Nike Adapt Huarache: the original ugly dad trainers can now lace up via Siri

Move your sneaker fit from snug to relaxed and back again with just your voice, Apple Watch or iPhone app

Nike Adapt Huarache
(Image credit: Nike)
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Nike has had a few stabs at a self-lacing shoe, with the most recent being the Nike Adapt BB 'smart shoes' for basketball pros and people who like to dress like them. Now it's going full street and more tech with a self-lacing version of Nike Huarache, the original 'ugly' trainer. Adapt Huarache uses the same FitAdapt tech as BB but 'adapts' it for street wear instead of playing basketball or pretending to play basketball.

The self-lacing shoe has been a dream of sneaker nuts since Back To The Future 2 and with Nike Adapt Huarache they are now pretty much reality. Not only do they tighten and loosen themselves, they do so via voice command and/or from your future-o-matic wrist controller. Or 'via Siri or Apple Watch' to put in your puny human tongue.

Of course, 'self-lacing shoes' are actually not a very futuristic idea – nobody in Space Year 3000 is going to be keeping their shoes on with little bits of cord, are they? So what Nike Adapt Huarache actually does is use a small motor to tighten and relax permanently 'tied' plastic wires. 

Unlike BB which was aimed at actual athletes, Adapt Huarache is for what Nike calls 'everyday athletes', with the example given being someone running for the bus. You simply tell Siri (or use your Watch) to tighten up the lacing system so you can sprint after that mother, then when you're safely onboard, relax them so you can chill out like a boss. 

Nike Adapt Huarache

Various options for the Nike Adapt Huarache's interface and lacing system on iPhone (nb: you can't actually change the sneakers' colour from the app)

(Image credit: Nike)

But how do you pronounce Huarache?

Nike Adapt Huarache

Huh-rah-ché if you're Anglicising. The word actually derives from a type of Mexican sandal pronounced 'wuh-rah-chuh' however 

(Image credit: Nike)

Nike Huarache launched in 1991 and was among the original 'ugly trainers' with a bold and/or gross appearance, depending on your age or taste in shoes. The Adapt Huarache has a similar silhouette and lack of obvious Nike branding to the original but doesn't include the neoprene inner 'bootie' and outer 'exoskeleton' that really defined it.

Where the Huarache DNA is most obvious is in the fit – the double layered construction of the original were famously snug yet comfy. With a version of Nike FitAdapt updated from that used in the BB, a wider array of snugness settings is available 'amid various environments and situations'. Nike describes this as a 'key revolution given the multi-purpose nature of contemporary lifestyle footwear.'

The motor for tightening and loosening the shoe is placed in the mid-foot area of the shoe, and controlled from the Nike Adapt app with 'a themed interface specific to the Huarache'. A variety of fit presets are available, for various foot types and activities. As noted, the app can also be controlled via Apple Watch and/or Siri, allowing for easier on-the-go shifts in fit – the BB used a button on the shoe itself.

Nike Adapt Huarache: release date, availability and price

Nike Adapt Huarache

(Image credit: Nike)

• The initial colourways of Nike Adapt Huarache are out September 13 on SNKRS and SNEAKRS, and at select retailers. This will sell out faster than a speeding man running to catch a bus.

Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

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