Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Lotto Solista 100 Gravity Blue III:- The second “True” Laceless boot
Laceless boots. They are a trend many players adore. But, the majority of the football population don’t know HOW it came into being. The answer is Lotto. This Italian Giant is the cause of one of the biggest hype trains in the football community. It all started way, way, way back in 2006. Lotto decided to make a change in the football world, seeing many players retiring too soon. So, they decided to make a boot prototype. This boot was dubbed Zhero Gravity. It was the first ever Laceless boot to have ever existed, and it certainly would not be the last. This trend went onto many Football companies, although Nike has yet to introduce their first Laceless boot.
14 years later, Lotto has finally decided to bring back their first Laceless boot. Kind of. Instead of giving it a second variant, they decided to completely revamp the name. Which personally is a mouthful, to be honest. My only complaint is why they decided to put III in the end. Unless they have made an unknown 2nd varient before, I find this entirely disappointing.
What is the future of Laceless boots?
Frankly, Lotto have done a fantastic job with the making of the Solista series. Though there are only two colorways right now, the potential for the series is certain. The more the players support the Laceless trend, the more spotlight Lotto will get as the “Father of Laceless Boots”.
Be:Unique
Motto of Lotto(Hehe)
Anyway, this has been my review for the Lotto Solista 100 Gravity III. I hope you guys enjoyed this review and are hungry for more! Honestly, the more reviews I make, the better I become.
Bye for now!
Agastya
Boot Aesthetics Episode 2:- Nike Magista Opus 2 V2: A Dazzling mistake
Nike has made some headlines when it comes to controversial shoes. Looking at you, VaporFly 😑. But, if I were to choose one boot which DIDN’T come to the headlines but was yet controversial was the aforementioned boot. Now, there are mainly 3 reasons why such boots go viral:- their impact to the community, the players wearing them, and how it fares against the harsh environment of reviews.
Now, the Magista Opus 2 V2 is one of my more “moderate” Favourites, in the sense that it is in between my least and most favorite section, if that makes sense. The Magista Opus 2 V2 has all of the 3 reasons, and I will now tell you why.
Impact it had on the field as well as off…
First of all, the Opus 2 had a reputation of being the go-to boot for one of the most spectacular midfielders in football history, Andres Iniesta. So, it already was a breakthrough football boot before it even released.
With the amount of praise he was getting for the shoes, Nike decided to make Magista boots only for him and no one else, not even the general public. This, of course was outrageous, as fans around the world started to rally around several beaches of Nike, demanding for the release of the Opus 2 to be given to the public.
Iniesta inevitably was brought into the rallies and rallied with the fans, asking Nike to make a seperate version of the Magista Opus 2 specifically meant for other players and the general public. So Nike followed Iniesta’s pleas and decided to make a new boot of the Magista brand for the players and public, calling it Obra, which fans were delighted, myself included as we were excited to finally get a hands on review of what Iniesta wears in the pitch.
The Magista Opus then made itself into a mini brand of the Magista series, naming itself after Iniesta. The boot on the above picture is one of the limited edition Iniesta around the world.
Nike, now feeling a bit better, decided to make another boot of the Iniesta brand,made only for players and the public. Iniesta approved of this and the boot was made into production. Named Opus 2.0, the boot garnered instant popularity with the masses.
Football boots are a necessary piece to the puzzle in the game of football. It’s like our heart, pumping blood to our body. Instead of blood though, it pumps adrenaline. My own brand on the Magista series is a heartwarming gesture by Nike and I appreciate what they have done. But I wanted to spread my application to my fans as well, so I asked the Magista design heads if they could make another boot meant only for the masses and they agreed to do so. And after 5 months of patient waiting, I am proud to present The Nike Magista Opus 2.0!!
Andres Iniesta promoting the Magista Opus 2.0
For concluding the episode, I would like to add that the Magista is actually another type of power boot unlike anything I have ever seen. I am proud that Iniesta was able to accomplish this deed of giving one of his boots to the general public to use.
