Today is one of the most important days for Nike, as it unveils the latest generation of its new Mercurial boots. Following the launch of its latest generation, the Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII and Superfly VII football boots in July 2019, the American brand – which relies heavily on sales and the marketing of this model – is once again targeting the football boot market with the launch of a boot that is sure to be the best-selling football boot worldwide over the coming months.
Nike Mercurial Dragonfly football boots
From the images, we can already see and deduce that this is a launch of a ‘disruptive’ version, given the bold colour combination Nike has chosen for this release. As for the design, the American brand has opted for a predominantly white upper on its new Nike Mercurial football boots, placing great emphasis on the outer sides, due to the prominence given to the darker two-tone outline of the Swoosh.
Design: Nike Mercurial Dragonfly for 2021
Although white is the dominant colour on the upper of these new Nike Mercurial Superfly 8 / Nike Mercurial Vapor 14 football boots, other colours still stand out, largely due to their more transparent construction. The wide range of colours we can make out there ranges from the yellow on the front to the purple, pink and orange. The Swooshes on the outer sides are of great importance to the design of this new boot, as they are larger and much bolder than those featured on the previous generation.
Technical features: Nike Mercurial Dragonfly
Since the launch of the latest speed boot models from Nike’s main rivals, the brand’s primary objective for the next generation of its Mercurial range is to improve grip, fit and stability in order to achieve even greater speed—if that’s possible—and offer all users better performance in an area that is becoming increasingly important in modern football.
Although we still have a 360° construction at the forefront of this new generation, we can see that these new 2021 Mercurials, when compared to the previous generation, appear to be much stiffer at first glance. But let’s not be fooled; this new upper is where Nike has invested most of its efforts to modernise and thus boost performance. Despite what many of you may already be thinking, Flyknit hasn’t disappeared completely; this material from the American brand’s boots is still present in this new generation of Mercurials, though it has been removed from just one area: the heel.
Given that we’ve hardly seen any Flyknit, and that’s largely why we mentioned that at first glance it seems much stiffer than its predecessor, what is this new Mercurial made of? The development work behind this new upper has a name: Vaporsite Upper and Technical Componentized Upper
Technical Componentized Upper
This name is perhaps the most complex one Nike has ever given to one of its technologies. Not so much because of its length or its literal translation, but because of the perfect combination of the four materials Nike has used. Yes, FOUR – you read that right. The different types of materials and technologies that make up this new technology have completely revolutionised this new generation of Mercurials.
Part of this new technology is the seemingly unusual design that runs across the upper, as it features distinctive ‘holes’ from the toe box to the area where the heel and heel counter are located. For the most part, all these holes have been incorporated to improve breathability and reduce the boot’s weight whilst maintaining much-needed and useful stability.
To better understand the holes, let’s break this part down. We’ll start with the Avail Q Lining Material and the Titan Synthetic. Both materials are considered crucial in this boot, as together they give the boot the optimal shape that Nike was aiming for with this new generation, as well as greater waterproofing—despite the holes they have—and excellent elasticity. All this despite the stiffness we initially felt on the inside.
The remaining two materials are Engineered Mesh, the super-durable material which, in addition to the lightness and breathability that characterise this model, also significantly reduces its weight. We finish with Duragon WT Skin, which is nothing less than the new material that completely covers the entire upper. This provides a higher degree of waterproofing to this new boot without increasing its weight and, above all, without compromising its grip when touching the ball.
Sole
The outsole of the latest generation of these new Mercurial boots has also undergone a minor revolution. Although the previous generation had already addressed the shortcomings of the model before it—resulting in greater outsole durability and a significant improvement in the boot’s stability and grip—the American brand decided to build on and further enhance the excellent performance it had already achieved in this area.
The outsole remains a two-piece modular design (front and rear) – the Aerotrak 2 Plate – but it is no longer separate, as both parts are now connected by a small bridge that links them together. Together, they add up. They enhance the grip that is so essential for our sprints and stops, as well as our stability during all the movements we make on the pitch. It is also worth noting the internal counter, or in this case a newly developed one, designed to improve the fit when we slip our feet into the boots and thus also prevent the traditional ‘roll-over’ that can occur during training and/or matches.
This is the new Mercurial DragonFly. For more information, don’t miss the review of this boot, which will be uploaded to our YouTube channel in a few days. Also, don’t forget that the new generation of Nike Mercurial will be on sale soon (1st of February 2021) on the Fútbol Emotion website.
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