Core77

Cryptide Sneakers: 3D-Printed in TPE

More sustainable kicks?

By Rain Noe - March 1, 2022

in Sneakers

Hey, so you remember Stephan Henrich, that German robotics designer/architect who came up with that crazy Infinity Bike concept?

More recently, Henrich has been experimenting with 3D printing using TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). Using a Sintratec S2 SLS printer, he created this pair of Cryptide Sneakers:

They're based on a 3D scan of his feet, for a perfect fit.

Here's Henrich himself explaining the shoe, as well as its somewhat silly name:

Enter a caption (optional)

My first thought when looking at them was that they wouldn't last too long, which is already my biggest gripe with sneakers. But then I remembered that TPE is completely recyclable. If these came with some kind of recyclable weatherproof uppers that were designed for disassembly, I think that wouldn't be a bad model for sustainable footwear, where your old worn-out pairs get turned into feedstock for a fresh pair.

o
2

Favorite This
Q
2

Comment

Comments

Zach W

a year ago

Z

Z

Reply

"Hey, remember that designer that proposed an almost un-ridable, ridiculously expensive, overly complicated and basically unusable bike? Yeah he designed a shoe too, using the same design principles."

!Report as spam
Richard Kuchinsky

a year ago

Z

Z

Reply

Nope

!Report as spam