In a move that may have surprised many – Nike have announced a new Superfly, – the Mercurial apor Superfly II Elite!
Mercurial Vapor Superfly II Elite
Even though the original Superfly II only made the shops last month, Nike have released this slightly tweaked version to be worn by all the Nike Sponsored Pros at this Summer’s World Cup.
Priced the same as the original Mercurial Superfly II at £275, this Elite Series football boot tips the scales 5% lighter than the featherweight Superfly II.
Despite the Superfly II being the original football boot to boast Nike’s ‘Flicker’ vision enhancing technology on the upper, Nike have already slightly refined the pattern for the Elite Series.
The Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II football boot has redefined speed. Packed with performance attributes including Flywire technology, adaptive traction and carbon fibre strength, this is Nikes lightest boot to-date.
Nike’s design team worked very closely with athletes including Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato throughout the design process to create a boot that enables toe-off acceleration and minimizes slippage in game-changing situations.
Players emphasized that acceleration around a defender is just as important as beating him in a straight line. The Nike Sports Research Lab researched the world championship finals in 2006 and found that there were 845 slipping events over 63 games, or roughly 14 per game.
This football boot is designed to minimize this costly slipping.
Tech Spec Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II Elite
Next-generation Nike Flywire technology in a streamlined upper
Anatomically correct, contoured speed last
Lightweight perforated sockliner for low profile cushioning, support whilst reducing boot pressure
Strategically configured blades for superior footing
Toe-off traction for bursts of speed
As with all the other Elite Series boots, the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II Elite comes straight off the shelf with the Nike Football+ training program: Focusing on getting you fast, fast!
The Nike Football+ element packaged with the Superfly II Elites gives you the chance to learn the insights into speed, skill and combining the two that are normally reserved for the Brazilian elite!
Tell us what you think of the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II Elite below, we’re really interested in what you guys think here!
We reckon it’s a smart move by Nike to price it the same as the regular Superfly II (If you could ever say a Superfly was ‘regular’), but we’re not sure that making it 5% lighter is enough to warrant a new model – we’d have been happy with just the new colourway!
Release: May 22nd 2010
Price: £275
I kinda like the Orange and Purple colourway combination on these new Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly Elite, but the price….
275 quid that is only for the Pros.
just the price , could not care how good the boot is , Ă‚ÂŁ275 is Ă‚ÂŁ100 too much
I love the colourway, I love the technology. It may all be gimmicky but at the end of the day we have a company really pushing technology to the edge at the moment. People think Nike are trying to fleece people for money but I really think that we should be proud to have a company putting so much tech into a boot. It does raise one question though, if you were a pro that wears Nike boots, from this point onwards why would you ever want to wear any of the regular boots again now the Elite versions are out? Basically you wouldnt, and this goes back to the article footy boots wrote about devaluing the vapor. By creating the Elite series Nike have devalued the regular range below the elite. It will be very interesting to see which pros take up the Elite range over time.
I guess one can argue that if you know that you cant afford such boots, then you shouldnt even think of buying them in the first place.. similar to buying a ferrari. of course others can also argue that, all these tech, will it really help? does it really show on the field? does it worth the price? LOL and these arguments im sure can go on for abit.
i guess its up to the individual to weigh between price and technology that will really let you see improvements in your game..
though i have to admit one thing. just look at the market share of Nike and notice how big it is. im just worried that when the time comes for me to buy a new pair of cleats, im forced to get a Nike at a price I am not willing to pay for.
and to add to what perry mentioned. I think it be good to devalue the lower grades of cleats.. at least amateurs like us can afford it.
Again would love this boot, but at 275 jesus. you have to be a pro or minted
aha!
i always knew that the color thingie is a crap 😛
Next shoe is gonna be called:
Nike Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II Elite Super Deluxe Pro Special Advanced edition.
Seriously this is getting out of control.
Lol and why call this the lightest nike boot to date when we all know the first Superfly weighs less.