I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and if you did, pls like it and comment what was your favorite part.
As always,Agastya.
Boot Aesthetics Episode 1:- Concave Football boots
I’m gonna be honest with you guys, I never thought Crude oil would be so crucial to the production of many flagship models the football world has to offer, and it’s all started when the Australian Football Boot company Concave brought in TPU(Thermoplastic Polyurethane) as an important component to it’s boots.
Another thing which I consider to be the most interesting aspect is that all of these boots contain a form of petroleum jelly which adheres to almost any surface, except concrete and wooden floors,making it quite the boot for a person who wouldn’t mind getting his/her feet dirty.
The legacy it carries…
Being an avid football player, I love myself a bit of everything related to Football. This is frankly what love to do as a hobby as well as profession, playing as well as rating boots and cleats. However, Concave is one football company I personally would not like to partner with.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore this company and would love to buy all their boots, but I feel like their boots are a bit…well…broken. Broken is the sense overpowered, and I don’t like football boots when they’re made to be nigh-unbeatable,especially ones which contain a type of technology which is unfair on the pitch. Football is supposed to be a fair game, and albeit is a bit rough at times, I would not like to see players promoting these types of technology as they may not have much competition then.
To put it bluntly, I rather wear crocs or slippers than wear these boots for a match. This is just my opinion,you may say otherwise,but this is where I put my foot down. It’s a fantastic company which makes a bit too over the top boots.
Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed the first episode of Boot Aesthetics and if you want to see more, do let me know by smashing the like button and commenting which one you wanna see next 😁.
P.S- The price for the boots in the picture above aren’t specified 😔
Adios!
Agastya
Nike To The Future Lab Pack 2:- The sequel Nike needed for a long time.
I will only be showing the best features I think are relevant,if you would like more information regarding the boots, pls go to the end of the blog for more details.
Superfly 7 or Vapor 13?
The first half of the pack consists of an off white, orange and black colorway which I feel is a welcome addition to the already impressive roster of Nike’s collection. Inspired by the laser crimson variant of the Future Lab pack 1, this will be the forte of many of Nike’s contracted Mercurial offiacials. So, what will it be?
OR
Green and mean…kinda
The other half consists of the Phantom series. The Phantom Venom and The Phantom Vision 2. Both of which are considered the underdogs of the speed boot world. Not only is this a great addition, it is also the third time Nike has officially given a set of boots their own personal colorway! The Phantom Venom in general pays homage to quite possibly the best speed boot of the 2000-2010 decade the T90 laser electric edition.
The Phantom Vision 2 is also a really sweet deal, especially with its newest feature, ‘Green Strike, which basically allows the player to experience the weight and power of the shot he/she is taking.
As for who will wear these boots, well I have a list of four players who will wear the boots as and when they get their hands in them. They are:-
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Mercurial Superfly 7
- Kylian Mbappe – Mercurial Vapor 13
- Eden Hazard – Phantom Venom
- Kevin De Bruyne – Phantom Vision 2
That’s all for my review on this spectacular boot pack and I loved the homage to a great classic boot as well. Other than that, I will see you guys later. Cheerio!
Agastya
Blog Update:- What I have in store for the future of the blog
I have been thinking about updating my blog for quite sometime, but I didn’t know what to do or add until recently. So, I have decided to make a series called ‘Boot Aesthetics’ where I basically talk about a random boot and what I like about it. I will also have another series coming up next month, in the middle of planning it, but other than that, the new series will not interrupt with the weekly releases.
Bye for now and I hope you guys will like my new series 😁.
Agastya
The Puma Future ‘Retro’ Inhale – Quite possibly the worst design Puma has made for a football shoe.
The boot is inspired by original Inhale training shoe by Puma 20 years ago. It is the kind of training shoe that your grandpa uses when he goes for walks or a really out of date coach wears just because he can.
