about

Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. The shoe was originally designed by Tinker Hatfield, who started out working for Nike as an architect designing shops and offices; he also designed the Air Jordan shoe.

Overview

The Nike Air Max shoe uses a large air cushioning unit at the heel which is visible from the side of the midsole in most models. Types of Air Max cushioning include:

• 180 Air in the early 1990s which was visible through the bottom of the shoe (although smaller portions of Air units are visible through the bottom of many Air Max models)
• "Air Max2" which does not have the holes in the cushioning unit and is of high pressure,
• "Tube Air" which is visible in several small circles on the midsole of the shoe,
• "Total Air" which is another word for full Air Max cushioning,
• "Tuned Air," which is a system of individual pods tuned to different areas of the foot,

History

Models include:

• Air Max (commonly known as Air Max 1) - 1987
• Air Stab - 1988
• Air Max II (commonly known as Air Max Light) - 1989
• Air Max III (commonly known as Air Max 90) - 1990
• Air Max IV (commonly known as Air Max BW or Air Max Classic) - 1991
• Air Structure Triax 91 - 1991
• Air Max 180 - 1991
• Air Max ST - 1992
• Air Tailwind 92 - 1992
• Air Max 93 (also known as Air Max 270) - 1993
• Air Max 2 - 1994
• Air Max 2 Charles Barkley 34 (commonly known as Air Max CB 34) - 1994
• Air Max Triax 94 - 1994
• Air Max Light 2 - 1994
• Air Max 95 - 1995
• Air Max Racer - 1995
• Air Max 96 - 1996
• Air Max 96 II
• Air Max 97
• Air Max 98
• Air Max 98 II
• Air Max 99
• Air Max Posterize SL
• Air Max Deluxe
• Air Max 2000
• Air Max Plus (commonly known as Air Max TN)
• Air Max Ltd - 2002
• Air Max 2003
• Air Max 2004
• Air Max Destined - 2006
• Air Max 360 - 2006
• Air Max 180 - 2006
• Air Max 360 - 2007
• Air Max 180 II - 2008
• Air Max Elite
• Air Max 180 III - 2008
• Air Max T-Zone - 2009
• Air Max Skyline
• Air Max 2009
• Air Max 90 Current - 2009 (redesign of the Air Max 90, with the most obvious change, the toe box)
• Air Maxim - 2009 (redesign of the Air Max 1, featuring Flywire or torch materials)
• Air Max BW Gen II - 2010 (redesign of the Air Max BW, featuring torch material)
• Air Max 2010
• Air Max Tailwind+ 2
• Air Max Trainer 1
• Air Max Trainer 1+ (Nike Air Max Trainer 1 with Flywire, toe strap, and 360 Air Max Technology)
• Air Max Turbulence - 2010
• Air Max 2011
• Air Max 24/7
• Air Max+ 2012
• Air Max+ 2013
• Air Max+ 2014
• Flyknit Air Max
• Jacquard pack Air Max- 2014

The 1993 model was the first to have the fully visible heel Air unit that was visible in the back as well as on the sides, and the 1995 model was the first to feature visible forefoot Air. The 1997 model was the first to include a full length Air bag.