Nike Air Zoom Flight 95

About

Released by Nike in 1995, the Air Zoom Flight 95 (originally branded simply Air Zoom Flight) was designed by Eric Avar and became one of the first basketball shoes to carry Nike's Zoom Air cushioning technology, with forefoot Zoom Air units marking an early use of that branding. Its most distinctive feature is a set of circular TPU apertures set into the midsole, nicknamed bug-eyes or grasshoppers by fans, forming a structural framework meant to support hard cuts and quick bursts of speed. The upper combined synthetic and carbon-fiber reinforcement with a full-length Phylon midsole and an encapsulated heel Air-Sole unit. The shoe is most closely associated with a young Jason Kidd, who wore it during his rookie NBA season, though it was never an official signature model and was worn by numerous other NBA and NCAA players through 1995-96. Nike brought it back as a retro in 2008 and again in 2015 for a 20th-anniversary Black/Metallic Silver release.