THESE ARE UNBELIEVABLE! - Nike Mercurial Vapor 13 Elite - Review + On Feet

When Nike made the decision to turn the 12th generation Mercurial vapor into a sock boot , it was a controversial choice but one that ultimately worked out , we now have the vapor 13 .

And as you may have noticed it is still a sock boot and I've read the comments , a lot of people are saying that the new sock boot looks a whole heck of a lot like the old sock boot .

And while they might look very similar , trust me , when I say they are very different , shockingly different .

What's going on guys , Josh from soccer reviews for you dot com , bringing you plus on the video of the brand new Nike Mercurial vapor 13 elite in one of two launch color ways .

This one being a blackout from the under the radar pack color way .

We're used to seeing Nike release new models on a two year cycle , but they have since broken that and have introduced the next generation of Mercurial a little bit sooner than expected .

And while the base design on paper appears to be very similar , a flying in upper a split sole construction , virtually same stunt pattern , all of these elements have been tweaked quite significantly or even just a little bit to make for a boot that is hugely improved in every single way , which I'm even surprised about because I did not expect the difference to be as extreme as it is .

So what I want to do in today's video is go over all the details for you of what has changed in comparison to the vapor 12 Elite and why I think Nike has really set the bar that much higher with the Mercurial Vapor 13 .

So if you want to learn more , including how they fit and feel on beat , please stick around and watch the entire video .

And if you're interested in a pair of these for yourself , I'll leave a little pop up on screen or you can click the first link down below .

That's going to take you to the review page on my website where you'll find buy it .

Now links with exclusive S R for you coupon codes where we'll be able to pick these up below their normal $250 retail price .

If you guys do end up enjoying this review and perhaps want to see more videos on the new Mercurial line up both high end and low end models .

Don't forget to support this one with a like and let me know down below in the comments , what specifically you want to see also if you're new here watching for the first time and don't want to miss out on daily football boot content for me .

Make sure you hit that subscribe button along with the little bell notification .

So you get notified when the next new video goes live .

So included with the boots as you get with any top end model for Nike is the silver and black box .

And inside that box , they include a string bag which unlike the boots has not seen any changes from the previous generation .

It's black in color with black strings and it features the old Mercurial logo that used to be featured on the previous generation Mercurial in this kind of iridescent color , changing purple and green color with the little Nike swoosh there at the bottom , nothing on the back .

It's an OK string bag but honestly , I expected a little bit more .

It gets a string bag rating of 13.7 out of 19 point one .

As for the boots themselves , they definitely look similar to the Vapor 12 that they replace .

But not only does this have influence from the vapor 12 , it shares influence with the Nike Flying at Ultra .

It shares influence from the Nike G S3 160 even the Mercurial Super Fly four the way Nike and pretty much every brand for that matter has approached knitted uppers on football boots up until this point is that you have the knitted base for the sake of the sock like sensation .

But that knitted base isn't strong enough to basically provide the structure required for a pair of football boots .

So they have to add structure in other ways , typically , by adding layers of material plastics being very common on the surface of the upper internal liners that are a little bit stiffer fly wire , brio cables , whatever it might be .

It's the reason why the flying it upper on the vapor 12 and super fly six of this replaces could be argued to have a more plasticky feel than it did a sock like knitted feel .

But in the case of this brand new flying it upper on the vapor 13 elite , all of the structure has been incorporated into the fly itself .

Essentially what Nike has done here is they've combined two different types of fly yarns to create one upper one layer for the sake of softness and really providing that sock like feel and then a second layer for the sake of adding structure .

But without adding any hard bits to the upper , it's left totally soft and totally sock like .

So the first layer is basically the main makeup of the upper .

It's this kind of grid pattern in terms of how it's knitted .

And you can see it in the form of texturing across the entire upper underneath the Nike skin top layer .

Of course , this is really soft , it's super thin and it really does feel like a pair of socks , but on its own , it's not structured enough .

So what they've done is they've created what they call high tenacity yarns , which think of it as a second thinner grid pattern layer knitted into the initial grid pattern functioning almost like a quad fit system or fly wire cables .

Apparently the high tenacity yards according to Nike are a derivative of their fly wire technology .

