Lotto have always been something of a fringe brand for me. Whilst they’ve always provided boots and kits to teams like as substantial as Juventus to as local as Sheffield Wednesday, I’ve never been massively bombarded by their presence in the market.
They’re a manufacturer that for 3 decades has thrived on the South American and Eastern European market – making boots that simply ‘get the job done’, without flaunting any sophistication, and along the have probably won over a few fans in other markets in the same way a brand like Mizuno has.
So, over the past couple of weeks, I’m sure I’m not the only Footy Boots fan who’s been left in shock by Lotto’s aggressive presence on this summer’s release list.
The first announcement was the Zhero Gravity Tre – Lotto’s most expensive model.
Billed as an opposition to the Nike Mercurial Vapor and F50i lines, the Zhero Gravity range is, first and foremost, a speed boot. Now in it’s 3rd incarnation (hence the ‘Tre’) the Zhero is designed to get you to the ball first using a mixture of high-tech materials, superior fit and comfort. All this plus classic Italian styling for £140, which when compared to the Superfly or Vapor IV SL’s, is a pretty tidy sum.
So – with the Zhero now settled in, and having won over enough fans to keep the Zhero Gravity line worth producing for three years I was somewhat hoping that the next release in the ‘collection’ would come in the form of another market challenging boot. I’m not a necessarily a massive advocate of adding gimmicks to boots but it’s great to see another company’s take on idea – like when Nike added Predator-esque rubber vamps to it’s Total 90 range.
Instead, I’m pretty sure Lotto have actually released the same boot 3 times. I’m all for classic styling and love boots with a touch of hertitage about them like the Tiempo Legend and adiPure, but in my opinion Lotto my have gone a little overboard with the Evolution Tre, Legganda Tre and Stadio Fuoriclasse.
Lotto Zhero Evolution Tre
At first I thought that one of the three might be a ‘premium’ version of the other boots, but all are due to retail at nearly the same price! All share the Puntoflex technology, shock absorbing heel and 2 of the 3 have the Twistn’go stud at the front, so I’m puzzled as to why, instead of spending 3 lots of money on designing, producing, distributing and promoting 3 different boots, Lotto simply didn’t select the best bits from the Evolution, Legganda and Stadio and produce one boot at a lower price and pass the saving onto the buyer!
To me it would have made far more sense to release one boot that was a combination of the Evolution and Legganda, and then introduce the boot with a leather upper later down the line to replace the Stadio.
Lotto Zhero Leggenda Tre
Do you agree, or do you think it’s the releasing of boots in different colours and uppers that pushes the price of boots up? Do you think that realising multiple boots like this helps put the brand’s name out there? Or maybe you don’t care because you’d opt for the Vento Diablo KL Due (arguably the best value boot on the market and a definite favourite in the Footy Boots office?)
Lotto Vento Diablo KL Due
Drop a comment below and tell us! And, if you’ve tried out the various Lotto boots as mentioned above, let us know if you’ve found any subtle differences that we should be aware of.
I dont mind lotto,
i think that anything that is good enough for luca toni is good enough for me.(and anyone else for that fact)
comfort with little fuss.(Y)(excluding gravity)
When lotto released the Zhero Gravity Due, it had a few modifications from the original (insole, upper, etc.); however, I do not see any such modifications in this “Tre” line.
Personally, I thought the generation one version was better because they had four different coulours, not just one.
i thought the same about the three boots you mentioned. they all look the same. and perform almost identically (i surmise) so what the hell was lotto thinking? not marketing im sure of that.
I think that they’ve been stagnant for awhile now. How can these possibly be competing with the youngsters. You’re right, essentially there is not much difference between these three K leather boots?? Add to these the Stadio, which has jumped at least 30 bucks in price over here — simply another K leather boot. The top brands don’t have this sort of redundancy, and their boots scream their technology. These guys seem to be losing track of things. Great observational piece.
Have to agree with you Kyle, certainly on the Diablo KL Due. Very good price for some decent technology and K leather.
I think it looks a bit worse than it is because Lotto put all of their yearly products out in one go.
But in saying that, given the choice, I’d go for the Vento Diablo KL Due everytime.
are the lotto evolution and the lotto leggenda the same ???
what is the differece between them ???
but i’m sure of something, the twist’n’go is the worst gimmick on the football boot market !!!
let me know what do you think !!!
greetings from mexico !!!
the difference between the leggenda an the evolution is one is a synth boot an 1 is k leather
but i would go for the diablo kl due everytime
well personally i think the italians live off their reputations a bit too much a bit tooo often, just like these boots.
ok well done for the no lace boot very nicely done, heard its an amazing piece of italian shoeing lol but the others are disapointing. with nike and puma and adidas flying ahead with all these new ”techonolgies” lotto is being left behind :/ heritage yes, but dont follow it this drasitcally.
well i don’t like that the only boot that is even worth watching is 140 pounds and they don’t even bother adding new things to the other boots i’m guessing lotto doesn’t care or maybe their market is fine and it hasn’t been affected with the passing of the years or maybe they don’t want to compete and just think simple is better. either way i would rather spend same ammount of money on a boot that makes rivals stare at your feet
Interesting read –
Lotto are an authentic Italian boot brand but they’ve lost there way. Essentially a heritage brand.
The biggest success they’ve had commercially is the Diablo – its a great value boot. Problem is they are competing on price and thats a dangerous game with a fraction of the volume of Nike and Adidas.
They need to focus on what they are best and deliver genuine innovation – not colour ups every 6 months.
I have tested all the lotto models extensively, and while the may look the same, they all have a very different feel. Adidas has a lot more of the same boots, and the twistngo is a good enough innovation to compete with any other companies innovation, be it adidas or mizuno.