All Nike have tried to do is make a FG boot suitable for SG but turns out it really isn’t?
Those Super deluxe extendo studs are worth 10grams each I say.
will it be another siblings of this shoes? like glide and victory?
“5% lighter than the featherweight Superfly II” – to combat the adizero F50s perhaps?
I can’t quite tell from the shots above, but it looks like Nike scrapped that wing-like design on the inside of the boot. That much I do approve of.
this colorway is much cooler than on the non elite boot, I thougt that the inside of the boot was ugly on the non elite
If these colours enhance vision so much, then nike should be designing kits, rather than shoes with this colourway.
p.s. Does anyone know where to get old models of cleats. I want a pair of Mercurial Vapor IVs because my old ones broke and i prefer them to all the new MVs. I want the orange color if possible, and its not anywhere on ebay.
i llllooooovvvvveee them
Do these come out on May 22 only in europe or in the United States too?
And if they don’t when do they come out in the United States?
when do these come out i will be the first ot grab a pair i love the non elite but this colorway is crazy and will wait if the come out soon enough
I’m upset that there is no elite vapor VI, and I am a longtime vapor fan and the fact that nike has devalued it really sucks because I don’t really have 400$ American Money!
-oh and speaking of the world cup can anybody believe that Brazil left out Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato?
sorry, never mind about Pato, and Ronaldinho hasn’t had it for years. He’s all washed up.
Why would they make a pair of boots 275 quid i mean nike are starting to make their boots like girls handbags i mean there is no reason to make boots this good and then put them upfor 275 quid its a joke i reckon if they made em bout ÂŁ170 they’d get more money bcuz more would b bought take a look nike we ent all christiano ronaldo with their 250000 squid a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont like to be negative, but its seems to me that nike have butchered a potentially great year, fiscally. granted, im an adidas man. i think adidas came out with a very solid traditional boot collection this year and to my knowledge nike hasnt measured up. adidas focused on power with the new pred x. i think its a great boot. looks great, they seem to do well in reviews. its also a nice difference from the last predator, where it fits like a glove, not a mitt with a shamwow wrapped around it. this is the one area that i think nike have matched. by all acounts the t90 laser three is a great boot, and although i was of the opinion that the t90 series had run its course, the design team at nike outdid themselves in creating such a quality unique boot. sadly thats where adidas pulls away. when the adipure 3 was released i was taken aback that adidas would add 1.5 ounces to their adipure line. in retrospect it makes sense though as they used more material, heavier k leather, and they knew that the adipure would no longer be the lightest adidas boot anyway… in any case no one disagrees with the fact the adipure 3 is a tremendous boot. on the nike side of traditionalism there is the tiempo 3, which is a great boot but i think it was somewhat foolish of nike not to come out with a new version what with the world cup. maybe not commercial suicide but i dont think it was a wise move either. which brings us to the speed category. the f50 has come out very recently. the f50 (again, in my opinion) looks tremendous, has the tech innovations of nike x2, is more comfy than any nike speed boot and is 26 percent lighter than the much lauded superfly. enough said i think. which brings us to the debacle, the monstrosity that is the superfly ii. Wow. well i dont know where to start but i guess the first thing that comes to mind is the color. i dont care how eye catching, ball attracting or flicker effect utilizing it is, its the ugliest colorway to ever apear on a boot. everyone who says its good looking can go sniff up a bloody pole because its hurrendous. absolutely terrible looking with no class, fluency or congruency. its a mockery! man oh man they f-ed up on that one. which brings me to the fact that its heavier than the superfly i. what were they thinking? even if weight at that level affects play very little its still marketing suicide. when people want to know how light the successor to the incredibly light superfly i is you dont say” well a little more than an ounce heavier than the old one, but hey! look at these cool protruding studs!”. the reason its heavier is because of the studs? ok. fine, if they give you acceleration in all conditions i guess thats a fair trade off. but wait… ronaldo slips and slides halfway around the bernabeu on the boots debut. phenomenal. the only thing they could do, they cant do better than a sg version of the old superfly. and thirdly… or fourthly or watever- $400?