Where Does The Superheat Place In The Speed Race?
Where Does The Warrior Superheat Place In The Speed Race?
We compare the new Superheat to football's top four speed boots.
When a completely new boot silo lands it's always interesting to see how it will find its place in the market and which players are tempted by a switch. With Warrior recently launching their new Superheat speed boot, we re wondering if it has what it takes to mix it with the big boys.
Warrior will be hoping the Superheat can break into the speed boot 'Top 4' - currently occupied by the Nike Mercurial, adidas F50, PUMA evoSPEED and Mizuno Neo. The four most established and decorated speed boots in the game will take some shifting so for Warrior it's all about making it a 'Top 5'.
Weight wise the Superheat tips the scales at just 180g, a few grams lighter than the Mercurial and evoSPEED, 10g heavier than the Morelia Neo and 30g heavier than the feather-light F50. Not bad at all, if you're going to have a crack at building a boot built for speed it has to be light, so designing a boot that's lighter than some of the market leaders is a big tick in the box for Warrior.
Leather speed boots are always a popular choice with the F50, the Neo and the evoSPEED all offering leather alternatives but Warrior have opted to design the Superheat with a synthetic and mesh upper material. What Warrior have got is a unique boot packed with their own innovations and technology.
The lightweight, water resistant mesh construction called 'Neoweb' moulds to the contours of the foot while the 'Organitouch' layers - super thin synthetic outer film materials - offer protection, enhances touch and aids close ball control while running at high speeds.
Mizuno have proved you don't have to pack world class players into your boots to prove they're fit for the very top. While Nike and adidas have the likes of Ronaldo Ibrahimovic and Messi Bale wearing their elite speed boots and PUMA lacing up Falcao and Giroud in the evoSPEED, Mizuno's player support is considerably less high profile.
Warrior have already tied up England U21 starlet Tom Ince to wear the Superheat and are claim to be in talks with a number of other top-flight players. It's always going to be difficult to compete with the mainstream brands - every weekend football pitches are dominated by F50's and Mercurial's. Without that on pitch presence Warrior will have to find other ways to raise brand awareness and gain a foothold in the market.
For players, another speed boot can only be a good thing, more competition, more innovation and more choice. Warrior look like they're here to stay, having already built a strong player portfolio for their Gambler and Skreamer models. How the market reacts to the Superheat is still to be seen.
Can the Warrior Superheat compete with the biggest speed boots in the game?