After having arguably the hottest boot of the year turn up at your doorstep, it seemed only right for us to give the Nike GS the SoccerBible studio treatment. We jumped it to the front of the que, and now in super close-up style can show you the Nike Green Speed like you've never seen it before!
Nike have stripped back to the essential elements of a performance boot, as the Green Speed delivers a deadly combination of lightweight innovation and recycled materials resulting in the fastest, lightest and greenest boot Nike has ever made.
At 160 grams of recycled and renewable engineering, Nike Green Speed is built for high-speed control, designed around the natural movement of the foot for a super natural fit. A revolution in the boot world, Nike have once again pushed back the boundaries of boot design and construction.
Nike challenged themselves to re-imagine the football boot, throwing away everything and ignoring convention. "We engineered a boot for the future: delivering superior performance and lower environmental impact."
The Nike GS football boots are a completely stand-alone boot, not belonging to any silo that has gone before, every component has been radically engineered. As can be seen with the GS traction plate, featuring a spine for explosive speed: coring out a diamond silhouette for optimal flexand agility. Made with 50% Pebax Renu, derived from 97% castor beans, the most renewable resource Nike have used.
The vamp has been designed to deliver a supernatural fit, by discovering a way to mimic the feel and responsiveness of Kangaroo leather while improving resistance to heat and cold and better recovery after stretch.
The solvent-free Kanga-lite synthetic upper provides zonal reinforcement for exceptional touch and control. The material is also better for the planet, manufactured with 35% less carbon emissions compared to traditional materials.
The Nike GS tongue and quarter are made of form fitting recycled polyester, made from 95% recycled plastic bottles. This conscious thinking continues with the toeboard, as Nike cut-out one toeboard all waste is re-purposed to manufacture another toeboard, creating a closed loop product and zero waste.
The Pebax Renu heel counter is molded in an anatomical, asymmetric shape to lock the foot down for better response and control. The Nike Green Speed soccer cleats are made with at least 77% castor beans, which require less water to grow than other natural materials.
The Nike Green Speed football boots feature anatomically positioned studs which maximize speed in multiple directions for optimized responsiveness on the pitch. Constructed with an eco-TPU derived from castor beans- reducing Nike's impact on the world's food resource and satisfying only our appetite for innovation with a material 15% lighter than traditional TPU.
Speaking on the design of the Nike GS, David Eyers – Nike Football Senior Product Manager – said "We've created engineered zones with different materials and really thought about every single part of the boot. What we thought a lot about was what we needed to put in and what we could leave out. How could we minimize excess materials to create a super-lightweight and sustainable football boot."
"Our aim with the Nike Green Speed wasn't to create the lightest boot around. The weight is a bi-product of thinking about everything you need in a boot for the high-speed game and creating a highly sustainable and green football boot."
An extremely limited release, there are 2012 pairs of the Nike GS football boots available to pre-order now from selected online retailers. For those boot fans lucky to get their hands on a pair, you can expect to part with around £250 GBP / $300 USD. The boots will begin shipping from August 15th and will be worn at the 2012 London Olympics.