The boot is a tribute to the Original Inhale for actually still being on markets today. I know, even I am surprised.
The new Puma Future Retro 2020 soccer cleat combines the exaggerated contours and curves of the 2000 Puma Inhale with the outsole of the FUTURE 5.1 football boot.
Tech-wise, the Puma Future Retro merges the Puma King Platinum with the Puma Future. The upper is made from leather, while the sole plate is the same ultra lightweight and flexible Pebax material of the RAPIDAGILITY Hybrid sole known from the Puma Future.
Features
- Premium leather upper for a perfect fit
- Ultra lightweight and reactive outsole with a combination of bladed and conical studs
- Lace closure for a snug fit
- Suitable for use on both firm natural surfaces and artificial grass
- Puma Formstrip at medial and lateral sides
- Puma Cat Logo at heel
The price is a hefty £220 or ₹20, 790. This more or less proves that I personally am not a fan of the boot. No Player has opted for sponsoring the ball, and I don’t blame them.
That has been my review on the Puma Future Retro Inhale! I hope you guys enjoyed it, although I loath the very fact of publishing this 😖. Thanks for watching, see you next time!
Agastya
Nike Future DNA Mercurial Vapor:- Paying homage to the Boot which Kickstarted the hype for Mercurial!
This is the second iteration of the Future DNA pack by Nike and my God, does it look good!! I am literally having goosebumps as I type this! Man, this boot, when it released way back in 2009, was an eye catcher to say the least. The amount of hype given to these boots was simply absurd!
Originally, when this was released, it was the lightest, fastest boot by the Mercurial series by a long way. It served as a glimpse to the future of Nike’s speed boots. These were the boots which none other than the man, the myth, the legend himself, CR7 wore on his debut match for Manchester United!!!
The version which covers the classic one has a lot of modern flair added to it. Keeping in line with the heritage color, it adds a bunch of high tenacity yarns on the upper, which is basically a more advanced version of the Nike Flyware Technology used of the classic as well as All Conditions Control, which is an absolute must for all speed boots from Nike.
Seeing these boots once again in a much more modern personality, makes me want to cry in happiness.
-Cristiano Ronaldo
These boots will be available for a brief time only, as the Future DNA pack is a limited series only. So be quick on your feet in both buying the boot as well as using them.
That’s it for today’s review guys! I hope you liked it! This brought back so many memories that I almost chocked on my tears thrice!! It has been an absolute pleasure writing this and I hope to see you guys next time😁
P. S – I will deliver another blog tomorrow on the 1st of April as the one I did today was actually supposed to be last week’s one but I didn’t have time to do it, so be sure to look out for tomorrow as well!
Bye for now!
Adidas Predator Mania Japan Blue colorway – The only boot for the Maniac within us
Back in 2002, Adidas was relatively new in making boots which have a long lasting impression, and they had no idea that the boots they were going to release would have such a huge fan following that it was almost staggering.
No one would EVER believe that these boots would help Adidas’s popularity not only by winning over the 2002 World Cup but also be given a synonymous nickname by fans worldwide – the ‘Tormentor’.
Similar to the acclaimed ‘Terminator’ franchise due to it’s ability to ‘seek and torment’ it’s opponents easily, it was an instant success in Japan, as the country loved both Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as Adidas. Thus, this became the most sought after boot in 2002-04.
Sadly, only about 500 boots were made, and almost all of them were given to professional football players sponsored by Adidas. This brought social unrest for almost 4 years in the football community before all of them gave up on asking for the remake in 2009.
Finally, an answer, 11 years later…
In 2020 though, Adidas decided that enough is enough, we should have done this a long time ago and gave confirmation that there would be a remake of the Predator Mania. This was a sign from heaven. Players around the world started celebrating and eagerly waited for the boot, and my oh my, they did not disappoint. At all.
