Skechers Nite Owl : Shoe Review

It has been raining lately and because of the crazy weather, most of us have to adjust ourselves to run at irregular hours, and especially those who are working will have to run in the dark most of the time. And it is just timely when Skechers has release the Nite Owl series, a shoe that glows in the dark for the winter months. The concept is simple, by providing safety to runners through better visibility.

All you need to do is to put it under the sun or any light sources for at least 15 minutes and it will glow for a few hours! Being kiasu, we put ours under the sun for an hour.

After charging, like small children we tried checking out the glow effect by putting the shoes at various dark places...and we begin to notice the effect even though it is quite bright.

And then this is what they looked like inside the shoe-rack.

Under the late afternoon sun, you can't notice the glowing material, so it is just your typical Skechers GORun 2.

But as the sun begin to set, the glowing starts to get visible.

It really does feel safer when you know that you are visible to the rest of the traffic, especially when there are minimal street lighting available.

As it got darker, so the glowing became very obvious, and we felt like some kind of Star Wars characters.

The Nite Owl models shown here are the Skechers GOrun 2.

The GOrun 2 is basically a trainer that is designed for speed; with innovative performance technologies to promote a midfoot strike therefore works as a great transitional shoe to foster a barefoot running experience. You can check out our review of the GORun 2 here.  For us they are really suitable to be use as everyday trainers.

Here, the one with the black upper base is the male version.

We understand that the glow comes from Photoluminescent Technology. It utilizes Phosphorus, which is used in glow in the dark products. (I think they are like those material that are used to make little stars that you stick on the wall of little children room that will glow when you turn of the light, except that this one last very much longer with minimal charging time).

The technology is applied into a few specific parts on the uppers of the shoes. These 'treated' area basically absorbs light and then re-emit it slowly. Another thing we notice is that the Photoluminescent treatment is permanent therefore it cannot be remove easily.

The best way to “charge” the shoes is in direct sunlight but any other light source (even artificial ones) will be fine.  A 15 minutes or so will provide a full charge. The shoes will shine for a few hours and then it will slowly fade after that.