Nike tae kwon do boots are designed to be as loud as possible

One way to show the judges you've scored good contact in tae kwon do is to make a lot of noise. So Nike used the loudest leather it could find for the new TKV boot. You can read more about designing equipment for the 2008 Olympic games at Fast Company. For example, the challenge in designing javelins is not making something light and aerodynamic; it's designing something light and aerodynamic that won't destroy the athlete throwing it.

Here's Nike's Olympics 2008 site.

*There's already over 4,000 collectibles for the 2008 Olympics at eBay.