Blacked-Out Boots, What's the Hype? | ThatCoultasGuy

Blacked-Out Boots, What's the Hype? | ThatCoultasGuy 

Blacked-out boots are one thing that I will continue to love. The mystery of them is something that makes them so good. Black on black creates an effect which makes them stand out more on a pitch than a bright pink and orange boot or a green and white and that's what makes them so popular.

I currently have three pairs of blacked-out boots, a pair of Mercurial Miracles, a pair of Adizero MiCoach 1 and also a blacked-out pair of Copa Mundials; each one have been blackout differently, something we shall explore later.

For my Nike Mercurial Miracles, I used a professional blackout kit from TootsBoots which cost £35 and did a fantastic job, the finish is smooth and consistent and the black has stayed on the boots. Before I blacked them out they were the Mango/Grey colourway and now they are a solid black. The Mercurial upper is a one piece smooth,synthetic material which makes it a fantastic boot to blackout as it looks so stealth like. Whenever I wear them I get asked what boots they are as people cannot tell due to the all black upper, something which I really like.. an almost exclusive boot. 

My second blackout is the Adidas Adizero MiCoach in leather and this is one that I blacked-out myself without the use of a blackout kit. Instead I used things that can be found in most houses; red and green permanent marker pens, a black marker pen and also black liquid shoe polish. I started off by covering the boots in the red marker pen and letting them dry fully before going over the red in the green marker pen which made them a dark brown/black colour. After this was dry I then went over it the black marker pen which made them even blacker. When completely dry (I waited about 10 minutes) I went lightly over the boots in the black liquid shoe polish to give a protective layer and also to make an all-over equal colour. I've played in these boots for around 5-8 hours now and in a few conditions (hard pitch, firm-soft pitch and also muddy pitch) and the colour has held up well. The upper has stayed on extremely well and the majority of the colour has held up on the soleplate well, something which I didn't think would happen.

I did it because I had wanted the official blackout colourway of the Adizero but didn't want to pay for another pair of the same boots but in black when I could make them myself for much cheaper and this is another reason why so many people are blacking out their boots.
The availability of an official blackout colourways is something we've only just started to see more of and when they are released there is normally a price hike, so many people have to make them themselves.

My last pair of blackouts are my Adidas Copa Mundial which I also did the same way as the Adizeros. My doing a blackout on them I feel it makes the boots look even more classic and the all black upper really makes the soleplate, laces and tongue stand out. An official blackout Copa will be released this year but will most likely be at a raised price so the simple blackout treatment is an equally good alternative.

Another reason why so many people like the blackout look is the prototype feel. Before official colourways are released, the first time we see a boot is on the feet of professionals in an all black colourway. This creates the affect of not knowing what boot it actually is and creates an almost mystery about them, something which translates onto the pitches in the form of blackouts. 

 

 

What do you think about blackouts, do you like them or hate them? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Once again thanks for reading, ThatCoultasGuy.

2014.