Reebok Pump
From Solepedia.com - Online Sneaker Encyclopedia
Contents |
Colors
General Information
The Reebok Pump was a line of athletic shoes that was extremely popular. It was the first shoe to have a internal inflation mechanism that regulated the pressure in the air cushion. The advertising campaign for the original shoes used the tag line "Pump Up, Air Out" which, in addition to describing the mechanism's operation, was a not-so-subtle jab at competitor Nike and its "Air" cushioning system.
History
The original Reebok Pump was released in 1989, as a basketball high-top shoe. The shoe featured a prominent tongue with a round orange bulb that controlled the inflation mechanism. At about US$175 a pair, they were extremely expensive compared to other retail athletic shoes at the time; and became somewhat of a status symbol on urban basketball courts and eventually in suburban high schools.
After the success of the basketball shoe, Reebok designed pump shoes for football, tennis, and track. Some models used a standard CO2 cylinder instead of the pump for weight considerations.
The patent for the pump mechanism is USPTO #5113599
Version 2.0
On November 12, 2004, Reebok announced that it was re-launching the popular Pump line. The new Pump line has no laces and is not manually inflated. It is triggered and automatically regulated by weight placed on the ball of the foot. The new line features the classic basketball shoes, as well as a line of running shoes and cross-trainers.
In addition, Reebok announced that they would also re-release the classic Pumps as a limited edition "Reebok Classic Pump Bringback".
