Air Max Dn: The Next Era of Air

What if you fully reimagine an icon? Not just tinker with a few changes, but dream, develop and debut a completely new paradigm for how a seminal footwear silhouette looks and feels underfoot.

Bold and sleek, the Nike Air Max Dn marks a new generation in the footwear cushioning revolution that Nike began more than three decades ago, arriving with a reimagined platform for self-expression — and what it feels like to walk on Air.

Nike’s innovation, design, engineering and research teams were fixated on creating a shoe with an incomparable look and feel. The solution is the development of Dynamic Air.

Appearing for the first time in the Air Max Dn, Dynamic Air is realized in a new dual-chamber, four-tubed Nike Air unit designed for unreal comfort, a smooth stride and max bounce. The dual-pressure air unit is comprised of two pressurized chambers, each with two tubes. The two chambers are specifically tuned with higher pressure in the back two tubes (15 psi) and lower pressure in the front two tubes (5 psi). As you move, air freely flows between the tubes in each chamber. This setup allows air to respond to the pressure as you move, delivering a smooth sensation with every step that isn’t just comfortable — it’s interactive.

“We call it ‘dynamic motion,’” says Reggie Hunter, Product Director for Nike Lifestyle Footwear. “The independent setup of the chambers means that the air unit can respond to the load of your body with each step. The feeling of heel-to-toe movement is seamless because the air unit is interacting in real time with your foot and moves with you. The Air Max Dn was the first time we were able to unlock that feeling.”

“For example, in the Dn, you’d think the softest tube in terms of psi should go in the heel for crash landing and better transition. But actually, we found that transition was best when the firmest tube was under the heel and the softest was under the midfoot.”  says Kathy Gomez, Nike VP, NXT Footwear.

Together, Nike teams obsessed every detail of the shoe to provide all-day comfort and style. A TPU shank arch clip provides structure and support around the midfoot, and a TPU heel counter supports the Achilles. Injected Phylon foam surrounds the air unit, providing comfort underfoot, while a street-ready rubber outsole wraps around the heel to provide traction and durability.

The upper also had to emote the dreamy, fluid feeling of that heel-to-toe transition. The material teams suggested using a modern textile featuring a haptic, textured overlay with a silicone finish. The air unit works in concert with every other shoe component, designed with the same level of innovation, science and research that goes into Nike’s elite performance shoes.

The result: a bold new Air Max model that disrupts and reimagines the future of Nike Air with each step.