A cleaner, stripped down Copa by the Three Stripes.
The Boots That Got Away
This Valentine’s Day, we pay tribute to the near misses, the loves of our lives could have been.
Comparing the adidas Predator 20.1 and Predator Freak.1
8.5
out of 10
The new Predator Freak .1 comes with some upgrades.
Who is this for?
The adidas Predator Freak .1 improves on the previous generation with an easier-to-break-in upper, split sock construction and a closer touch on the ball.
It is for everyone who wants more grip with every touch they get on the ball.
The Good
Upper is slightly easier to break in
Good looks
Ease of foot entry
AG compatible FG soleplate
A much closer touch on the ball
Grip for days
The Bad
Midfoot is still tight
8.5
out of 10
Sneak Peek: Puma Future Z Leather
Fans have been raving about the new Puma Future Z. Coupled with some great marketing alongside Neymar, the boot has definitely caught the eye with its cleaner design while keeping focus on fit and lockdown through its new midfoot compression band.
While the upper is mostly knit with a synthetic coating, our friends from @tokyo_football shared with us some upcoming photos of the Puma Future Z in a leather upper format. This isn’t the first time Puma has attempted to create a leather version of a football boot with the big cat having developed a leather version of our 2020 Boot of the Year, the Puma Ultra.
From the current screen grabs we’ve seen, it seems the compression band and the lace area remains knitted while the rest of that upper is made from a thin leather material.
It is also quite telling that the listing for “Grip Control Pro” remains on the heel of the boot that tells us to expect the sticky grip coating that was on the knitted Puma Future Z variant to appear on the leather version as well. The matte finish on the leather upper hints at this coating which many people don’t realise exists on the knitted Puma Future Z until you actually have them in hand.
Whether it is as sticky as its knitted counterpart, we’ll have to wait and see.
And finally, this leather version includes an extra feature listed on the heel – “Lazertouch”. Lazertouch is a Puma technology that debut with the modern iteration of the Puma King which uses lasers to etch patterns and textures on the boot’s upper.
In these photos, you see some textured designs on the forefoot that probably is the result of Lazertouch. Honestly, it doesn’t look to aid too much in grip and seems more of an aesthetic feature rather than a practical feature.
A leather version of Puma’s popular boot might be enticing for those who can’t bear to wear anything other but leather on the pitch though don’t expect this to be as commonly available due to its relatively low demand by customers.
Considering this boot carries the same look as the recently announced Puma Eclipse colourway, expect the leather version of the Puma Future Z to hit the stores within the next week or two.
Sneak Peak: Adidas Predator Accelerator Remake
The Accelerator is back, again. Adidas really seems to love their remakes. Having already given us one adidas Predator Accelerator remake this year, The Three Stripes will once again be releasing an all-original colourway for this next drop.
This next Predator Accelerator remake will have the same colours as the launch Predator Freak. It matches up with the rest of the Superlative pack quite nicely. This colourway might be a hit or a miss depending on your taste, but we are quite fond of these.
One of the issues with these is probably the fact that adidas has only just recently released another Predator Accelerator – one that came dressed in full black.
Having the black accents on the boots do a good job of making the rest of the colours pop better, which makes it a good decision keep black as a base colour on this Predator Accelerator Remake. One good thing about this remake is that they provided a new colourway instead of just re-releasing a classic one. We really appreciate when remakes try to do something a little bit different.
The bright yellow and blue also do well highlighting the various parts of tech. The bright yellow heel is a nice touch, too. The soleplate itself is the same soleplate you would find on an existing adidas Predator Freak or the recent Predator 20.1. But this isn’t a bad thing since the soleplate works well on multiple surfaces with no issues. Plus, it helps keep the weight of the Predator Accelerator Remake down.
Overall, its nice that adidas continue to mix things up. Some people seem like they are starting to get tired of all of these remakes releasing and we were wondering if adidas will change things up. And they did with a brand new colourway for this remake.
Expect these to be launched within the next week or considering how the boots carry the same colourway as the recently released adidas Superlative pack.
What do you think of this Accelerator remake? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments!
