Nomis football boots are sold direct from the manufacturer, an approach that cuts out the middle man and reduces their prices. So without the traditional shop to touch and feel the product, Kyle has taken a pair of Nomis Spark football boots on a road test to give you his searingly honest appraisal.
Nomis are a brand that I can honestly say I’d never heard of before I started visiting this site – but in the year or so I’ve been visiting Footy-Boots.com, I’ve been impressed with many things that Nomis have offered as a brand- i.e.; the design principals, the direct distribution and the willingness of the ‘higher-ups’ to talk to websites like our own.
So when the opportunity arose to take a look at the product behind the principal, I jumped at the chance.
Nomis Spark
Comfort/Fit
Anyone that read my Under Armour play-test will get the impression I’m passionate about the fit of football boots – I’m a firm believer that in this day and age companies should be capable of producing a boot that does what they’ve developed it to do and not rub the skin off your feet.
So, it’s not lightly that I say Nomis have developed an excellent fitting boot – the first outing for the Spark was a 2 hour training session in a glorious British July downpour – which would normally result in at least one blister – so I was massively impressed that Nomis could give a tight, glove-like fit whilst not having any friction between foot and boot.
Durability
The Spark has a nice one-piece leather upper – something that I prefer in a football boot, as it reduces the possibility of separation or tearing between two components.
One concern on the Spark for me is the heel counter – whilst it does the job and adds to the fit, I don’t think it offers much in the way of protection, as it is more or less just a rigid piece of PVC that covers the leather behind the heel.
Feel
The Nomis Spark has an interesting feel to it – if anyone remembers the adidas Supernova, then they’re already thinking along the right lines.
The Sparks have the feel of a Predator – without the signature vamps. The shape of the boot, the amount of studs, right down to the elasticated lace-cover tongue there’s a lot of similarities, not surprising that Nomis’ legacy is closely linked with Adidas.
On the pitch the Spark’s offset and covered lacing gives the instep of the football boot a huge, soft area that’s great for controlling the ball as well as laying off passes. This extends to the forefoot, which has minimal stitching for great contact when pinging in crosses.
Features
The first thing I noticed when actually handling the boots was how ‘sticky’ the upper is. If anyone’s touched the Puma logo on the v1.08’s you’ll know what I mean when I say that the boot is genuinely sticky. Most impressively, after a fortnight of testing I can report that the upper is still as tacky as it was out of the box.
An impressively adhesive upper is all well and good – but does it help with control? Whilst playing in a match, I honestly didn’t notice it adding much in the way of ‘extra’ control, so it might just be a gimmick – that said, if you asked me which would give better control; this upper or that of, say, the f50 or Vapor I’d say the Spark has the advantage.
Another of the touted features is the ‘NoMud’ soleplate – which is coated in a substance that stops mud clinging during play, thus keeping the boot light.
To put this to the test I wore a Nike football boot on one foot and the Nomis Spark on the other and did some simple sprint-with-the-ball exercises across the penalty area.
As you can see from the results there is certainly less mud on the Nomis boot than the Nike, especially in the heel. While, in my opinion, I don’t think there’s a big enough difference between the boots to call NoMud a rousing success; there is definitely a difference and perhaps it’ll be worth its salt in the boggy December months.
Conclusion
Given that Nomis are leaning toward direct distribution you’ll only find these boots for £95.00, which puts them right in the bracket of football boots like the Adipure II and the newly released Air Legend III.
So, if you’re after a football boot that’s a little bit different to what everyone else will be wearing this season, or you’ve never been a big subscriber to additions like the Concave, T90 Shot Shield or speed gimmicks like the Lotto Zhero G, or maybe you’re sick of boots promising a tight fit and then getting blisters for the first 2 weeks, it’s worth bearing Nomis in mind.
Colourway: Pearlized White / Black / Silver
Price: £95
I’ve had a pair of Nomis for two years now and can vouch for the comfort, fit and quality of leather.
I’ve tried a lot of boots and have to say that Nomis are now my favourite brand.
and great write up
How can this boot stop mud sticking to it?
Jed, the material must be a type that is non stick, a bit like frying pans.
Jed – it’s some sort of coating on the studs/blades themselves. I can’t find out how it works exactly, but I think it’s something like Teflon.
I hope that helps!
I think if nomis actually put their shoes in stores (I think tahts what you said taht you can only order online from the manufacturer) then they would be more popular. I have yet to see any nomis shoes in a soccer store and in 9 years of playing have only seen 1 person wearing nomis shoes. Same goes for mizuno. I relized that the mizuno wave ghosts are very light and have a very unique leather, I would buy them if I could try them on but…Not in any stores here. TOo bad.
You know what realy helps… it sounds stupid but ive found it works great, putting “pan” on the bottom of your shoes. there were no mud clumps on the bottom of my shoes at the end of the game.
nice article!!!
My son has worn NOMIS boots for 2 years, i have just purchased his new pair direct from the uk website, to help with the price i also found a promo code for 10% off just enter SEA0910 on the payment page.
Fantastic review – great boots!!!
Great piece Kyle.
Footy Boots do these reviews really well – love the honest approach rather than the sycophantic efforts elsewhere.
More like these please.
Wow, i like these. Very nice
which are lighter?? the puma v.108 ot the normal vapor v’s??
Daisy – thanks for sharing that voucher code, that knocks nearly a tenner off the RRP!
Fenboy – kind words as usual, always good to meet the approval of one of the regulars!
Zach – the MV V’s are 230g, and the V1.08’s weigh in at 220g.
However, the Ferrari limited edition V1.08’s are an incredible 165g!
Nice objective piece of work.
Your telling us exactly what we need to know.
Good effort.
I am onto my 5th pair of nomis boots. 4 pairs of sparks and a pair of flares. I mainly use them for ultimate Frisbee (4 times a week) and a game of football on the weekend. I am very impressed with the lateral grip they give me and the added heal support. I tend to wear out the toe as there is nothing covering the leather as they weren’t design for ultimate.
I have never had a blister from these boot and added to that when looked after carefully they last for ages. I used to go through boots every 3-4 months. Yes it is true i have also worn through the soles of my feet. The nomis however last me about 9-12 months which for me is worth every cent.
The nomud tech works to a point. i played in ankle deep mud for 4 days and while i still had a bit of grip they did fill up with mud.
How does these compare to the new Umbro Speciali? I’m tossing up between the Umbro’s and the Nomis spark, can anyone advise me which is better and why?