As we turn our attention to the incoming season, it’s no surprise to see the major brands turning out some new paint jobs for their players to wear. For Nike, that means turning away from the Pitch Black Pack and the pack from the Euros and introducing us to the “Elite Pack.” Now, the last time Nike hit us with the “Elite” boots, it meant different materials used, a higher price point, and extra goodies. This time, it merely commemorates the color palette change and sticks with the Nike soccer cleats that we’ve already come to know and love from the Swoosh.

Enter the Elite Pack.

For anybody that has been waiting on a fairly calm Nike release before wading into the newest Magista II, or there was just something wrong between you and the Pitch Black Pack: the Elite Pack is for you. Each boot uses gray as the predominant color on the upper, with sea foam green used as the primary accent, and (of course) Nike’s favorite color volt used for a splash of brightness. It’s a fairly calm launch from the sportswear giant, but we expect that it’s meant to be a calm before a storm (otherwise known as a bright/loud release).

Out of this pack, we’re huge fans of the Magista, Mercurial SuperFly, and Phantom. Nike has really used the brighter colors to perfect effect and they’ve made sure that none of the boots suffer through the pitfall of gray boots (being too boring) and avoid going overboard with the green/volt. The heat map styling of the Magista is something that we’re excited Nike is sticking with as they move forward. It will make an interesting set-up for future colorways, but it will also be interesting to see if players agree with the “hot zones.”

Although we like the boots in this pack, the HyperVenom and Tiempo have us shaking our heads a bit. The HyperVenom looks like Nike only shifted the Pitch Black Hypervenom from having black to gray as the dominant color. Although that’s really all a new colorway is, it feels like it’s a bit lazy. The Tiempo also feels like something we’ve seen a few times already. This could be from the fact that the teal/green used on this Tiempo was already used during the Tiempos we saw at the Euros. It doesn’t take away from how great this boots look, but it’s tough for us to not think that this is a bit lazy.

With the quality that Nike imbibes throughout their line-up, there’s nothing in this pack that wouldn’t be a great purchase for your upcoming season. We’ve tested everything that the Swoosh has produced, and we’ve yet to find ourselves ever regretting lacing up a Nike boot. If you want a boot in a colorway that let’s your play do the talking, it’s time to dress up in gray. Get elite.

 

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