portion of the foot-facing surface, and a plurality of ribs protruding at the ground-facing surface, extending at least partially transversely relative to the sole plate, and underlying the plurality of grooves. At least some grooves of the plurality of grooves are configured to be open when the sole structure is dorsiflexed in a first portion of a flexion range, and closed when the sole structure is dorsiflexed in a second portion of the flexion range that includes flex angles greater than in the first portion of the flexion range.

Disclosed is a spring-loaded boot. The invention consists of a rigid boot bound to a set of plates, with shock absorbers situated on each end of, and sandwiched between, the plates. The top plate provides the platform for binding a ski boot, and the bottom plate provides ground contact and traction. The device allows the user to bounce with pogo-like motion. The rigid shell of the boot provides the ample ankle support and protection needed for rugged terrain.

An article of footwear includes an upper and a sole coupled to the upper. The sole includes a main body and a projection extending downwardly from the main body. The projection includes a projection assembly. The projection assembly includes a first pod and a second pod coupled to the first pod by a connecting tube.

A sole assembly for an article of footwear is disclosed. The sole assembly includes a central support structure that extends along the sole assembly in the longitudinal direction. The sole assembly includes forefoot wing portions extending away from the central support structure in the lateral direction in the forefoot region of the sole assembly. The sole assembly also includes stability rib portions extending away from the central support structure in the lateral direction in the midfoot region of the sole assembly. The central support structure provides varying amounts of stiffness and flexibility to the sole assembly and the forefoot wing portions and stability rib portions provide additional stiffness and flexibility to desired portions of the sole assembly.

A method of forming a sole assembly includes positioning a plurality of preforms having different colors together to form a sole assembly preform and placing the sole assembly preform in a recess in a first portion of a mold assembly. The sole assembly preform is subjected to heat for a predetermined amount of time such that the plurality of preforms bond to one another to form a sole assembly.

An article of footwear and method of making an article of footwear are disclosed. The article includes an outsole having an outsole member. The outsole member includes a first piece and a second piece. The first piece is spaced from a base by a first vertical distance. The second piece is spaced from the base by a second vertical distance, the first vertical distance being greater than the second vertical distance.

An article of footwear includes a sole having a lower surface, and a reactive element disposed on the lower surface of the sole. The reactive element has an exposed surface, and the reactive element is configured to transition the exposed surface between a first state and a second state in response to a compression force applied to the reactive element by an external ground surface in a user activity, to prevent accumulation of ground surface material, such as mud, dirt, clay, sand, slush, etc., compacting on the sole of the article of footwear in the user activity. The reactive element may include an elastomeric dome shaped popper that compresses flat in response to a compression force and then pops back to a non-compressed state in response to release of the compression force.

An article of footwear may include an upper and a sole structure fixedly attached to a bottom portion of the upper. The sole structure may include a sole component including a baseplate having a bottom surface and at least a first ground engaging member extending substantially downward from the bottom surface of the baseplate, the first ground engaging member having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. In addition, the sole structure may also include a tapered support structure having a substantially pyramidal shape and extending substantially downward from the bottom surface of the baseplate, abutting the first ground engaging member at a side portion, and partially surrounding the first ground engaging member such that a portion of the first ground engaging member is exposed between edges of the tapered support structure. Also, the tapered support structure may extend downward from the baseplate less than the first ground engaging member.

An article of footwear with a sole system includes a sole member and a protruding member assembly. The sole system provides tactile sensation. Protruding members of the protruding member assembly can translate through holes in the sole member to facilitate tactile sensation.