Does Nike Have a New Turf Boot of Choice?

Nike Bomba Finale II

Last March, Nike announced they were putting more of a focus on the small sided game. They made the decision to discontinue the Nike 5 line in favour of a new FC247 moniker (24 hours a day/7 days a week).

The idea behind the line was to produce three top quality boots which would encompass all aspects of the small sided game. You had the Lunar Gato designed with comfort and all around performance in mind regardless of the small sided surface, the Elastico Finale geared towards court/futsal play, and the Bomba Finale geared towards 5v5 games on turf or AG.

nike_5_bomba_finale
The Nike 5 Bomba

While the new incarnations of the Lunar Gato and the Elastico were lauded, the FC247 Bomba was not as universally loved, the Nike 5 Bomba Finale (pictured above) had a dedicated following. The new boot was an unexpected departure from its predecessor, more focused on agility as opposed to the original power/control hybrid, very much in the same vein as when the Hypervenom replaced the Total 90 series. With the indoor and turf season just kicking in to gear here north of the 49th, it’s got me wondering does Nike have a new turf boot of choice?

The answer to that question seems to be yes. While only the Elastico silo has been updated to include a third incarnation at the current moment, it was impossible to miss that Nike’s “futsal specific” boot also contained a turf specific edition. The FC247 brand was designed to focus on specific boots for a specific styles of the small sided game; so by updating the Elastico to also include a turf package, it seems in my opinion that Nike are declaring their intentions for the Bomba silo in the process. But why, does Nike seem to be adopting a more one size fits all approach?

Elastico Finale TF

Personally I feel part of the answer lies in the turf specific sole. The Bomba had a hybrid turf and AG sole which played very well on artificial grass surfaces, but was a little lacking on less well maintained turf surfaces. On a purely anecdotal level I have several friends who bypassed the the top level Bomba Finale and the second tier Pro for the plain old Bomba citing the boots functionality on a greater number of surfaces.

While their answers were a bit of a shock to my system, it’s something I feel that has been addressed with the turf package on the Elastico, which has embraced the classic “nubby” turf studs. having worn turf boots on pretty much every imaginable surface (excluding courts and soft ground) it’s definitely a smart play by Nike, if they happen to be lining the Elastico up to be their new go to turf boot.

Elastico Superfly TF

The second half of the answer, well, it centres around the fact that Nike offers the Elastico Superfly in a turf configuration seemingly lends credence to the idea that the Elastico line is now the go to boot for 5v5 matches on turf. Nike have put a lot of stock in boots featuring the Dynamic Fit Collar and it’s highly unlikely that they’d be willing to release it in a configuration and see it play second fiddle to another boot. In a manner of speaking the turf layout on the Elastico and the inclusion of the Elastico Superfly in turf seems to be a perfect storm when it comes to the fall of the Bomba and the rise of the Elastico as Nike’s preferred turf boot.

If you are a Bomba loyalist you can still find a fair selection of the Bomba Finale II. However, if you’re in the market to try out what I think is the new direction for turf boots with Nike you can also get your choice of either the Elastico Finale III or the Elastico Superfly over at soccer.com

Do you think that the marketing of the Elastico in a turf pattern signals the end of the Bomba? Let us know in the comments.

About Richard Wyatt

When he's not playing deft flicks and through balls with various 7 a side teams, Richard is either enjoying a good brew or enlightening the world with SoccerCleats 101 and the good ship Twitter. Find him on Twitter if you want to know what a Sweeper/Deep Lying Playmaker looks like!

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