It's that time of the season when the pitches get deeper and more muddy with every week. However, since last year, there is a technology that claims to be able to overcome the problems soccer players have on muddy, wet and slippery surfaces - Nike's Anti-Clog technology (Nike even said that 'Football Will Be Never The Same').
Let's take a closer look at Nike's Anti-Clog boot technology, with many more Anti-Clog boots available at much more affordable prices than one year ago.
Nike Anti-Clog Technology - What Is It?
Nike's Anti-Clog technology is a traction technology that prevents mud from clogging the sole plate of Nike's football boots. The technology was developed over the course of two years with insights from Nike's design, materials and research teams. The first Nike Anti-Clog boots were released in April 2016.
Nike Anti-Clog Technology - How Does It Work?
The Nike Anti-Clog Traction sole plates include an adaptive polymer that becomes compliant when exposed to water, something that sounds strange at first glance if you think about slippering.
Dr. Jeremy Walker, who was one of several PhDs working on this project, with backgrounds in materials science engineering and chemistry, said that "his team initially pursued a variety of mechanical and water-repellent solutions, but concluded none were viable for the lifetime of the boots." Their next approach seemed counterintuitive, but ultimately proved effective.
“We stopped thinking about repelling water and started thinking about using it to our advantage to create a lubricious layer, without sacrificing traction,” continues Walker. “Understanding the molecular structure of mud was key to developing a hydrophilic solution, which helps keep mud from clogging the plate.”
Nike Anti-Clog Technology - Does It Work?
A lot of Nike players are wearing Nike's Anti-Clog technology, but that's not a sign how good it does work as almost all professional Nike players get their cleats directly from Nike and are paid to wear boots with the Swoosh.
In fact, we have noticed that many Nike players such as Aubameyang are switching between traditional SG and Anti-Clog cleats for different pitch conditions and are also switching between both sole plate variants during matches. That shows that standard SG cleats are not completely 'history' but even better for certain pitch conditions. In the end, it all depends on the players and his preferences.
What is secured by many different boot testers and sources is that the technology works and that nearly no mud sticks on the sole plate.
All in all, we think, that with the pitches of amateur teams usually much more muddy and deeper than those of professional teams, we think the better choice for amateur players are often Anti-Clog boots. But everybody has to test both technologies (standard SG and Anti-Clog) to find out which are the best in which conditions.
Nike Anti-Clog Boots - How Much Do They Cost
One year ago, it was impossible to get Anti-Clog soccer cleats for a similar price as high-end Nike SG boots (In fact, you had to spend at least 250 Euro (200 GBP, 250 USD) for Anti-Clog cleats). Now, after Nike released their Nike Premier with Anti-Clog technology, you can get Anti-Clog cleats for a recommended retail price of just 120 Euro. Nike Hypervenom, Magista, Mercurial and Tiempo Anti-Clog soccer cleats have been spotted for prices as low as 150 USD (at the end of spring).
With prices for Anti-Clog cleats much lower than one year ago and the Nike Premier Anti-Clog boot just costing a bit more than 100 Euro, will you get a boot with Nike Anti-Clog technology? Have you tried out a Nike boot with Anti-Clog traction? If so, let us know how they performed in comparison to traditional SG boots / your teammates boots in the comments below.