Black Magista collar

With the game-changing insertion from Nike to possibly extend the build of a soccer boot above the ankle and creating a bit of a “sock” that attaches to the boot, we began to move from wonder to sheer curiosity on how the boots would function. Now that we have had the Nike Magista pass through Instep HQ and with testing on the horizon for the revolutionary boots, we have to start to ask the question: is this the future of boots? Or are we seeing a release that will only be around during the 2014 World Cup?

As with all major company releases, the longevity of a boot will definitely depend on the customer acceptance and uptake. However, if Nike and their R&D department decide that this is the way boots are moving, then it makes us think about how the other boots in the Nike pantheon will handle the change (or, if they can even make the move!).

Nike Magista behind

For the remaining boots that Nike makes, we can go ahead and rule out the Premier. As the boot’s main selling point is the fact that it nods towards classic boots with some minor modern adaptions (merely to slightly improve the boot), Nike would be remiss to try and add the collar to this boot as it would change its appeal completely. The Premier’s future is collar-less. For the HyperVenom, considering that NikeSkin is being used with the Magista and the collar, the collar would be an easy addition to this style. The agility-specific boot would actually be able to claim that the added collar only adds to the agility aspects of the Venom. For the Venom, if the collar is the future, it could definitely benefit.

The last remaining Nike silo would be the Tiempo. A boot that is still considered a “heritage” boot and a boot that would sacrifice everything about its DNA if it moved into a non-leather upper in order to accommodate the collar. If Nike did find a way to move the collar onto the Tiempo without losing the leather upper, any Tiempo purist would probably still cry “foul.” The boot is meant to have a classic feel, and the collar seems unlikely to work with what players expect from the Tiempo. For the Tiempo, the collar would take too much away from the boot’s style…

Magista Black with Volt

The last thought would be if we will continue to see the collar after this World Cup or after a few months. While we expected the carbon-fibre soleplate to last forever once it entered on the “elite” series, Nike moved away from the material only after two/three years. Could the collar be the same? Or will it only be seen on World Cup-related releases? Hopefully, if our time with the Magista is any clue, it is around to stay. The Magista is truly going to change the entire boot landscape, and certainly for the better. It will certainly be fun to see.

 

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