But instead of having physical cables running from the base of the soul into the lacing system that does work in regards to adding structure to the upper .

But you also end up with pressure points and stiffer parts of the upper taking away from the sock like sensation that a sock boot is supposed to provide .

Instead , you basically have this all over reinforcement within the flying at upper .

So not only does it maintain its softness and flexibility , it's remarkably responsive with the laces tied tight .

The end result being a super thin knitted upper that moves very naturally with your foot and is remarkably comfortable but still has all the structure lockdown and responsiveness that you expect from a top and mercurial .

You can see this time around there is still a Nike skin top layer , which is typical of pretty much any knitted football boot .

Although this time around it is the thinnest Nike skin ever found on a pair of Nike football boots .

And you can definitely feel that because again , there really isn't any added structure from this top layer of plastic , which effectively is what skin is it does also have Nike's AC C technology , although you will not find the AC C branding anywhere on the boot this time around , which is an interesting choice by Nike .

So there really is no way to prove that it is .

In fact , there , we're just going to have to believe them .

But as we know on this channel already AC C is an invisible technology and then internally they have actually changed up the liner as well , very dark and difficult for me to show you .

But it's a lot thinner than what we had on the previous generation .

And it's actually perforated all the way through .

Similar to the old model , the laces still run directly down the middle .

Of course , the upper does have a one piece enclosure with the tongue area across the top of the foot being made out of a stretchy fly knit material that this time around is a little bit thinner .

And that is kind of the key word here with this Mercurial update .

This does feel thinner in comparison to the previous generation Mercurial .

And because the upper is thin along with the softness and pliability of this upper because of that high tenacity Yaron structure system , you could argue with the previous generation flying it upper didn't provide the same barefoot feel that we got from the Taian synthetic vapors that came before it .

But with this new vapor 13 elite , if you're into that thin feel , this just feels really good being that this is the vapor and not the super fly .

It does feature a standard low cut design with this little kind of mini color around the edges .

Again , very similar design to what we previously saw on the vapor 12 , a synthetic suede liner on the inside with perforations throughout a decent amount of padding to that heel liner as well .

So pretty solid heel liner in general and then the insole fully removable .

I'll give you guys a quick look at that .

It features their Nike grip mesh lining on the surface and a single layer of this yellow foam with a little black insert in the middle of a firmer foam with this very interesting pattern that is actually a lock to match the texturing that you have on the soul plate base to prevent it from sliding around , which brings us to the soul plate where you may have noticed that this still does feature a split sole construction which was a controversial design element introduced in the previous generation .

There is still that an atomic soul plate base that runs from heel to toe , it's just internal and you can't see it on the outside of the boot .

Then you have a stud plate in the heel and a stud plate in the forefoot , both of which have been slightly redesigned in the heel .

It's the exact same stud pattern , but you can see they cord out the middle to shave as much weight as possible , something reminiscent to what we saw on the I G S3 160 which I think is a pretty cool idea .

These are designed to be as light as possible .

So , doing something like that does make sense .

But then in the forefoot , you'll notice that it does have a more drastic redesign .

It's what they're calling their arrow track plate , which is basically a redesign for the sake of adding a little bit more of a bounce back or a spring back effect when running , they wanted to have that responsive sensation .

So what they've done is they've patterned the plastic in such a way where it has this very progressive bend to it .

So it's not too stiff initially , but the more and more that it flexes the stiffer and stiffer that it gets really giving you that kind of bring back sensation .

And it's one of the most progressive stiff soul plates that I've ever felt on a pair of football boots on the previous generation .

It just felt stiff for the sake of being stiff .

This is stiff but actually feels very natural at the same time , which is quite unusual as far as the stud pattern in the forefoot is concerned .

It's the same general layout , but they have slightly redesigned the studs giving them that little bit of an extra angle at the point of the Chevron that hopefully you guys can see and they've actually made all of the studs one millimeter longer in comparison to the previous generation .

Apparently by request of the professional players who wanted the studs to be just that little bit longer .

It's a very small difference .

It's hard to say that it's super noticeable , but like they say , every little thing counts unless it's AC C which brings us to the weight where you'll find , there really isn't much of a difference in a size 9.5 .

Us .

