Nike Vision and ZEISS Collaborate for Performance Athletic Eyewear

Working together since 1998, ZEISS has been the optics production partner of choice since Nike entered the sunglass market. As one of the industry leaders in developing and producing top-of-the-line optic lenses, ZEISS and Nike Vision elevate the standard of performance athletic eyewear in 2016, creating state-of-the-art optics that deliver optimum acuity.

Aalen, Germany | 31 March 2016 | ZEISS Vision Care

This ensures the athlete can lock on a moving target, accurately identify objects and assess distance accurately. Nike’s brand name is synonymous with innovation across categories and today’s athlete continues to evolve. The time was ripe for a reinvention of performance (and more specifically, running) eyewear.

Flash back to late Summer 2014, when a team of Nike Vision designers approached their longtime partners with a never-before-seen concept for running eyewear. To make the eyewear a reality, the ZEISS team went back to the drawing board, expanding beyond the realm of simply eyewear manufacturing to investigate what could be done to produce the designs. Pulling together a team of optics, ophthalmology and manufacturing experts and more, ZEISS staff looked to the company’s other departments, such as its production unit and Industrial Metrology business group, for a solution.

The ZEISS teams in Germany and Italy developed metrics for a new mold specific to Nike Vision’s eyewear – starting from scratch, their goal was to create a mold that would be as close to optically perfect as humanly possible. By manufacturing a custom mold, the team also eliminated on the waste that occurs during the cutting down of pre-existing molds in the typical production process. Once produced, the mold was polished using the same diamond cutting technology used to polish ultra-precise optical surfaces, ensuring as little blur as possible, by removing all flaws in the eyewear’s mold. The laborious process meant ZEISS’ team was required to cut the mold to the geometric measurements of the sunglass’s final product. Upwards of 30 revisions were required to perfect the specifications and mathematics for the final product.

A true testament to the rigorous standards that both Nike Vision and ZEISS hold their designs to, the teams obsessed over the smallest details to ensure that the end result meets the needs of the world’s best athletes. “For decades the strict optical 0.09D standards for sunglasses have constrained designers to use only simple spheres and torics for the optical surfaces in their premium products. ZEISS has adapted advanced freeform design and manufacturing techniques developed for ophthalmic and precision optics to achieve 0.06D optical performance for general complex shaped surfaces. This extra freedom has been exploited by the creative team at Nike and frame-manufacturer Marchon to simultaneously optimize the fit, the aerodynamics, and the aesthetics of their new line of premium athletic eyewear without compromising optical performance”, said Steve Sprat, lens designer for the Nike+Zeiss project.

The new collection with Vaporwing and Vaporwing Elite models offers runners of all levels highly technical designs engineered for both speed and comfort. Designed around the specific needs of runners, the Spring 2016 assortment pushes the envelope of athletic innovation and style. Using cutting-edge manufacturing methods, the Spring 2016 collection raises the bar for performance eyewear. For the athlete to stay focused, their eyewear needs to stay put. The developed new materials and vision technology to create high-performance eyewear that stays stable during movement, grips when the athlete sweats and conforms to the shape of his or her face for maximum comfort.

Nike’s running eyewear offers optimal stability and fit for training and competing. On the field, on the trail, or on the course, eyewear that doesn’t fog up is essential. Nike Vision attacks the program from all angles, looking beyond the lenses instead to the whole frame, ensuring optimum ventilation for peak performance.