A seventh generation of Superfly and thirteenth generation of Vapor. That’s how you know that the Mercurial series is one of the greatest of all time, and with that history comes immense expectation upon every release. How do you improve the best speed boot in the game time and time again? We’ve laced up in the Mercurial Superfly 7 in search of answers.
The previous generation of Mercurial was widely received as one of the most perfect of all time. So where do you go from that? You tweak rather than overhaul. The Superfly VI was a departure from the fifth-gen, so we were expecting a slightly modified version for the seventh-gen and on first impression of the silhouette that’s what we got. But how do they perform when that beautifully aggressive soleplate crosses the white line? It is essentially an upgrade? Will we ask any more questions before we start answering some? Nah, we’re done now, promise.
If you haven’t worn a Mercurial since the synthetic days of the Vapor X or XI then these will take some getting used to. But if you wore the Superfly VI or Vapor XII then the transition will be pretty seamless with some pleasant upgrades in store. The technical updates are minimal, at least on first sight in terms of the shape anyway, so naturally Nike have saved the dramatic overhaul for the aesthetic with some strong graphic game taking over the upper. And do you know what? We’re absolutely on board with that.
This is the busiest Mercurial upper we’ve seen and when you take it out of the box it instantly looks stunning. The ‘Merc’ and ‘Just Do It’ branding is modern and progressive while offering a streamlined look with its sloping direction, and the outlined Swoosh on the ‘New Lights’ colourway ensures that the blue colour is dominant.
The white fleck within the new Flyknit upper adds further beauty to the aesthetic, but we’ll have more on that in a bit. Flip the boot over and this is where you can tell that you’ve paid top whack for them – the soleplate is armed with a design that screams agility and the usage of ‘Nike Football’ in numerous languages finishes things off perfectly.
Before we get onto the performance review it’s probably worth noting that the Superfly 7 is basically the Vapor 13 with a slightly taller collar. Other than a slightly more enhanced feeling on the ankle, they’re identical. Hence why the Superfly is only a tenner more expensive than the Vapor these days. Take your pick.
That new upper is obviously the key feature that you’re going to notice when you get them on feet. The Flyknit is rougher to touch thanks to the weave of the material but it instantly feels lighter and tighter once your foot is locked in. Is it super soft? Not on the outside, but once you're in you feel the perfect sensation of harnessing without it being too tight; it really is bang on in terms of lockdown.
The upper is textured and offers a grippy feel on the ball because of that. It’s enough to take the zip out of a pass but thin and hard enough to offer that sharp pingy feel when you strike the ball. The new Flyknit construction does the make the boot feel a bit stiffer than it looks but it starts to soften up quite quickly once you’ve worn them a few times.
With that initial tougher feel comes a lot of durability. Knitted boots have the tendency to feel a bit vulnerable to a tear or foot injury during a game but the Superfly 7’s upper feels strong, which is surprising considering it also feels lighter and more flexible.
The Dynamic Fit Collar is ever so slightly lower than the previous generation but not really enough to notice. Nike have found a much sleeker way of incorporating the mid-cut silhouette in comparison to the much thicker and more intimidating collar of the Superfly V.
We’ve seen a few professional players taking out the laces to wear them as a slip-on boot, but we can’t say we’d do the same. We’d definitely go true to size but we tightened the laces a decent amount to get the right fit. Would we go half a size up if we had extra wide feet? No, they’d been too long. Honestly, if you’ve got extra wide feet, pick something else.
The upper is made from a high-tenacity yarn which presses nicely against your feet to ensure that there are no gaps between your foot and the upper, which is what offers that warm harnessed sensation we were on about earlier, even when sprinting and changing direction at pace. There’s a thin layer of All Conditions Control (ACC) technology on top which is still underrated in our opinion, even in the most torrential rain it keeps the boots light, dry and ultimately fast.
We wont sit on the fence here, the Mercurial has the best speed outsole on the market. It’s super aggressive, incredibly responsive and is built to cut at speed, accelerate & decelerate. You can push off at any angle with absolute confidence that the boot is secure and is offering you optimal energy return. The new generation has increased the length of the studs slightly so we wouldn’t recommend playing on turf in these, you’ll be much better suited with an AG plate.
As an added bonus for this season Nike have also upgraded their Anti-Clog plate – not just in the sense that they can now create it in different colourways – but that it also follows the same split design to keep weight down and not compromise flexibility as much.
For so long the success of the Mercurial was built on super-soft synthetic materials, notably the Vapor X, a strong favourite of ours, but this new Flyknit construction has a strange way of making this feel like a completely new boot while still drenched in Mercurial DNA.
A couple of other side notes: like any knitted boot, if you leave them in your bag for a few days after a game then they’re gonna stink. But on the other hand they’re dead easy to clean and should keep their good looks for most of the season if you stick to FG pitches. SG shouldn't be too different, unless you opt for a predominantly white colourway.
Verdict
Is this the greatest Superfly of all time? That’s a tough question to answer because of nostalgic bias. But this is the greatest Mercurial of the Flyknit generation, hands down. The upper has an immensely impressive way of being durable and strong while being lightweight, soft and offering the perfect amount of locked-in feels. The touch absorbs a pacey pass but also pings a shot with zing, and on top of all that they looks typically streamline, typically fast and typically Mercurial with a modern execution. It feels like we say this every time a new Mercurial comes out, but we’re not sure what Nike can do improve it again next time. But that’s their problem, not ours.
Pick up the Nike Mercurial Superfly 7 football boots at prodirectsoccer.com
