Athletic shoe construction

An athletic shoe comprising;

• an upper, said upper comprising a foot conforming support member,
• an inflatable chamber, said inflatable chamber being attached to the exterior of said foot conforming support member such that said inflatable chamber forms an outermost surface of the upper,
• an inflation mechanism, and
• a fluid release mechanism;
• and
• a sole, said sole including a forefoot component, a heel component and an arch support being made of a material having a rigidity sufficient to support the arch of a wearer, said arch support being positioned below and shaped to conform to the arch of a wearer, said arch support spanning between said forefoot component and said heel component such that said forefoot component is separated in its entirety from said heel component.

An athletic shoe having a forefoot region and a heel region, comprising:

• an upper;
• and
• a sole, said sole comprising a rigid carrier element, a forefoot unit mounted to said carrier element in the forefoot region of the shoe and a heel unit mounted to said carrier element in the heel region of the shoe;
• wherein said forefoot unit comprises a toe component, two lateral components and a medial component.

An athletic shoe having a forefoot region and a heel region, comprising:

• an upper;
• and
• a sole, said sole comprising a carrier element, a forefoot unit mounted to said carrier element in the forefoot region of the shoe and a heel unit mounted to said carrier element in the heel region of the shoe;
• wherein said carrier element comprises a sheet of honeycomb material.