The Vapor 13 Elite weighs in at 6.75 ounces .

The equivalent of 100 91 g , which is effectively the exact same weight as the Vapor 12 Elite that it replaces may be a variance of like 3 to 5 g .

It's that small of a difference .

So if you're looking for a lighter feel from the upgraded vapor , you're not going to find it , but they still feel lightweight in general .

So I've swapped out the stock black laces which look great given that this is a blackout color way , but I've changed them for some black reflective S R four U replacement laces that add the reflective bits that I think look good on pretty much every boot and it gives us just that little bit of an accent while still maintaining the blackout vibe .

It's also a great way of changing up the style of your boots to make them a little bit different from everyone else with the same pair .

So if you're looking to do that to yours .

The website to head over to is W W W dot S R four U las dot com .

There'll be a little pop up on screen as well as a link down below in the description .

So if you're interested in some , be sure to go ahead and check that out , you can definitely make the argument that the vapor 13 looks a lot like the vapor 12 .

But once you get these new boots on your feet , there is no denying that they feel dramatically different .

And it's really one of those situations where I thought the vapor 12 and still do think that the vapor 12 elites flying it upper is really good .

But when you put on the vapor 13 , it's so much thinner , it's so much more flexible .

It's so much more natural in regards to how it wraps your foot .

And the way that they've modified the shape going more towards the shape that we had with the vapor 11 and the super fly five by simply lowering the volume because technically this boot is still built on the same last as the vapor 12 .

It just fits so much better and feels way better on feet .

I know I said this about the vapor 12 , but I'm going to say it again about the vapor 13 .

This is by far the most comfortable Mercurial vapor that Nike has ever put out lock down with the laces tied tight .

It's phenomenal and the way that the boot just wraps your foot , it's pretty much perfect because of the pliability of this new flying at upper .

There is no hard plastic structure or any hard spots for the sake of reinforcing the material as far fit is concerned .

It's got a really nice tight fit to it .

So if you're a fan of that Mercurial style fit , you're going to love the way that they fit .

It has improved over the previous generation with wise , I wouldn't say that they are exceptionally narrow or exceptionally wide .

So if you didn't have really wide feet , probably not a great option for you , but I definitely think that they will fit most people .

And as far as sizing is concerned , I'm wearing these in my usual size 9.5 us and the fit in the length is perfect .

So if you're looking to order a pair for yourself , I'd recommend going true to size to achieve the best possible will fit .

So , in conclusion , I have to be honest with you guys , I was expecting to be disappointed by these because they do look so similar to the boots that they replace .

But Nike have made big and small modifications in almost every single aspect of this boot , improving things that I didn't even think needed to be improved with the previous model making for what I think is really the new bar when it comes to a knitted upper speed boot .

This is the most sock like sensation you can get from a pair of football boots .

But at the same time is that top level responsiveness and lockdown that you expect from a top end Mercurial boot all wrapped up into one upper the soul plate .

Is that much more responsive than what we had before .

The traction is still 10 out of 10 most aggressive traction you can get on the market .

The boots are light .

That could be maybe the one area of improvement they could make them be a little bit lighter because we have seen lighter boots in the past , not necessarily from the Mercurial Line though , but in pretty much every single way they could have improved the previous generation , they have .

So what I rarely ever say on this channel is that if you have the old one , you should definitely go out and buy the new one right away because most of the time , that's not the case .

They don't make enough improvements to justify it .

But this time around , if you have the Vapor 12 and you like those , you are going to love the Vapor 13 because it's legitimately that much better anyways guys , that's it for my review .

Hopefully you enjoyed the video .

If you did be sure to support it with a like again , if you're interested in the Vapor 13 Elite for yourself , you can click the first link down below .

That's going to take you to the review page on my website where you'll find , buy it .

Now , links with exclusive S R for you coupon codes .

We'll be able to pick these up in the two launch color ways below their normal $250 retail prices if you have any questions regarding these boots , as always , leave them down below in the comments and I'll do my best to get an answer out to you as soon as I possibly can subscribe .

If you haven't already for daily videos on all the latest and greatest soccer gear , you can find all my social media information , link it down below in the description as well .

Other than that guys , thank you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next week .