Walking and Thinking With Atoms

How we designed the ideal shoe for walking

Unlike most companies, Atoms did not start as a business. Instead, we (Sidra and Waqas) were focused on making what they called an ideal everyday shoe. And we further wrote what we meant by it. An ideal shoe should help one walk more, be comfortable for long standing hours, and provide support to our feet throughout the day. This function-first approach was again, different from how shoes are conventionally made where styles and trends take the center stage.

By many, Atoms are believed to be the world’s most comfortable shoes. Within the Atoms team, we like hearing that, but what we love hearing, even more, is how much Atoms are worn and put to use. Among all things that you can do in your Atoms, Walking is our favorite use case of Atoms. Beyond the obvious health benefits, walking has defined us as a human species. And by doing it more we can be better humans, as well as embrace our creativity even more In one of our next emails, we will go deeper into the hidden creative benefits of walking. Today we are focusing on;

How we designed Atoms to be the best walking shoes

When approaching the original Atoms design, the hardest part was to define and then find out the best materials for the perfect walking experience. From bottom to the top, we wanted the Atoms sole to be good for traction and durability as most of the time we are walking on streets, roads, and within buildings. We selected a rubberized outsole because of its effectiveness on traction, and reduced its weight, and increased its flexibility by making the cutouts on the outsole. This has now become the signature pattern of our both shoes.

The midsole foam of Atoms is the heart of our shoe, and it is our proprietary mix of EVA foam and blown rubber. I remember around that time, meeting a representative from BASF, a big German materials company, pitching them to offer their materials for our the-ideal-everyday-shoe. After getting a not-yes from them, we set out to make our own material for the midsole too. We understood how crucial the midsole is for our shoes and ultimately for our customers, like a living organ it supports and returns the energy back to you while walking. This would not have been possible if we had not found the right materials innovators in South Korea. Also, because we did not give up.Above the midsole is the Atoms Copper lining, the natural antimicrobial properties of copper keeps Atoms odor free, and they feel fresh even when you wear them without socks. It helps regulate temperature, for the shoe to not feel overheated, and ensures a pleasant climate within your shoe.

We also realized, a lot of time wearing a shoe, tying all its laces and getting out of the room feels more work than the actual walking. This is why we designed one of its kind elastic shoe laces, that should look like classic cotton laces while providing flexibility of premium elastic materials. This makes wearing Atoms a breeze, and they support their feet as you move your feet. This is perhaps one of the most loved feature by our customers.

You walk more with Atoms

In many ways, walking has never been easier and now with all the distractions walk has never been harder either. So our hope is that when you wear Atoms, you walk more. What if you could wear a shoe where every big and small detail is considered to enable you to walk more? This is why Atoms exist, and this is why most of our customers still come from word-of-mouth from their friends.