New football boot concept: Nike Tech Craft Pack

No. It will never be “just” a football boot. It is without a doubt any footballers most important piece of equipment and demands constant improvement. The ongoing quest for the best selection of football boots will most likely never end and today Nike write a new chapter in that tale. They have for the first time ever presented a full silo update, which consists entirely of leather boots.

But why, some would ask? I thought leather was a thing of the past? Nike’s research however seems to point to something very different. Here they have constantly been confronted by players, who have a need and desire to play in leather boots for the silo they use. They don’t all just want to change to Tiempo. They want the advantages from the Mercurial, Magista, or Hypervenom - with a leather upper.

In 2014 Nike’s team started exploring the possibility of accommodating the players wishes. They quickly discovered that it was far from a bad idea and after a few years of experimenting they can confirm that the Tech Craft pack is the answer.

The construction and engineering behind it is very impressive. Nike have removed the NikeSkin layer and replaced with K-fuse. And what is that you ask? Well, it’s a very special technology, where the leather upper is melted together with the material below and therefore avoid having to attach the leather to the outsole by using stitches. That way Nike make sure the boots keep their unique capabilities, so it is still true to the respective silos nature. The material is naturally kangaroo leather, but has been tanned and carved so thinly that it doesn’t make the Superfly slower, the Obra more clunky, or the Hypervenom less agile.

And this is the part, where you might be thinking, what are the advantages of a leather upper? Actually it’s pretty straightforward. By talking to players, who prefer football boots with a leather upper, Nike have reached 4 arguments for playing in leather boots:

Så if you are a fan of football boots from the old school, or just want to try something a little different than your regular Mercurial Superfly Lightning Storm, then maybe your next boot of choice should be the Tech Craft Pack. Nike have in any case managed to build a bridge between two worlds that would otherwise seem pretty far apart. A bridge that I’m sure is here to stay…