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SOMETIME LAST FALL, a man walked into the Nike store in Pasadena, California. He was a runner, it was a running-centric store, and he was there to buy a pair of running shoes just like the ones he had worn in the past. The clerk asked him if he’d be willing to have his feet measured a new way. “I’m a 9,” the runner said. “I’ve always been a 9. Just give me a 9.” Still, he relented. The runner walked out with a size 10.
What size shoe do you wear? Wait, let’s make that more specific. What size Nike do you wear? Depending on the model you’re talking about—Air Max, Jordans, Air Force Ones, a bootie-like shoe like a Flyknit Vapormax, or even a soccer cleat or other specialized performance shoe—you might be looking at a range of one and a half sizes. That’s due to a bunch of different factors: the shape of your foot, the materials of the shoe, the lacing or stitching pattern, even personal preference. That Pasadena store was one of three locations stealth-testing a technology the company calls Nike Fit—a system that takes all those factors into account and tells you exactly what size you really are, in any shoe Nike makes.