One non-negotiable component of any marathon training block for me is recovery sessions in Normatec boots. I slip on the inflatable leg sleeves and kick back for 45 minutes to an hour in the evening after every long run and most workouts. I swear that the massage-Health & Injuries.
Now, Hyperice is rolling out a smaller, more targeted massage device that you might find just as indispensable as I have. The Hyperboot, a collaboration with Nike, Soundcore AeroClip: My new favourite open-ear buds sneaker with three inflatable chambers and heating elements to aid with warm-up and recovery.
While it doesn’t officially go on sale until October in the UK, I got a pair of the Hyperboot last month and have been testing it during some of the biggest weeks of my marathon-training cycle. Here’s how it works and how I found it helped in my own training.
Key functionality
What everyones reading introduced the inflatable boot (as well as a vest), touting the tech’s benefits for both warm-up and recovery from sports. At the time, they were not available for purchase, but the boot is now being released and you’ll soon(ish) be able to buy a pair of your own. The boot, in particular, is most relevant for runners because, let’s face it, our feet are bound to hurt after dozens of miles spent running every week; we experience loads as high as 2.5 times our body weight with every stride. And, those of us who run trails will often have tender ankles.
The Hyperboot uses inflatable bladders bonded into the upper of the shoe to squeeze around your heel and Achilles — inflating and deflating to help increase blood flow and provide a massage-like experience. It’s the same squeeze-and-release approach that the company uses in its Normatec leg sleeves. The bladders offer three different levels of compression and can be controlled by buttons along the inside of each heel. The squeeze is really targeted around your heel, Achilles, and lower calf — you can feel a little pressure as far forward as your arch, but the pressure is strongest further back. The bladders work in concert with heating elements that warm the entire foot — also providing three levels of temperature.
The biggest differences from the inflatable leg sleeves are the targeted therapy and mobility. With a hoops-like trainer design, you can actually walk around with the Hyperboot on your feet. I never really had a reason to walk around in the boots other than to annoy my Runner’s World colleagues at their desks or to go grab a snack from my kitchen, but this would be helpful if you take them to the track, for example. Before an interval session, you could stroll to the restroom and otherwise move around to fill water bottles and get everything ready for running fast — you can’t do that when immobilsed from foot to hip in the leg sleeves.
But, also, they really are limited to the feet — and specifically the back half of your foot. If you have plantar fasciitis or other concerns, you may still enjoy the heating elements, but you won’t get much by way of massaging relief from the Hyperboot.
How I used the Hyperboot
My test pair of the Hyperboot arrived during my training cycle for a spring marathon. By that point, I’d already completed more than 12 weeks of training, averaging over 100 miles per week, including a dozen Sunday long runs of more than 20 miles. Fatigue was getting real, my friends.
Surprisingly, my Achilles had been unusually quiet during that entire build. I often suffer from tight calves and tender Achilles tendons in both legs. If I’m diligent about doing daily sessions of heel dips, the pain subsides. But, when I slack off, I pay the price — especially early in the morning when I first get out of bed, and during the first mile or two of any run. I need to let the Achilles loosen up before I’m able to move freely without any pain. But I had largely been ignoring my calves and Achilles the past few months without any troubles.
When I got the Hyperboot to test, my left Achilles had started barking. Call it coincidence, or maybe it was an obvious outcome to my high workload. I had just finished a half-marathon race that I ran at goal marathon pace. I was, admittedly, pushing my training —running for as much as two hours every single day. And, I was feeling plenty of little aches.
So, I welcomed the Hyperboot into my recovery routine. (‘Routine’ isn’t really accurate, as my recovery on most days isn’t much more than sitting at my desk, sipping iced coffee, and waiting seven or eight hours until I can go run again.) I mostly stuck with the Normatec Elite leg sleeves after my hardest training days —I like the full leg and foot squeeze that those deliver. But I found that I started reaching for the Hyperboot more often just before heading out for lunchtime intervals and tempo runs. Instead of getting up stiffly from my desk to go get changed, I’d slip the boots on for 10 to 15 minutes beforehand, while I worked, and feel downright spry as I headed for the changing room.
I really love the heat and compression combo. In fact, the heat can be a little too intense. To a fault, I usually just crank things up to max: I always ride an e-bike in turbo mode, for example; it might as well not even come with more economical settings. In the case of the Hyperboot, I immediately nudged the compression and heat levels to 3…until it got too toasty!
On level 3, the heat can be extremely intense. Hyperice specs the temperature ranges at 43 degrees Celsius on the lowest setting, 47 degrees at position 2, and 51 degrees at its highest. I felt like my skin was going to burn on 3. I stuck a thermometer probe down the back of the boot and the temperature got as hot as 54 degrees when the boot squeezed (the temperature eased up when the pressure subsided). For context, my kitchen tap water only gets to 46 degrees and I can’t hold my hands under it comfortably very long. So, I punched the temp setting down to 2 and found it still plenty effective for my warm-up sessions.
Battery life proved to be quite impressive. I ran my test pair on high compression and level 2 heat for 48 minutes. Hyperice says the battery will last one to 1.5 hours on max heat and compression. One note: the boots paused every 18 to 19 minutes, and I had to reach down to press the start/stop button again.
Potential drawbacks
The Hyperboot is no small investment. At $899/£899, they’ll set you back six pairs of the Adidas Adizero Evo SL, a daily training shoe we love so much right now. But, if you suffer from ankle pain or Achilles tendon tightness, there might be no price too great if you can make the pain disappear. Even so, these have limited utility.
There is the possibility that you could travel with the Hyperboot. Would you want to wear these on an airplane? Not me. They’re just too bulky and heavy. Each boot weighs three times as much as what I would consider a ‘heavy’ daily training shoe. Plus, the thick sole and housing for all the electronics make it so the two boots take up most of a carry-on suitcase. So, I’m leaving them at home or the office.
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