The engine of a boot?

When dropping a new boot many companies have consistently changed the upper again and again but many times the upper is only half the problem. Sure the upper is the first thing you see and should be a point of difference in terms of fit and feel. But the outsole is many times left unchanged but half the time many consumers come in and look at the outsole and are focused on traction and flexibility.

In the big scheme of things the outsole to me is like the engine of the boot. It helps you turn, accelerate, push, jump, tackle...Without the right engine you lack the right flexibility, response and comfort depending on the player and the boot. A perfect example is with the Vapor 7 which was super stiff and rather than change the outsole Nike chose to replace and add graphics to the upper. Adidas is going through the same problem with the fact that every boot is built on the same outsole and the F50 upper has not changed in what seems like a decade. They wonder why sales are struggling because at the end of the day evolving and Changing of the boot is necessary to keep consumers interested. 

The main thing consumers are focussing on at the moment is fit. For years lets be honest the upper and fit on some of the boots has not been the best. Weight comes into play but fit and feel is the trend. That's why the upper on boots has been so popular. Consumers put weight behind fit because they want to be comfortable on the pitch and to have a boot that mirrors to the shape of their foot. 

However, there will a point reached where upper will be constantly better on all boots and then the shift will slowly moved toward the outsole/engine of the boot. At the end of the day the outsole for decades has been unchanged on many boots and when it comes to performance that is where the ground breaking technology and the point of difference has to be evolved on boots. 

As a boot nerd I am excited for the future because a lot can be done with the outsole of a boot. Like flex grooves on the forefoot or maybe a boot that has lunar or boost foam on the outsole.The options are endless but for now fit will be the trend and then the shift in performance and what the outsole can offer athletes/consumers. Either way between fit and speed neither Nike nor Adidas want to give up on the speed race. From the market it's a sign of innovation in terms of how light a boot can go but many times the lighter the boot the less comfort and fit provides. For an example look at the GS which looked awesome but the fit sucked. Any ways that is my rant for the day boot nerds. I have to go to work...