Nike Vapor IX Supernova vs Adidas Adizero F50 Yamamoto

Over the last few weeks, we in the boot world have been treated to a quality game of one-upsmanship from Soccer’s two main brands. Back in October, the boot powerhouses graced us with a bevy of high profile and high visibility releases in Adidas’ Enlightened and Nike’s Hi-Vis Collections. The Three Stripes followed that campaign up with the delightfully flamboyant Samba Collection, including two next-gen boots in the line-up, and Nike is set to release a reflective pack of their own in the very near future!

Funnily enough, nowhere in those collections will we find Adidas’ or Nike’s most outlandish releases of the last few months; that honor belongs to the Yohji Yamamoto Special Edition Adizero F50 and the CR7 Supernova Edition Mercurial Vapor IX.

I should probably begin by reminding our readers that I am by no means a fan of player-custom boots released to the retail market but regardless, the aforementioned releases are unique enough for me to look past my previous reservations and give you as closed to an unbiased and informative comparison of the two releases. Today we’re putting a pair of the craziest releases of the year in a head to head clash for the title of “Boot That Tyler Sort Of Likes Better but Would Probably Not Wear – Lightweight Champion of the World.” Without further ado, let’s go ringside for coverage of this titanic clash.

Nike Vapor IX Supernova

Starting with the starry-eyed surprise: weighing in at just over 6 and a half ounces and blanketed in high-quality teijin microfiber and sporting a high performance bladed stud configuration, the Nike CR7 Galaxy Mercurial Vapor IX! Featuring the All Conditions Control treatment, the CR7 Galaxy looks to be out of this world. Designed around the specifications and style of one of the most Mercurial players in the game, the CR7 edition Vapor IX features a (you guessed it) galaxy and supernova inspired design on the upper and comes with both black and teal laces for an added level of customization. This boot was designed for a modern Galactico, and while the design is supremely original, it is not overly flashy and is rather tame when compared to some of the previous incarnations of the CR7 Vapor! Nike went above and beyond with this release but at $235 retail on Nike.com, is this boot really light years ahead of the competition!?

[Also: Up Close and Personal With the Nike Vapor IX Supernova]

Adidas adiZero F50 Yamamoto

And in this corner, we have a fierce-looking challenger with a rather.. dogged disposition. Weighing close to 5.8 ounces and featuring a frame that would make a sprinter blush, the Yamamoto Special Edition Adizero F50! Playing on Japanese mythology, fashion demi-god Yohji Yamamoto designed this F50 around the concept of a half-magical half-mechanical lion-dog. The vibrant colors and visually intensive graphics definitely play to the boots strengths: fearsome performance coupled with unwavering dedication to visceral speed! But with only 2000 pairs of these boots in existence, will  their ownership be limited to the barking mad and fashion conscious?

[Also: Introducing the Yohji Yamamoto F50 adiZero]

While both of the boots I so eloquently detailed in the previous few paragraphs are in fact, visually striking and tremendously original, only one can go home with the title of “Boot that Tyler Sort of Likes Better but Would Probably Not Wear – Lightweight Champion of the World.”

The Decision

While I would absolutely love to give this one to my beloved Three Stripes, I feel that the CR7 Galaxy is a more complete and wearable package. The Yamamoto F50 is a supremely awesome boot, but I would feel awkward wearing them on the field as opposed to keeping them on the mantle as a conversation piece for parties. This one goes to the CR7 Galaxy Edition Mercurial Vapor IX!

Which boot is the knockout package in your opinion? Leave a controversial comment down below to refute my outrageous claims or support my well-informed and logical comparison!