The Nike Mercurial 2.1 was the re-release of the legendary
Nike Mercurial 1 (1998). In this black and white colourway, it’s easy to see
why so many people loved this boot.
When unboxing them I was amazed. The
white lines on the two-tone black upper just popped and looked amazing, which
is a refreshing change from the bright colours of todays speed boot market.
The boot is near enough the same as the original Mercurial
1, with only a handful of differences. The first of which is the tongue. The
2.1 features a shorter tongue, one similar to the ones we saw on the early Vapor
series with the ‘tab’ at the top, only you can’t fold it over like on the Vapor
1 to 3. Other differences include a
raised toe-box for a better fit and a redesigned heel counter and inner lining
for a more comfortable experience.
The upper was the first Nike boot to be fully synthetic and
is still surprisingly soft, even 14 years after they were made in Italy,
something I wish still happened for today’s boots. The upper is called KNG-100
and offers a good fit and feel. On the
upper, the duller finish mimics leather, a bit like modern day Kanga-Lite only
not as soft and pliable and the shiny finish is a grip coating, allowing for a
bit more grip when moving the ball around.
On the bottom of the boot is a TPU soleplate which is
responsive and offers a good level of comfort for a ‘speed’ boot, with no stud
pressure felt. Speaking of studs, the stud pattern is a bladed configuration
allowing for good grip on pitch, even those not in the best of conditions. It’s
not as aggressive as the modern day mercurial but still feels good.
The fit of these is just as good as the modern day Vapors,
if not better. The shape is near perfect and is easily understandable why among
the Mercurial fans is considered one of the best fitting of the series. It’s
true to size for anyone looking to get a pair.
ThatCoultasGuy, 2014.
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