Hi-Tec Infinity Flare Squash Shoe

Check out these Hi-Tec Infinty Flare styles, which came out in 2013.

They call this scheme Blue and “Tangelo”.

Images via holabirdsports.com

Spotted

For reference, this is a tangelo:

Photo by Jerrica Merz ∞

Anyway this tangelo fellow is Nick Matthew’s signature shoe. Here he is:

Photo by Steve Cubbins ∞

Only one problem though. As first reported over at Control the T: Nick Matthew’s Infinity Flare Hi-Tecs are actually his old Hi-Tec S701s painted to look like the new model:

You can see the pattern by the pinky toe (marked with a blue arrow above) matches the S701, Nick’s longtime shoe:

Here’s the actual Infinity Flare again:

Thanks to Bopper for relaying the tip. And Lauri Selänne for nearly getting it.

After word got out that out that Nick’s shoes were painted to look like a newer model, Nick responded:

Hi-Tec are perhaps the only company out there who invest time, money and resources into a shoe ESPECIALLY for squash. Asics & Adidas, to use two examples are both ‘court’ or ‘indoor’ shoes not specific to the needs of squash. It is very difficult to make a shoe which suits every foot, as we found out to our cost last year.

We are very confident in the new shoe suiting as many people as possible. And being a great product, I wouldn’t have put my name to it otherwise. My shoe has a slight tweak on the toe because of the unique nature of my foot which wouldn’t be appropriate to 99 per cent of other people. I look forward to continued success with Hi-Tec, the world’s number one squash shoe maker.”

Seems like more than just a ‘slight tweak on the toe’ to me. It’s a wholly different shoe, right?

My take is it’s a custom shoe that fits Nick’s weird foot. Yes, it’s the old S701 shape, but Hi-Tec no longer sells it, so it’s de facto custom. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure the golf clubs Tiger Woods plays with are not the same ones you buy in the store. Still, it might be nice if the manufacturers were more up front about this stuff. (Ahem, that includes Dunlop too.)

For their part, Hi-Tec made me laugh with their response:

@squashcrazy @squashsource @nickmatthew headline news…we constantly work with Nick to make better squash shoes!

— Hi-Tec (@hitecsports) December 4, 2013

Anyhow, Greg Lobban was wearing these at the 2015 US Open, and there was no intrigue involved:

Photo by Steve Cubbins ∞

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Here’s the relatively uncontroversial silver-yellow-black color scheme:

Image via holabirdsports.com

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This is the 2012 model, which was actually worn on-and-off by Nick:

Here’s a video of Nick talking about the shoes. Check out the interesting pattern of the laces.

And here’s another video with Nick Matthew, this one looking more like a TV commercial.

The roar at the end of that video is a bit weird, but overall still pretty cool. I like that this shoe has its own trailer.

It’s also available in this charcoal gray color:

Here’s Nick lunging for a ball in the finals of the 2013 Swedish Open.

Photo credit: Mikael Dunder

He’s wearing his new Hi-Tec Infinity Flare shoes. He actually started off the match wearing his old shoes, the Hi-Tec S701 4SYS. But after the first game he was treated for blisters on his feet, and when he came back on court he was wearing the Infinty Flares.

Here are a couple more photos of the Hi-Tec Infinity Flare.

Via Jordan Mansfield

Via Mike English

I’ve seen a few negative reviews on the these shoes. I’ve heard they caused a “nasty blister” and are “cheaply made and uncomfortable”. Other reviewers in this forum thread came to the defense of the Infinity Flares.