Nike Tiempo Legend IV- Review:
The Good: The Tiempo IV is a simple heritage boot that offers a K-Leather upper at a very affordable price of $150
The Bad: The straight lacing makes it hard for consumers with wider feet and I would like to see Nike make an off center lacing for this boot to increase comfort and to allow consumers with wider feet a chance to wear them.
The Bottom Line: Affordable boot made for the modern game listed at a very realistic price point. Based on comfort, performance, and overall value I believe this is one of the best Tiempo’s Nike has ever released.
Background:
Re-engineered from the classic 1984 Tiempo, the Nike Tiempo Legend IV has come a long way. This boot which started out very bulky and boxy is fine tuned in this forth version. With full-grain kangaroo leather, the boot offers comfort and extra ball feel. Marketed towards the all around elite player the Legend is classic and simple, which attracts the eyes of both old and young players who choose to let their play do the talking. In the end, if you are looking for a classic decent priced boot that offers class, comfort and performance the Legend is the way to go.Comfort/fit: (7/10)
Nike has reinvented simplicity with this edition of the Legend line, creating a boot that is quite easily the best version of the Legends ever released. The first and most important thing to note in getting a pair of these boots is the sizing issue. Nike has really done a great job with the sizing because they made the boot fit very tightly right out of the box. The toe box comes very small and the boot fits really tight all around your foot, tight enough to where many people would go up half a size for a more comfortable fit. Don’t go up a size. The kangaroo leather on this boot is very soft and will stretch and the boot is made to form to your foot through a break in period rather than fitting right out of the box. A kangaroo leather boot is supposed to fit tightly because, unlike synthetics, it will stretch and form to your foot. After wearing the boots for two training sessions, you will notice how the boot changes shape to form to your foot, making for a perfect fit.Once you break in the boot and it has molded to your foot, these boots quickly go from feeling very tight to very comfortable. In addition, to improve the fit of the boot Nike added kanga-lite on the sides of the boot as opposed to all kangaroo leather. What this means is the fit of the boot will be more supportive and fit tighter in the long run because kanga-lite, a synthetic, will not stretch like kangaroo leather will. I wore my usual size 8.5 US for review and I would recommend you get your normal size. Even if you feel like they feel too tight at first, stick with them and they will fit properly after a couple hours of use. I gave these boots a 7/10 because the boots were tight in the forefoot when i first put them on.
Performance: (7/10)
A kangaroo leather boot is always supposed to be based around the quality of the touch, and the Legend IV delivers one of the nicest touches in the game. Just touching the leather with the boot in your hand, you will notice instantly how soft the leather really is. What is also really nice about the leather is that it isn’t overly thick. The leather isn’t super thick, but it’s not super thin either, it is in my opinion the perfect thickness. The kanga-lite material blends in quite nicely with the natural leather and is also really soft, giving the entire boot a very soft touch. The tongue is even a very quality leather material and it almost blends in to the rest of the boot, as it is the same thickness as the upper, and you can hardly feel any joints on the tongue. I would describe the touch of this boot as perfect. It provides just enough padding, a nice feel on the ball and is the same thickness anywhere on the boot. In the end, Nike has created one of the best heritage boots ever made for the modern game and delivering a product that offers one of the best touches on the market. Touch is everything and with these boots you will feel every inch of the ball.
Value: (8/10)
The boot is a blend of new and old school technology and comes in at a very realistic price point. With leather boots durability is maximized and in my opinion I believe they hold up better on artificial fields. If you are in the market looking for a new pair of boots then you should give the Legend a try based on price, performance, and value it is one of the best boots on the market. Nike has answered their critics with this boot by making it sleeker, removing the tongue and combining k leather and kanga lite which has never been done before which makes this boot very unique. Footy Guru Rating:
Comfort/fit: 7/10
Performance: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Overall Score: 7.3 (Average)
(Boots supplied for review by Nike Soccer)