Nike Is Making Real Self-Lacing Shoes You Can Buy

Yes, we've gotten there. Nike is finally making mass-market self-lacing shoes, just like in Back to the Future. Announced Wednesday afternoon by way of its website, the shoes are called the "Nike HyperAdapt 1.0" and will be available by the end of the year. 

As Nike's website breathlessly explains: 

Welcome the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, the first performance vehicle for Nike's latest platform breakthrough, adaptive lacing. The shoe translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical engineering into a product designed for movement. It challenges traditional understanding of fit, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing and tension preference.Functional simplicity reduces a typical athlete concern, distraction. "When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten," explains Tiffany Beers, Senior Innovator, NIKE, Inc., and the project's technical lead. "Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it's perfect."

It is as-yet unclear if the shoes can also solve world hunger and global warming, but frankly it seems promising. 

This isn't Nikes first time around with self-lacing shoes. Nike developed a limited run last year, though they were never widely for sale. These, evidently based on the same tech, will be, though in order to purchase a pair, you'll have to be a member of Nike+. 

The technology is undeniably cool, the ability to tighten and loosen on the go—a feature Nike touts—probably won't be super useful for most of us. And so he question really becomes "How much are you willing to pay in order to not bend down?"