As someone who’s been watching Fulham’s ‘Europa’ Cup push with great interest in this half of fhe season I couldn’t help but notice Bobby Zamora’s switch in the past couple of months from his Adidas Predator Powerswerves to some logoless, previously unseen boots.
Many speculated that he was trialling some boots for American Sportswear company Under Armour, and whilst details were scarce it did turn out he was testing boots for the baselayer specialists.
Under Armour Create Pro football boots (Black / Neon Yellow)
So it was something of a relief when the first details of the Create Pro and Dominate Pro were published this past week, letting the boot-buying public onto the new technologies that Zamora had been testing for the past 2 months. Only after reading the press release several times over something became clear: There weren’t any.
Under Armour was formed by American Footballer Kevin Plank as a practical solution for a common problem; he was tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts he wore under his jersey, so he went on to build a market leading product, that has seen every brand from Nike to Canterbury playing catch up; So my expectations were pretty high for a company that was built on an ethos of development – but'Â my expectations appear to be unfulfilled.
Obviously I won’t be able to pass full judgement on the product until I test it for myself, but regular posters like snolly and MGR seemed to share my lack of enthusiasm for what looks like a pretty standard pair of boots.
Under Armour Dominate Pro football boots (White / Black)
I love seeing new boots enter the market place, I’m not particularly loyal to any one brand so I don’t hesitate on buying a pair of boots that really sells themselves to me to try for myself, and it’s exciting to see brands like Concave and Nomis entering the market and making audacious claims that their boots will provide you with a more powerful shot, or are super-light as mud won’t stick to them. But Under Armour have arrived on the scene with a solid looking pair of boots with a heel counter and that’s about it.
I couldn’t figure out whether it was naivity or some sort of arrogance that would push Under Armour to develop a boot without a unique selling point like other brands. There’s a number of vocal of American posters on footy-boots.com, so surely the US is as competitive market as in Europe and Australia, and Under Armour has battled it out in markets like American Football and profited, so it’s not naive.
Then arrogance, perhaps? American poster Mims put the idea in my head that “Under Armour does their research and comes out with quality gear. They will survive based on young new american footballers“.
By having a strong foothold in the American market and brand loyalty Under Armour seem to be confident that by putting out a quality boot that ‘gets the job done’ they will hopefully profit on this first generation of boots and then go on to develop further, maybe more elaborate products.
Under Armour Dominate Pro football boots (Black / White)
Judging by comments on the story itself many seem to have already passed judgement on the Create Pro & Dominate Pro and I’ve got to say they’ve not built any desire for me either. But there are many out there who are disenchanted with superfluous technologies and outrageous gimmicks, so maybe by building a reputation for sturdy, nice fitting boots there’s room in the market for another competitor with simply practical solutions to common problems.
Tell us what you think by commenting below and also by rating the Under Armour football boot range on the bootOmeter.
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that boots are expensive, the adipures or the puma kings are better boots.
i just bought these boots i was speckticle at first but they truned out to be rather nice every one should give them there fare chance
I’m 50 – 50 on this one.
As Kyle says, it’s always good to see new boots coming out and perhaps we have all been bit a bit caught up lately on technology and gimmicks.
It might just be that people will want a sturdy pair of non-flashy, comfortable, functional boots that (no names here) don’t fall apart after 2 minutes!
I don’t think this football boots will take off, can’t see a high number of pro footballers using them, and like it or that is what sells.
I think Andy O’Brien – Hapless, Error-prone Bolton Wanderers centre half is wearing a pair of the black and yellow ones.
When they entered the running shoe market, most felt the same way. They made all kinds of remarks, that was till they actually tried on and ran in the shoe. UA was built around the premise of the best possible fit and feel will add to better performance. There gear is top notch. I suspect given there obsession for fit, that these shoes will feel like a sock. Considering that these are not available to the general public yet, I think its a little too early to pass judgement on them. Just my .02
Your comment sounds like a very informed and objective directed UA employee,.. let the market go fella!, if people say that those shoes suck, they suck!
I agree with the previous commentor….you certainly sound like a UA employee making a positioning statement. Have you actually seen the boot. I have and the construction of the boot is horribly and doesn’t even come colse to and adipure of the classic kings. This boot is average at best and should be a $70 USD boot.
i think its basically stupid to pass judgment on a product that hasnt been tested and thoroughly reviewed.
so they arn’t marketing the boot with some special gimmick? so what?
and martincillo, how can you say any other boot is better without having tried the boot yourself? BY THE LOOKS? give me a break.
stop speculating, wait for them to be released, then talk about them AFTER people have had a chance to give them a go.
I don’t think they are pretty or something.. I would never buy under armour shoes.. just stick with the under armour clothes
Honestly, who here has tried them out? Oh no one? Exactly. You don’t know if they are better than anything yet.
I actually found these boots quite nice looking. The dominate pro look like the old 90 (which i loved with all my heart). The create pro also look really nice, I would seriously buy a pair. I could care less on how it preforms on pro-players. I mean they aren’t me so how is their preformance affecting my game. I really want to test these when the come out.
having seen all the new hyped up boots come and go its no surprise that underarmour is now heading into footwear..its the only way to grow after their sales in clothing have flattened..its not hard to make a good boot..these look ok,but they wont sell unless ronaldo or a rooney wears them..best boots i ever wore were never popular as no famous player wore them..so lets see them when avilable..but they are very very expensive .
This create pro look like Under Armour took a pair of their American football cleats put some fancy design and colors on them and called them a real football boot. They look ridiculous. AS for the Dominate Pro I would much rather spend that much money on a pair of Puma Kings, Adidas F50s, Predators, or adipures, or even the Nike Lazers or the Legends. For they price those boots are going for no thank you.
There’s something decidedly American about these boots, I must admit. They yell ‘function over form’ and have no discernible selling point to be seen. But perhaps that’s their greatest attribute? They look like a modern pair of cleats–a clean and contemporary design with no ‘excess’–and I think Americans may like the no-nonsense style from this “local” boot. As well, most American consumers are unaware of the nuances of a lot of the cleats out there… after all, despite the growing interest in soccer, many still have no clue who players like Lampard, Torres, and Gerrard are. If these boots can undercut the competition a little on price, I think you’ll see a lot of them being bought by the ‘average soccer player’. Sturdy, no frills, “a shoe is a shoe” — seems like a very American mentality from a very American cleat.
my comment got removed- are you only allowing negative about these? wierd