The Nike Mercurial Superfly II football boots are hailed as the pinnacle of performance footwear, but how would they perform in the SoccerBible play test?
Our opportunity to exclusively try out the second generation of Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots, came as we joined a selection of VIP's invited to attend a secret Nike location. Arriving at the pitch, it was apparent the boots would be getting a thorough workout, with intensive drills layed out everywhere you looked!
To carry out a fair test Nike ensured we had the correct size boots, and upon receiving the Superfly II in hand you are visually struck by their bright design and colourway, which is obviously down to personal opinion. You instantly notice the texture of the Teijin material has changed since the Superfly I, as Nike have strengthened the boots to address any previous issues. The result of this though, is that the upper does need to be broken in a little and can initially feel a little rigid.
A brief warm-up gave us the chance to soften the boots upper, and after a few keepie uppies we were really beginning to notice a good feel and touch for the ball. A few passing exercises and shots on goal made us aware the upper and print application of the Superfly II create a responsive touch and friction with the ball. Your touch, passing and shooting definitely need to be accurate with this boot, as they certainly deliver the ball where it's targeted. Ideal for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo with his expert freekicks, but sometimes unforgiving for our boot testers!
After the shooting and passing practice we were straight into the training drills, putting the boots through their paces to test the Superfly II on speed, acceleration and traction. The lightweight upper and Flywire technology means the boot wraps around your foot, along with the heel counter locking your feet, so you can reap the benefits of the traction sole-plate.
There were various drills largely involving cones and a lot of running and twisting, and the pitch surface was firm to soft ground - ideal conditions! With everybody wearing Superfly II football boots, so it was quite difficult to gauge if we were outperforming an opponent, but there was no doubt the Nike Sense stud (which can extend and retract up to 3mm) gives you the confidence to give 100% during directional change and sprinting.
The now customary "United Nations" matchup at the end of the session also gave us a chance to try out the boots in a more competitive environment - even though this was really only intended as a friendly kick-a-round. Our team's Anglo-German core proved too much for the opposition, as we ran out convincing 3-0 winners - with Football Punk's Cristiano Ronaldo-esque Ben Cove netting a brace for our side.
Goal celebrations aside, what this did show over the course of the entire afternoon was that we didn't have one slip or a moment when the boot let us down, and on the planted foot for the turn we particularly felt the benefit of the anchoring studs.
There is no doubt the technology packed into the Vapor Superfly II means this boot is in a league of it's own. Our only issues would be with having to break the upper in, but once this has been done you have a great fitting boot, and of course the price seems a bit excessive at £275, but Nike would justify this for a unique piece of footwear.
Overall, the Nike Mercurial Superfly II is a boot that will respond and react to your speed and movement, they offer an unrivalled performance that you can have complete faith in as Nike has engineered some innovative technology. The boot upper gives a great touch and feel for the ball, as Nike have continued using Teijin synthetic materials and their Flywire technology. The Superfly II is truly the fastest boot available on the boots market.
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