Milestones – Adidas Samba Primeknit 2014

Adidas released alongside the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro 2014 a limited edition boot that became the first ever to have a 100% knitted upper. The boot is limited to 150 pairs in the world, and sold out in seconds. Still one of my best looking boots, as the upper is just amazing with the different colors of yarn.

Some interesting stats:

• The upper consists of 1938 meters of yarn.

• Around 137 829 stiches were made.

• The boot weights 165 grams.

Luis Suarez played a game for Liverpool in these Samba Primeknits in 2014.

Thank you for reading!

Milestones – Adidas F50 Adizero miCoach 2012

When the first Adidas F50 Adizero was released in 2010 it left a good impression as many big stars wore the boot in World Cup 2010 South Africa. Players like Messi, Suarez, Bale and Robben wore the boots.

The new Adizeros were available in synthetic and leather. New design in the upper “Sprintweb” gave better stability in high speed. The new upper “Sprintskin” was made of a single layer which minimized the weight. Adidas F50 Adizero weighted 165g.

So the revolutionary about the Adizeros that were released in 2012 was a chip called “miCoach”. It´s a speed cell that was fitted into the outsole of one of the boots. You could download the App and follow your progress after every game or practice. The miCoach speed cell calculated for example the distance covered and top speed.

Thank you for reading,

Toffem.

Milestones – Nike GS Concept 2012

Nike GS (Green Speed) Concept was released in 2012, were Neymar used the boots in the Olympics. Nike constructed the boot by using renewable and recycled materials. The main goal was to reduce weight and waste in every single component of the boot! They done that and also did they create the lightest boot weighting 160 grams back in 2012.

The Nike Kanga-Lite upper produced over a third less carbon emissions when it is manufactured than traditional materials. The laces, lining and tongue of these Nike GS Concept football boots were all made from a minimum of 70% recycled materials while the toeboard and collar feature at least 15% recycled materials.

The boots and the box is indiviaually numbered. I own the pair numbered 1634 out of 2012.

Thank you for reading and remember to follow me on InstaGram as: @toffem

Milestones – Nike Mercurial Superfly I 2009

The release of Nike Mercurial Superfly I in 2009 was truly a beginning of something big.

Nike had a big launch for the boot at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo as main character to advertise the new Superfly. The Superfly I was a product of 2 years of engineering and designing, Nike did also work around many professional players feedback to create this boot.

The new technology in the Superfly I was called “Flywire”. This Flywire technology allowed Nike to reduce weight without losing strength. You can compare the Flywire technology with cables in a bridge, it supports players foot were needed. The boot weighted only 185 grams and back in 2009 that was very light. Nike added the Tepex carbon fibre soleplate to the boot which really made the Superfly I unlike any other boot on the market.

Nike released a very limited edition of the Nike Mercurial Superfly I Fg called “Wear It Proud”. They were originally made for Ugo Moyne and the English rugby team to celebrate their new purple away kit. Each boot was handmade in Italy and individually numbered from 1 to 70. Rumors tell that 30 pairs were given to the rugby team members and only 40 pairs sold to public.

My pair is numbered 55 out of 70.

Thank you for reading!

Kind regards Toffem

Milestones – Nike Mercurial SL 2008

Nike wanted to create the lightest and fastest boot in history. Nike spent 3 years creating a boot with no financial- or time limitations. In 2008 Nike released the Nike Mercurial SL (Super Light), weighed 190 grams.

The boot is almost entirely made of carbon fiber with a soleplate made of 7 layer carbon material, this to give strength and flexibility.

Nike released the boot in FG-soleplate limited to 2008 pairs and in SG-soleplate limited to 500 pairs. Cristiano Ronaldo wore the boots in Champions League Final 2008 in Moscow against Chelsea FC. The game ended 1-1 in fulltime, C.Ronaldo scored Manchester United only goal. Manchester won on penalties 6-5 and making them the Champions of 2008.

Thank you for reading!

Toffem

Milestones – Adidas Predator Powerswerve 2008

Regarded by many as the last proper Adidas Predator made. So what did Adidas change to make the PredatorPowerswerve so good?

Let`s start with the fact that Steven Gerrard said that the Predator Powerswerve was his favorite ever in the Predator range, that says quite lot about the boot. Adidas did also change the original rubber fins to “Predator SMART Foam” to give extra power and swerve. The soft foam reacts to the impact and kind of bounces back the effect straight to the ball.

Adidas did also create a “Power Pulse” system in the innersoles, by adding a chamber to the innersole filled with 30g metallic powder. So when kicking the ball the powder shifts forward in the chamber which increases the power. Adidas proved this in tests and the boot was said to create 3% more force and 8% more swerve than the Predators before. This popular boot was released in 2008 and there were more than 20 different colors available. Biggest stars to wear these were Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Michael Ballack and Daniele De Rossi.

