These Nikes Saved My Aching Feet in Paris—and Now They Come in a Hands-Free, Inclusive Design

Two days before a trip to Paris (my first since I was a kid!), I beefed it pretty hard on my bike during a gravel bike ride. I had scrapes, bumps, and bruises all down the left side of my body, and by the time I boarded the plane for a nearly 8-hour flight across the Atlantic, my skin was still raw. I had wrapped my left knee, the worst of my injuries, to prevent the tender wounds from rubbing.

By the first evening in France, though, it was clear I had wrapped my knee too tightly: my left ankle was puffy. I figured a day walking around a European city would restore the blood flow and I’d be feeling better, but the opposite happened. My shoes of choice—a reasonable pair of white sneakers designed for traversing a city—betrayed me, leaving me with two swollen feet. By my third afternoon in Paris, I was in my hotel room, on the bed, with my legs up the wall. My ankles were throbbing after walking 19,000 steps on stone and concrete, my pinky toes and the backs of my Achilles were wrapped in bandages, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to go to the Louvre the next day without being in agony. I had to make a decision: keep wearing the white shoes that matched all my outfits but were tortuous on my feet, or switch to a pair of Nikes that were a bright neon green but held the promise of comfort and stretch for my weary dogs.

The next morning I paired white denim with my slime-green Pegasus 41s ($140), and after the first pain-free hour, I knew I wasn’t going back. My raw pinky toes weren’t rubbing; my sore ankles were loving the plush padding. And best of all, the bottoms of my feet were supported by bouncy cushioning. My swelling that night was almost totally gone, and I was still getting 15,000 steps a day.

My last two days in Paris I switched to the Nike Pegasus EasyOns ($155), which I was given as part of a Paralympics immersion trip. These EasyOns were designed to be more inclusive and, well, truly easy to get on; the collapsible heels allow for hands-free entry, while toggles replace traditional laces that can be tightened sans any tying. They’re so convenient that a pair was included in the Team USA athlete bag for all Olympians and Paralympians.

Nike Pegasus EasyOn — $140.00

Sizes: 5-12, in half sizes | Colors: 2 | Features: collapsible heel, toggle laces

Pros: 

• Hands-free, inclusive design
• Sliding toggle for easier tightening
• Excellent cushioning, great for road running
• Comfortable
• Lightweight and breathable

Cons: 

• Select colors sold out

“The innovation started with our second employee, Jeff Johnson, who had a stroke in 2004 and suddenly he couldn’t use half his body,” said Sarah Reinertsen, sports marketing manager at Nike, Paralympian, and the first female leg amputee to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, during a panel. “He reached out to the team and said, ‘I’m struggling to wear our shoes; I don’t know how to tie them, and I think this is a great opportunity for us to make something better,’ that’s how it started. So, for 20 years we have been looking at how to solve problems and trying new things to make products better for everyone.”

The release of the EasyOns comes on the heels of other inclusivity initiatives from Nike, like the GameOn program supported by the USOPC, a yearlong career development program for athletes that was announced during the Paralympic Games in the hopes of encouraging athletes with disabilities to apply, and Nike’s Coach the Dream Summit, a four-day event with coaches and leaders, including Jon-Paul St. Germain, VP of sport development for the Special Olympics, which aimed to shape the future of inclusive youth sport and coaching.

But the best part of the EasyOns? They are just as comfortable as the regular Pegasuses, with the bouncy ReactX foam, a breathable upper, and a grippy sole. When I’m not wearing these, my arches can feel the difference and lack of support. No more bandage-wrapped pinky toes or irritated Achilles, and I get to rock that super-cool pattern (called Electric) seen on the soles of the track shoes worn by Olympians.

I’ve worn them just about everywhere I can for the last three weeks, including while traveling (the collapsible heel is so good for TSA), and they work just as well for a jog on slippery sidewalks as they do for running errands. My feet have thanked me time and again. As for my old white sneakers? I’m never looking back.