What does Air Max mean at Nike?

Air Max refers to the range in which the air chamber in the sole is made visible. Nike had used that cushioning before, but with Air Max it was shown through a window in the sole instead of being hidden.

Which Air Max was the first?

The Air Max 1 from 1987, designed by Tinker Hatfield. That was the first model in which the air chamber was visible through a cutout in the sole.

What is the design of the Air Max based on?

On the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where pipes, ducts and escalators are on the outside of the building. Tinker Hatfield applied that inversion to the shoe: what is normally hidden became its face.

On March 26, the date the Air Max 1 was released in 1987. Nike uses that day each year for reissues and new releases in the line.

Which Air Max should I choose?

That depends on the silhouette you want, because the generations differ greatly in height and shape. Look at the sole: that's where the difference lies between a compact classic like the 90 and a heavily stacked model like the 270.

Nike Air Max – compare prices & all colorways

Q: What is the difference between the Air Max 90, 95, 97 and 270?

Mostly how much air you see and where. The 90 enlarged and framed the window in the heel. The 95 was the first to also show visible air in the forefoot. In the 97 the chamber runs the full length. The 270 has a heel that is almost entirely made of air.

Size Sort

Nike

Nike Air Max Goadome Low “Taupe” (IU5915-200)

Nike Air Max 95 – Greedy – “Greedy” (IM2211-001)

Nike Air Max 95 – Lawson – “Lawson” (IR1944-400)

Nike Air Max 90 “Bright Citrus Hypervenom” (IR1978-844)

Nike Air Max 90 Recraft Triple Black Black/Black-White-Black (CN8490-003)

Nike Air Max Goadome Low “Black” (IQ0641-001)

Nike Air Max 95 Zip SP “Phantom” (IM0695-002)

Nike Air Max Joga Bonito “R9” (IX8646-001)

Nike Air Max 95 “Big Bubble Comet Red” (IB7862-100)

Nike Air Max Plus 7 Black (HQ2197-001)

Nike Air Max 95 Olympic (2026) (IB7872-100)

Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble “Black Leather” (IM0696-001)

Nike Air Max 95 “Paisley Bandana” (IQ0620-100)

Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble “Woven Multi” (IB3695-100)

Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble Cargo Khaki Jewel Swoosh (IH1413-300)

Nike Air Max 95 OG “Neon” (HM4740-001)

Nike Air Max 95 “Baroque Brown” (IM0696-200)

Nike Air Max Joga Bonito “Neon” (IO1753-003)

Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble “Slate” (IH7855-100)

Nike Air Max 90 “Croc – Coconut Milk / Black” (IO4468-100)

Nike Air Max 95 “Jewel Swoosh – Light British Tan” (IH1413-200)

Nike Air Max 90 “Neon” (IQ0289-010)

Nike Air Max Dn “Triple Black” (DV3337-006)

Nike Liquid Max – “Black / Radiant Blue / Sapphire / Black” (IQ7634-004)

Nike Air Max 90 Black/Infrared 23/Cool Grey (IW6365-001)

Nike Air Max 95 OG “Blue Tint” (HJ5996-002)

Nike Air Max 95 Zip SP Black (IM0695-001)

Nike Air Max 90 Recraft Triple White White/Metallic Silver-White-White (CN8490-100)

Nike Air Max Plus 7 “Iron Grey Smoke Grey” (IQ0282-084)

Nike Air Max 95 “Medium Olive” (HJ5996-003)

Nike Air Max 95 “Black/Golden Beige Camo” (HQ1973-001)

Nike Air Max 90 Light Iron Ore Pale Ivory

Nike Air Max 90 – Laser 90 – “Zest / Black / Fire Red / Gym Red” (HJ0624-758)

Nike Air Max 90 Leather Triple Black (2020) Black/Black-Black (CZ5594-001)

Nike Air Max 95 OG “Big Bubble Fresh Mint” (HJ5996-005)

HJ5996-005

At
16 shops

From
€ 80,00

Which Nike Air Max gives off the strongest hype signal?

The Hypescore reads the signal strength of every Nike Air Max colorway. Community votes, resale movement, search demand and scarcity together decide how much hype a sneaker gives off, expressed in GSv. On the left the strongest hype signals, on the right the colorways just being picked up and rising fast.

Strongest hype signal

1Nike Air Max BW OG Persian Violet (2021) (DJ6124-001)ATOMICNike Air Max BW · from €366 · 6 shops92GSv
2Nike Air Max 270 React ENG Travis Scott Cactus Trails Light Cream/Dark Hazel-Mica Green-Starfish (CT2864-200)ATOMICNike Air Max 270 React · from €250 · 6 shops90GSv
3Nike Air Max 1 x Patta White/Metallic Silver/Pure Platinum (DQ0299-100)ATOMICNike Air Max 1 · from €265 · 13 shops87GSv
4Nike Air Max 1 “.SWOOSH Low Poly Big Head Origins” (HV5776-200)ATOMICNike Air Max 1 · from €200 · 13 shops87GSv
5Nike Air Max 1 “Big Head Mode” (IB9898-001)ATOMICNike Air Max 1 · from €114 · 14 shops87GSv

Just in, rising

1Nike Air Max Goadome Low (IV4517-001)CHARGINGNike Air Max Goadome · from €181 · 15 shops43GSv
2Taller De Rafa x Nike Air Max Goadome Low – “Mosswood Brown / Phantom / Metallic Silver” (IU4876-200)CHARGINGNike Air Max Goadome · from €505 · 3 shops35GSv
3Wagyu x Nike Air Max 90 (IR1979-010)CHARGINGNike Air Max 90 · from €217 · 7 shops35GSv
4Nike Air Max 95 OG Big Bubble “Black / Lime Blast / Anthracite / Metallic Silver” (IQ0285-010)CHARGINGNike Air Max 95 · from €119 · 8 shops40GSv
5Nike Air Max TL 2.5 “White / Neon Yellow / Pearl Grey / Black” (IQ0290-100)SEISMICNike Air Max TL 2.5 · from €88 · 8 shops55GSv

About Nike Air Max

Nike Air Max

Nike had the air chamber for years, but nobody could see it. On the Air Force it’s tucked away in the sole, invisible and taken on trust. In 1987 Tinker Hatfield decided to cut a hole in it, and that one decision became the entire line.

The idea came from a building

Hatfield drew his inspiration from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where the pipes, ducts and escalators hang on the outside of the building instead of inside. What is normally hidden becomes the face there. He applied that same inversion to the Air Max 1: the cushioning you used to have to believe in, you could suddenly see.

Each generation cut the window wider

What followed is the line you’ll find on this page. The Air Max 90 made the window bigger and framed it. The Air Max 95 was the first to also show visible air in the forefoot and reversed the layering, with the darkest tones at the bottom. The Air Max 97 carried the chamber the full length. The Air Max Plus added plastic ribs to hold the chamber in shape, and the Air Max 270 put a heel on it that is almost entirely air.

Why this keeps working

Most sports shoes sell a promise you can’t verify. Air Max shows the proof, and that’s exactly why the line has lasted nearly forty years and has its own holiday every year on March 26. One monster, always a new skin.

Choose by generation, not by name

The name Air Max says little about what you get, because the differences between generations are large: in height, in the shape of the chamber and in how much air you actually see. Walk the models and look at the sole, because that’s where the distinction is.

On this page you can see which versions from the Nike Air Max family are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, from what price they can be found and in how many shops they are in stock.