Abstract: An athletic garment having at least one pocket that allows the wearer access to items stored within a pocket while the wearer is exercising. Athletic shorts/pants are provided having at least one pocket formed therein and configured to receive and secure an item including, but not limited to a gel flask, a gel packet, a food bar, water, ice packet, that remains in place within the pocket during exercise.

Abstract: A removable and adjustable insert for footwear has slots placed in the insole and/or midsole of the shoe to allow access to the arch and/or metatarsal and/or heel regions of the insole and/or midsole. In an embodiment, an insert placed into the arch insert slot that establishes how much the arch protrudes above the remainder of the top surface of the insole. One or more inserts are provided having different thicknesses so that the height of the arch can be varied by the user or at the direction of a third party, such as a doctor or a trainer.

Abstract: This invention generally relates to a garment assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a garment assembly comprising an upper garment, a lower garment, and a removable liner. The removable liner is non-permanently interconnected to both the lower garment and the upper garment. The upper garment includes a pre-tensioned waistband.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a composite element adapted for use with an article of footwear. The composite element generally comprises a first portion with a first rigidity and a second portion with a second, different rigidity. The first portion and the second portion each comprise at least one fiber-reinforced layer and are configured to provide the desired rigidity characteristics according to a wearer's characteristics and/or an intended use of the footwear.

Abstract: This invention generally relates to an upper garment. More specifically, the present invention relates to an upper garment having a pre-tensioned waistband.

Abstract: The invention provides bicycling shoes and bicycling shoe components that offer improved comfort, fit, increased efficiency and reduced incidence of injury. The invention includes an athletic shoe having a sole, an upper attached to the sole to form a toe box, a vamp, a quarter, a throat and an interior cavity, a tongue attached to the upper proximate the toe box, and a closure system adapted to close and secure the tongue on a foot of a user. The closure system comprises at least two straps and two loops that are secured by drawing one end of a strap across the top of the upper, through a loop, and back over the upper, to connect with an opposing end of the strap, and, at least two straps are positioned on the upper to intersect a toe-to-heel line at a strap angle between about 95 degrees and about 120 degrees.

Abstract: This invention relates generally to footwear and methods for making the same, more particularly to a seamless upper for footwear and methods for making a seamless upper. In one aspect of the invention, the upper is seamless and/or is of unitary construction that defines an interior void for comfortably receiving a foot.

Abstract: A pocket system for an athletic garment according to embodiments of the present invention includes a center pocket and first and second pockets each having an outer, inner, top, and bottom edge. The top edges are open, while the inner, outer, and bottom edges are closed. A vertical centerline of the garment substantially aligns with a user's spine, and the first pocket is located on the athletic garment on one side of the vertical centerline, while the second pocket is located on the garment on the other side of the vertical centerline. The first and second pockets are in a substantially symmetrical configuration about the vertical centerline, and the center pocket is substantially centered on the vertical centerline. The first, second, and center pockets are disposed entirely within a larger, outer pocket, according to such embodiments of the present invention.

Abstract: A removable and adjustable insert for footwear has slots placed in the insole and/or midsole of the shoe to allow access to the arch and/or metatarsal and/or heel regions of the insole and/or midsole. In an embodiment, an insert placed into the arch insert slot that establishes how much the arch protrudes above the remainder of the top surface of the insole. One or more inserts are provided having different thicknesses so that the height of the arch can be varied by the user or at the direction of a third party, such as a doctor or a trainer.

Abstract: This invention generally relates to an upper garment. More specifically, the present invention relates to an upper garment having a pre-tensioned waistband.

Abstract: The invention relates to a composite sole for a shoe, more particularly to an insert adhesively laminated to one or both of opposing upper and lower component to form the sole of an athletic shoe. The insert is adhesively incompatible with the upper and lower sole components and an adhesion promoter may be positioned between the insert and at least one of the upper and lower sole components to adhesively bond the insert to at least one or both of the upper and lower sole components.