What is PHORENE™?
PHORENE™ is a truly radical material developed by the outdoor experts at ECCO. It will change how you experience the wild, the city and everywhere in between. Found in the midsole of ECCO Outdoor styles, its exceptional bounce, ultra-light feel and luxurious softness make it a wonder material.
How PHORENE™ Works
PHORENE™ is a proprietary polyurethane compound developed by ECCO. It is engineered to deliver what conventional midsole PU cannot - genuine softness that does not degrade, shock absorption that holds across a full day, and energy return that makes a measurable difference with every step. At heel strike, PHORENE™ absorbs twice the shock of standard midsole PU. At push-off, it returns 50% more energy - reducing the cumulative load your legs and feet carry across thousands of steps in a single day. That difference is marginal in the first hour. By the sixth, it is the difference between a shoe you are still comfortable in and one you are ready to take off.
Ultra Lightweight
Laboratory tests compared PHORENE™ with MS.PU, or midsole PU. PHORENE™ was 33 percent lighter at the same volume. Being so light, PHORENE™ is ideal for shoes and products that are designed for speed.
Superior Shock Absorption
Laboratory tests showed the ‘shock absorption’ of PHORENE™ was twice as effective when compared with MS.PU, or midsole PU.
Energy Rebound
PHORENE returns energy with every single step. What does that mean? It means that PHORENE™ will help to propel you along a hiking trail or a city street. When laboratory tested, PHORENE™ returned 50 percent more energy than MS.PU.
The Difference Across a Long Day
Most midsole materials perform adequately in the first hour. The real test is the fifth, sixth, and seventh hour of continuous wear - when conventional materials begin to compress, flatten, and transfer more impact directly to the foot. PHORENE™ maintains its softness and pliability across that full duration because of how it behaves at a material level, not because of added thickness or visible sole geometry. The shoe looks exactly as it should. The underfoot experience is simply better than the silhouette suggests it should be.
Maximum Flexibility
Even when the temperature drops as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, PHORENE™ is still just as soft and as pliable, and you can still experience the same ‘step-in’ comfort. When you’re in extreme conditions, you’ll know you can rely on the temperature-blind PHORENE™ in your ECCO Outdoor shoe.
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