ISPO Award Winner 2024: TerraSkin by X-Bionic

The name X-Bionic stands for innovative sports and outdoor products in the premium segment. Especially in the field of compression clothing for athletes, the Swiss brand has made a name for itself through consistently high quality and knitting expertise. X-Bionic’s ambition to enter a new segment was emphatically highlighted by the TerraSkin trail running shoe, which received an ISPO Award. The ISPO Award jury’s verdict was unanimously positive: both the concept and the high level of innovation were fully convincing.

Nothing was left to chance in the realization of the entire project. The development took two years, during which the designers completely broke away from conventional thinking. A path that has clearly paid off, as the recognition by the ISPO Award illustrates. “We are proud to have received the prestigious ISPO Award. This prestigious honor is an independent endorsement from the industry and gives us a great deal of confidence at this early stage, even before the market launch,” explains Patric Matuszis, Head of Marketing Activation at X-Bionic. “The positive feedback from the experts encourages us to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s technically possible and to explore new, innovative avenues. This recognition is a great motivation to keep driving our passion and commitment to excellence forward.” 

The TerraSkin wasn’t just developed as a simple shoe concept—it goes far beyond that. From the outset, X-Bionic aimed to understand comfort and control as an integrated, functional approach. The reason behind this is easy to understand: “We come from Switzerland, where our playground is the high mountains, steep valleys, and technical terrain,” explains X-Bionic CEO Maximilian Lenk. “Our vision was to create the perfect symbiosis between cushioning and control. It had to be a perfect system for the feet to tackle a long day in technical terrain, across roots, rocks, and steep descents. The best shoe is of little use to a trail runner if they are wearing cheap or low-quality socks during the activity.”

The expertise of seasoned footwear specialists, combined with X-Bionic’s experience in developing previous products, particularly in technical sports socks, eventually led to a groundbreaking product concept that extends from the foot to the sock and all the way to traction. “With X-Bionic, we had the opportunity to create something completely new from scratch. That was the most exciting part of this journey,” says Flavio Guarnier, General Manager of Footwear at X-Bionic, describing the project’s appeal. “We were able to build a completely new team, dedicated solely to the topic of footwear.” But the project goes far beyond the formation of a new team. With the establishment of its own research and development center in Montebelluna, Italy’s footwear development hub, the Swiss brand underscores its serious approach. “There, we have the right environment to build this strong new chapter of our company, called Footwear,” adds Guarnier. 

The expertise of experienced shoe experts, combined with the experience of previous products from X-Bionicproducts, particularly in the field of technical sports socksüled toßa new type of product concept that starts from the footfootfrom the sock to the traction. "With X-Bionic we had the opportunityöopportunityto really create something new from scratch. That was the most exciting part of this journey"describes Flavio GuarnierGeneral Manager Footwear at X-Bionicdescribes the appeal of the project. "We were able to build a completely new team that focuses exclusivelyßdedicated to the topic of footwear." But the project goes far übeyond the formation of a new team. With the foundingüof its own research and development center in Montebellunathe shoe development center in Italy, the Swiss brand is underlining its serious approach. "There we have the right environment to build this new, strong chapter of our company, called Footwear"addedäadds Guarnier.

The TerraSkin stands out with its unique design. Also remarkable: the running shoe will feature numerous X-Bionic patents that cannot be found in other trail shoes. Particularly notable are the Spinweave and Speedframe technologies. Thanks to these innovations, the upper and sole work as a single unit, rather than being glued or stitched together. Additionally, the shifting lugs allow for easier adaptation to almost any terrain.

At launch in fall 2024, there will be three models available: X00/C (Carbon), X01, and X02. All three running shoe models carry the quality marks “Engineered in Switzerland” and “Designed in Europe.” It will be exciting to see what the inventors at X-Bionic bring to the market next in terms of sports footwear. 

There will be a total of three models for the launch in fall 2024: X00/C (carbon) as well as X01 and X02. All three running shoe models bear the quality mark.äfeatures "Engineered in Switzerland" and "Designed in Europe". It will be exciting to see what theüthe designers of X-Bionic toüs sports shoes on the market in the future.

• Speedframe Technology: Upper and sole are a single unit 
• Spinweave Technology: Outstanding traction 
• From Skin to Ground: A revolutionary product concept