The Laser Running shoes were manufactured in Auckland, New Zealand in the 1980’s. A unique feature of the shoes was a patented open toe design. The were designed and developed by the brother of the running coach Arthur Lydiard, Graeme.
From the patent application:
An athletic shoe is provided with an open-toe to facilitate cooling of the wearers’ foot during running. The tongue of the shoe is attached to one side edge of the shoe.
Also, according to an article in the New York Times, the shoe range included:
The Lydico line of shoes, which has three models for men and one for women, is produced by the Lydiard Shoe Company of Auckland. The shoes come with two or three plugs, depending on the model, which will change the midsole of the shoe from soft to firm. Lydiard refers to its cushioning technology as I.C.E., for impact cushion exchange.
The brand is no longer available and does not show up like some other discontinued brands in the search engine popularity of running shoes.
External Links:
Graeme Lydiard at LinkedIn
Related Topics:
Arthur Lydiard
Hi Clarke. Are these shoes still available? I would be interested in taking them of your hands.
Kind regards, Stephen
They also made a fantastic racing flat (closed toe) and an unbreakable trail shoe. Great shoes to train and race in, excellent for both pronators and supinators before other companies started developing lasts to suit both conditions
Hi Paddy. Do you have a pair of these running shoes or know where I could get a pair? Cheers..
I had two pairs of Laser Astros in the mid 1980s. They were Airforce Blue in a UK 12F, so very wide. Although not quite the case now, back then all New Zealanders had very wide feet because we prefer to go barefoot and in those days we were expected to do Physical Education barefoot.
The first pair of these I had re-soled after a year of heavy use. The Lidiard shoe company looked at the wear and custom made the new outer and inner soles, with much thicker arch support and asymmetrical sorbithane shock absorption. Sadly I now require a US 14 in at least a 4e width and there’s nothing on the market. Bring back the 1980s because Laser made shoes that would have fit perfectly.