The ultimative Top 5: The world's lightest football boots

Here at Unisport we have, over the years, built up quite a respectable boot collection, we have rumbled through all our boots and we were looking for something quite specific. We have found; the five lightest boots ever produced. We've then passed them on to the more than capable hands of our excellent photographer, who has taken these stunning shots for us to use, as we delve into a deeper analysis of the boots.

The last couple of years, we have seen impressive development in the boot-world and especially on the speed-boot front, the transformation has been very apparent. The trend has been to produce the lightest boots possible and on several occasions the results have been staggering. Adidas, Puma and Nike all have candidates in the top 5 and we will be taking a closer look at them all.

We will be going from 145 grams and up to 160 grams on the list, which means just 15 grams separate the top 5 lightest boots ever. The oldest is from 2009 and the youngest is from 2012, but one thing they all have in common is, when they came out, they were nothing short of revolutionizing. A couple of the 5, came out just as limited editions and are therefore rare collectables for boot-nerds like us, were as others are mass produced favourites.

We start in the year 2012, where Nike indulged the boot feinschmeckers with an exclusive launch right out the top drawer: Nike Green Speed. With a weight of 160 grams it marks itself as Nike's lightest ever and at the same time the most environmentally friendly. At Nike they threw away everything they knew about football boots and decided to design and produce the greenest, lightest and most deadly boot ever and the result is nothing less than revolutionising.

Just 2012 pairs were made and that also makes the Nike GS to one of the rarest, and sought after boots on the market. Just one player had the honour of playing with them and that was of course the phenomenon from Brazil, Neymar, who during the summers Olympics showed glimpses of his enormous talent, while wearing this fantastic lightweight boot. Now in the meantime it looks like Nike are brewing up something big and exciting again, when the German prodigy Mario Götze was spotted wearing a blackout prototype, that looked suspiciously like a Nike GS.

Now it's time to rewind the clock and go back a few years, to look at the next lightweight on our list; Puma v1.815 Ferrari limited edition. It's the oldest on our list coming from 2009 and is at the same time the result of one of the most groundbreaking collaborations across trades ever. How do you create the lightest, fastest and elegant boots? That's simple, you work together with Ferrari, who are synonymous with that exactly. Puma and Ferrari worked on the V1.815 for no less than 2 years, before they went and presented it to the public.

Puma v1.815 did also with its just 155 grams manifest itself as the lightest boot ever, at the time and put great distance between itself and Nikes lightweight boot from 2009, Superfly 1. It's low weight was a result of the ultra-thin upper, the light outer-sole and the generally impressive construction of the boot. When you sit with the boot in your hands, you can also sense the master craftsmanship it took to make the boot. Ferraris technological innovation and Pumas knack for quality and construction, met in an elegant combination, that has been hard to beat ever since.

It would also take another boot from Puma to beat it of the list, Evospeed 1 Ducati Limited Edition. Overtaking its predecessor on the inside it and marginally beating it, with a weight of an astounding 152 grams. This time it's however a different motorsports giant, that's behind it, it's Ducati. They have together produced the currently lightest boot available for purchase and when you look at it closely, you quickly discover, that it's a piece of very impressive engineering.

The upper is comprised of an ultra-thin and mega light piece of microfibre, that from the first touch, is very nice and flexible. Italian Ducati have come with an elegant design, passion and soul and Puma have done what they do best; football-technology of the highest order. Puma Evospeed 1 Ducati has come in an even more exclusive stock than it's predecessor, as only 655 pairs have been made.

Puma's third representative on the glorious top 5 over the worlds lightest boots ever, is Puma v1.11 SL. The boot before it, the v1.10 SL was when it was introduced, the lightest boot at the time, so the pressure was naturally on, when v1.11 was revealed to the world. There was however no reason to fret, because with a weight of just 149 grams, they knew they had a pure speedstar on the hand.

German Puma had, as earlier mentioned, already worked together with both Ferrari and Ducati in their attempts to produce the lightest and fastest boot ever. So when v1.11 SL was being designed there was only one place to go, for help; The Worlds Fastest man, Usain Bolt. The result is fantastic, with a soft, flexible and thin upper, but it was actually the outer-sole that impressed the most. It was reinforced with carbon-fibre, to maximise the utilisation of your physical efforts and it, therefore, gave you sensational acceleration and speed.

We have come to our top dog, the lightest of all the boots ever produced and as many of you probably had guessed it's the Adidas ,F50 Adizero Prime. In the year 2011 Adidas launched a third alternative to the leather and microfibre boots in the Adizero-collection and that was the ultra-light and top tuned Prime. With a weight of just 145 grams, it broke all records and even now, more than a year after it's launch, it still retains it's title as the lightest boot in the history of football boots.

The impressive weight is a result, among other things, of the upper, that was made of a different material to the regular Adidas F50 Adizero in microfibre. On the Prime-model they used AdiLite Twin, a synthetic microfibre-material that consisted of just a single layer. This meant that on top of getting ridiculously low weight, you also got an excellent touch on the ball. Since Adidas F50 Adizero Prime, the German brand has not seemed to be tempted to make, something similar to the Adizero-collection, but you can't help but feel that one day something might pop up.

Puma have a strong presence in the top 5-list with a whopping 3 candidates, where Nike and Adidas have to settle for just 1 each. Does this make Puma the lightweight-kings, or does that honour go to Adidas, as they can brag of having the lightest of them all? It could also be Nike who run with the prestigious award, as they have pushed the boundaries for football boot production and maybe even given us a look into the future.

There are so many factors that have an influence and we are having trouble pinning an absolute lightweight-king. Asking around in the office made us no wiser, as the opinions are very divided and that's why we would like your help. Which boot do you see as being the ultimate lightweight? Are you surprised of the top 5? What do you think the future holds? Can the Adidas F50 Adizero Primes weight be beaten? Share your comments in the box down bellow.