All photos credit to OFOBALL
Sneak Peak: Puma X First Mile Ultra
At BOOTHYPE, we’re big fans of anything that promotes and uses sustainable methods of production, like Green Guards. So, seeing screenshots of the Puma X First Mile Ultra collaboration got us very excited.
For the uninitiated, First Mile is a company that helps micro-economies in Haiti, Honduras and Taiwan by collecting plastic bottles and turning them into yarns that are used to make products. They follow the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in order to achieve this. Puma has already been working with First Mile on things like apparel and casual shoes but are taking their partnership onto the pitch with the Puma X First Mile Ultra.
As for the boots themselves, the colourway is reminiscent of the one of the Puma Future 18.1 colourways. It looks like the ocean, which links the boots to where the plastic bottles that have been recycled are from.
This particular model of the Puma Ultra also seems to have less volume than the current model. The heel also appears to have more of natural shape to it, so the heel lockdown will likely be stronger in these as well. The upper also seems like it has been reworked and makes the boot seem lighter than the current models, which is an idea that seems crazy considering how light the current model of the Ultra already is at just over 150g.
One of the few things that hasn’t changed is the soleplate. In the past, Puma have been rightfully taken to task for using the same soleplate over and over again. We don’t mind here as the current Puma Ultra soleplate is quite nice and has a good amount of the aggression you would to expect to find from a modern speed boot.
What do you think about these Puma X First Mile Ultra? Let us know in the comments below.
adidas Copa Mundial Review: A no-frills experience in a super large boot
8.5
out of 10
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Old is gold with the adidas Copa Mundial.
Who is this for?
A must have for lovers of the classic leather boot.
The Good
Clean, crisp touch
Soft, luxurious leather
Classic good looks
Great build quality
The Bad
Heavy, especially when wet
Sizing is too large
8.5
out of 10
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Sneak Peek: Nike Mercurial Superfly 8 Dream Speed 4
With the launch of the new Nike Mercurial Superfly 8, recent leaks show that there will be a continuation of the “Dream Speed” series. This new addition to the series, the Nike Mercurial Superfly 8 Dream Speed 4, will be worn by Ronaldo, Mbappe and Sam Kerr. In keeping with the rest of the series, we can see that these leaked pictures show there to be a slightly different styling from the “normal” Mercurials. All Images credit to @zonesport via FootyHeadlines.
A cool example of this is a larger silhouette of the Nike swoosh on the outside of the boot. This is accompanied by a smaller silver swoosh closer to the rear of the silhouette. There is also a kind of race flag type square found on the toe box, as well on the heels on the outstep and the instep. Maybe Nike are once again going to tie a Mercurial to racing like they did with Neymar “Speed Freak” Vapors.
Colourway-wise, its reminiscent of a fruit slushie. The colours look like they’ll be brighter in person and it should look good on feet and on the pitch. We kind of wish they extended the colour all around the boot instead of having a white base. We are looking forward to seeing this Nike Mercurial Superfly when it launches!
However, these look quite good and it will be interesting to see if Nike will be able to replicate the success they have had with previous models of the Dream Speed series.
The Nike Mercurial Dream Speed 4 is slated for a March/April launch which form part of its summer/spring launch – very apt considering the boot’s bright colours. The boot should also be expected to launch in the low cut Vapor version as well.
What do you all think of the Nike Mercurial Dream Speed 4? Let us know in the comments below.
Review: Puma Accelerate OMB
8.5
out of 10
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The match ball that suits all.
Review: Puma Accelerate OMB
Who is this for?
Everyone who wants to have a good time on pitch with a solid, cushioned match ball.
The Good
Padded upper
Ball flies through the air easily
Easy to generate power on the ball
The Bad
Ball flight is less predictable
8.5
out of 10
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Concave Volt + Knit Review: A solid, affordable knitted boot
7
out of 10
A padded boot for strikers.
Who is this for?
Players who want a padded knitted boot on a budget.
The Good
Nice design
Comfortable
AG friendly studs
Good traction
Clean and large surface area for control
Affordable
The Bad
Too wide and long
Too padded
PowerStrike Zone has little use in football
7
out of 10