Thank you for reading. More to come as always 😉

Milestones – Lotto Zhero Gravity

Lotto Zhero Gravity was back in 2006 a truly unique boot, Lotto designed a lightweight boot with no laces. The boot is beautifully designed, as you expect it to be for a company from Italy. To create a laceless boot Lotto had to spend some serious time on research and developing different concepts, for example what if the boot is too loose and you can’t tighten the boot? In this case you can´t! But Lotto did it and it´s working.

So instead of laces Lotto uses a rubber compound on top of the foot and in the heel, so the rubber stretches just a bit to get the boots on and off the foot. I used a pair of these for a whole season back in 2006. The touch with these boots was incredible! And they were eye catching for sure. Only down side really was that after lot of usage they didn´t fit tight enough. If you buy a pair I my case I had to go half size down.

Big thanks for reading and follow for more!

Nike Tiempo 7 Project

So I just finished yet another project that included football boots. This time the project took me around 12 hours of work and some additional time for the paintjob.

The idea behind this project is influenced by the recent collaboration between Nike and fashion designer “Off-White” c/o Virgil Abloh. So Nike launched ten footwear classics reconstructed in collaboration with Off-White in late October 2017.

Once I had seen this design I really wanted to create a my version of Off-White in a football boot. I also got a cool concept design made on a computer by my friend Gunt Tansuwannarat. And so I did! Follow my steps through the project.

1. I bought a pair of Nike Tiempo 7 “Academy Pack”, as they were already coloured black.

2.  I had to get the leather for the Nike logo, it had to be high quality and very thin because if it´s too thick then you will have problem when sewing it. Also make sure you use a needle constructed for leather.

3. Next thing was to print a paper copy of the Nike logo. Then I used it as a model before cutting the actual leather. Before I even started to attach the new leather logo on the boot I marked the position of the logo with a chalk on side of the boot. This helps me to keep the position of the logo while attaching it.

4. Following step is to glue the logo on place. I used a super glue that is suitable for leather. I glued short steps at time so I got it to fit perfectly and go along the the curvy side of the boot.

5. The next step is the hardest part of it all, the sewing of the logo. As normally when these types of boots are factory made they are sewed by machine and that´s only possible before the plastic soleplate is attached. So without lying this step took me like 8 hours of work, this because I were not familiar with this type of sewing and because I had to use pliers to reach when pushing the needle out from the inside of the boot. I have to admit I were really close to give up few times, until I got the right technique.

6. Next thing was to attach the small orange leather tag to the boot, also by sewing.

7. Before bringing them for the paint job I wanted to add a chrome tongue on them. As the boot looked as good with and without tongue I decided to use velcro tape. This allowed me to remove and attach the tongue if I so want. I sew one side of the velcro underneath the original short tongue on the boot and the other I sew into the new chrome tongue.

8. The boots are ready for paint job at my local artist Maalinetti.com
Here is some pics of the boots before paint job with and without tongue.

9. The boots arrive and the project is finished! I am very happy how they turned up, and I feel like it paid off. Thank you for the positive feedback I got on InstaGram (@toffem). Here is some pics of the final boot:

More detailed pics in a slideshow:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Thank you for reading and please leave feedback!

Kind regards Toffem.

Milestones – Puma V1.06

In 2006 Puma really got back to the fight with Nike and Adidas. Puma presented the v1.06 which was the lightest boot Puma ever made. Some great players wore them such as Samuel Eto’o, Robert Pires, Alexander Hleb and Fredrik Ljungberg. 

Puma used a so called “Scholler ConTec”
upper material which made the boot light and gave close to bare foot feel. To increase the bare foot feel puma reshaped the front of the foot and used “Puma Lace Wrap System” to ensure a optimal fit.  

To reduce even more weight Puma used carbon fibre in the soleplate, which gave more flexibility and strength. Puma v1.06 had also a stud pattern that was different from the other brands, especially the studs in the heel was designed for speed.

Thank you for reading! Will soon continue selling some boots so stay tuned!

Milestones – Adidas F50 Tunit

The Adidas F50.6 Tunit was a big hit in 2006; it felt like everyone had a pair. Unique thing about these boots were that you could customize your boots by changing: 
• Studs, there were three options: FG-studs, SG-studs and HG-studs.

• Soleplate, you could change between lightweight or comfort.
• Upper, there was countless of different uppers available. Even All the 32 nation in
the world cup 2006 had also their own signature Uppers.

The screw in studs held the different parts of the boot together. The boot was usually sold in a huge box including: Uppers, 3 sets of studs, 2 soleplates and a key to tighten the studs. The new upper of Adidas F50.6 Tunit was made of lightweight “adiHex” 3D micro-fibre upper that gave great touch and feel to the ball. Also Adidas kept the lace cover from the earlier F50 range. Only small downside was after heavy use the studs started to get loose and fall off.

The boot was worn
by some of world´s top class players like Arjen Robben, Ashley Cole, Djibril Cisse and Jermain
Defoe.

Thank you for reading and there is much more to come!