The new Mania has a red NAPPA leather tongue and kangaroo leather upper with holster lock technology as well as the sole plate of the Predator 20+, making this an almost overpowered boot in all. The only side note is that it costs around 531$ US or 32,279₹😞
That’s it for today’s review! Please check out the18.com’s review on these spectacular boots. I really hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it for you guys☺☺☺☺☺
Next week, I will be reviewing yet another remake from Nike – The original Mercurial Superfly Vapor 1!
Till next time😄😄😄
Agastya
https://the18.com/soccer-gear/adidas-predator-mania-remake-japan-blue?amp
Nike Phantom Vision 2 Future DNA Hypervenom: Does the boot every soccer fan loved back in 2013, really worth it in the new iteration?
The craze for speed boots started because of the original Hypervenom phantom 1. Not only did it introduce the All Conditions Control technology to Nike but was also used as the prefered boot for many fast football players, especially Neymar Jr., who many fans of the sport know instantly nowadays as a wizard in the field, myself included.
But enough about the legacy of the boot, let’s talk about the new one replacing the Hypervenom series forever. It’s features include:- 1. Dynamic fit collar links foot and lower leg. 2. Flyknit upper. 3. Synthetic outer layer with ACC. 4. Ghost lace system for concealed lockdown. 5. Internal bootie confirms to foot.
All of this amplifies a players’ grip on the ground and makes them feel a bit overpowered, as said by one of Nike’s boot testers while testing the prototype.
Now that Neymar isn’t the face of Hypervenom, who will take up the mantle?
There are many, many great players out there with the ability to take up the mantle, but Nike have laid their eyes on a certain German youngster, Kai Havertz, who just debuted the boots in his match against Union Berlin.
Alot of you may not know why Nike chose him rather than Kevin De Bruyne, who is the face of the Phantom Vision. It’s mostly because of his flair against defenders. He is quick and patient with a shot that has near perfect accuracy, as well as a smart, cool headed mind. He also is in his youth, while De Bruyne is about to reach his mid 20s, which many people consider ‘Fringe’ boomer and tend to forget him.
Kai doesn’t have this and then some, which is why Nike prefers him in the first place.
That is it for my review on the boots, hopefully you had some fun reading this and I am sure you will be wanting more 😉.
Next week, I will be reviewing another reiteration of boots from Adidas, The Predator Mania Japan colorway!
Till next time!! 😁😁😁
The 6th Generation New Balance Furon:- Is this the boot to boost NB to it’s pinnacle of First Class?
A lot of you guys may not know the state NB was in before, so let me tell you about it before moving onto the boots.
New Balance, Umbro and Lotto are considered First Class genres, meaning they are really good companies, but just below the surface of Premium, being Nike, Puma and Adidas.
New Balance was once considered to be a Premium boot company, but only because of Tim Cahill and Vincent Kompany. Sadly, now that they are about to retire, their reputation suffered tenfold. For about 6 years they have lossed more than they have gained.
A Savior In The Form Of Sadio Mane…
But, in late 2017, an African soccer star, who recently received Africa’s player of the year award, Sadio Mane, entered professional football. He was interested in New Balance, mostly because of his idol, Vincent Kompany, and decided to become the face of NB.
The boots…
The sixth gen has the colorway of Liverpool, bearing Mane’s initials on the bottom right corner of the sole. It has hypertension coils around the tongue of the boot, providing more comfort and extra padding around the exterior for a more pleasant touch.
The boot also has an interesting facade, showing how the player runs during a match. The padding also acts as repellent, getting the dirt and grass off while the player is in motion. In a way, it is more on the comfort level this time, rather than the furiousity level.
Thats it for my review, guys! If you liked it pls lemme know on the comments. Also, if you weren’t satisfied and wanted some more info, pls check out Soccerbible’s review on it in the link below.
Next week, i’ll be talking about the re-release of the Hypervenom Phantom 1!
Stay tuned till then 😁😁😁
The Unofficial Football Boot Guide 