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! they knew the price range of the f50! they had to, unless they lived under a rock for the supposed 70 year period these boots take to develop! its ridiculous, if it were a case, the judge would throw it out. its stupid, naive, and completely blind to a changing market. you dont make a heavier speed boot double the price of your competitors when at the time the speed boot market is driven by weight. its completely mind boggling. ok. thats off my chest. in all fairness with props to nike, theyve made a great boot in the ctr360. a truly great boot. comfy, light, performs well, looks good, you cant ask for more. really, really good job there. except for the release date. so far away from the world cup, it seems like a distant memory. but watever it was a choice they made to get the boots on the market early and be selling units in the build up to the wc. understandable. xbox 360 and ps3 had the same thing going on with christmas build up a couple years ago. so lastly, is the nike elite series. wtf. theyre bringing out lighter improved versions of all their new boots. how intelligent. two of the boots just came out. the t90 and superfly. you dont see nintendo coming out with the nintendo ds and ds lite within 3 months do you?!?! products have a productive shelf life. to say that your new product is much better than your last at the same price, while your last product is still on store shelves is … bizarre. the elite superfly ii is a little lighter, and apparently more eye catching than the one that came before. at the same price. calling your 4 month old tech, outdated and giving better lighter(in a weight driven market) boots for the same price is completely … there are no words. bye bye
thats actually the worst part. it seems as though people have taken to the new superflys. i think loyalty has a place in football boots but when such a travesty as this occurs, it would be in nikes best interest to lose a large chunk of customers. it might, just might teach them a lesson.
i love them sssssssssoooooooooooo much but the adizeros are sssssiiicck to
Steve, you are the voice of reason….
I think that people are blowing this out of proportion because in retrospect Nike hasn’t made a great cleat so they are throwing in gimicks and technology. Adidas just wisely took advantage and took the opposite side of the fence by scrapping their cleat and sacrificing tech, and protection for pure raw speed, and thus winning favor with its adidas fans and catching the rebound of all the nike fans who are disappointed with this superfly monstrosity. Now only the loyal nike fans who aren’t constantly monitoring ebay will have to settle for this P.O.S.
Yo these cleats are too sick, yet the price is way too much. if nike wanted more money they should lower the prices on the $550 cleats. and think about it, one hard studs up tackle and these beautiful cleats are going to be ruined, along with your foot. your better of buying something thats worth your money and not not over priced plastic on a cleat.
does anybody know if there are going to be a Vapor VI elite version?
These boots are amazing, but the price is ridiculous. I was a long time predator fan, but I didnt like the new predator X’s so I switched to the Mercurial Miracle VI. They are great cleats and have never let me down at speed, about the color (purple and orange), I’ve gotten alot of good comments from them because they do stand out, but no more than the orion blue and yellow Mercurial V would. This Elite Version, I really like the fact that the instep design is gone, that been also very controversial. For all you loyal Nike fan who say I only have the miracles and dont get the full affect of them, I understand your point, I dont get the edge of the pressure studs, but i bought them to get a idea of what this new range is like. I personally would buy the Superfly 2 if its costs in the lower $200 range, but $400 for a few ounces less is I think is stupid to do in Nike’s half. If you think I have a biased opinion coming from the predator series, thats not true because I own and regularly practice in the Mercurial IV’s, which I loved to wear, but for the majority of the time I wear predators. These were great cleats, and I am going to remain in this collection with the Vapor VI Elite, which I consider a better deal between tech and price. Overall I personally offer buying the cheater versions to get a idea if you like this new model, and avoid wasting $400 and then regret it.
i got them with my name on it
I prefer f50 adizero than this… it’s too expensive…
I love the way the studs extend and they give you lots of grip in changing pitch conditions.
THATS JUST GREAT!
when will the boots arshavin was wearing last night in the champions league be released to the public. loved the black and white tick colourway