NIKE CROSS TRAINERS

Changes Afoot
Many who were in the game back then would say that 92 was the last great year for the cross trainer. From 1994 onwards the gym fad was fading. Nike switched to a wider variety of shoes focused on specific training needs. To some it was a mistake, a travesty, breaking up a versatile and visually coherent line into a hodge podge of sport specific designs. It seemed to deny the very idea behind the original Air Trainer. To others though it was a breath of fresh air with new models like dedicated turf trainers and a wider variety of styles. There was new technology, sports habits had changed and it was time to move on.

Whatever your feelings, 1993 was certainly the end of an era. There was the Air Trainer Max II and it's sibling Air Trainer Pace. The Air Trainer Accel Mid and Low returned for a series II. There was even an Air Trainer Huarache II. But there was no Air Cross Trainer VI and instead, the Air Carnivore and Air Diamond Turf were a sign of the future. Only the Air Trainer Max III and Air Trainer Accel III carried on the legacy in 1994.

Final Note
There’s been a quite a few questions on some sneaker forums recently about the mythical Air Trainer II. One source of confusion has been the Air Trainer Max2. Some believed this to be the Air Trainer II despite the design being clearly more advanced than the Air Trainer III/Air Trainer SC I. Others believed it was the Air Trainer Max II but this is not the case either as there had already been three Air Trainer Max models. The Air Trainer Max2 featued Max2 air units, the first to have separate chambers with different air pressures within the one air unit. These were introduced in Fall 1994 in the Air Max2 runner, Air Max2 CB basketball shoe and Air Trainer Max2. Unfortunately in printing the box label Nike forgot to make the 2 superscript.