The idea of a pair of football boots not having any laces may be weird to imagine.
Especially when you consider that a mandatory part of shoes, in general, require laces on them for the boot to be effective.
After all, with most designs, if there were no laces, your boot would just by flying off your feet frequently within games.
However, somehow over the years, boot developers have come up with a way of making football boots that are laceless.
The front runners are Adidas, leading the way with their laceless boots, but in today’s post, I will be focusing on some of Nike’s laceless football boots.
If you are interested in learning more about them, how they work, and the answers to questions like are laces better than no laces, then you have come to the right place.
Table of Contents
Nike Football Boots With Laces Or Laceless?
While many people wear football boots that come with laces visible to see, the emergence of laceless boots makes it a harder decision.
The reason why is that laceless boots bring something new to the table. They have qualities to them that you can’t get with laces.
Cleaner Strikes
Firstly you have the fact that when no laces are present, or they are tucked in, you have a smooth surface to strike the ball with.
When a player kicks a ball with laces, it can impact the accuracy of the strike, even if it is only slightly noticeable.
However, with no laces, which Nike calls the Ghost Lace System, you have boots that are essentially going to help you kick the ball as cleanly, with one smooth striking area.
Compact Feel
Without laces, there is more emphasis on the boots’ design to still give you that comfortability that normal boots would.
Now, if you prefer a boot that has a more compact feel, then laceless boots offer that for you. With no laces shown, the mesh on the top is made to wrap your foot.
In the next section, I will take you through my top 4 laceless Nike football boots in 2021.
1) Nike Phantom Vision Elite
I will be honest with you, Nike doesn’t really have boots with no laces whatsoever, unlike Adidas. However, despite that, they still have boots that are close enough, if that is what you are looking for.
The first football boots to add to the list is the Nike Phantom Vision Elite in a dark grey, mango, and black colourway.
Picking up these boots, you will see no laces since they have been hidden under a quad mesh sleeve. Now, these boots are super comfortable as they also feature a dynamic fit collar.
If you are new to laceless boots, then these could be worth a try.
2) Nike Phantom Vision 2 Elite
These are quite similar to the first phantoms. However, for these second-generation boots, there are some slight changes to the upper of the boots.
This includes a change in the size of the quad mesh that is over the laces, and the area has been increased. You also have a notably different colourway.
The first generation was quite simple with the colours has it was mainly a black boot. With these, though, you have a highlight of orange above the Nike swoosh.
There has been a change in its look with the swoosh, with it resembling a lightning bolt instead of being the smooth Nike swoosh we were all accustomed to.
Finally, you have the addition of numbers along the orange upper. I am not sure what the meaning behind it is. However, it does look intriguing.
3) Nike Phantom Venom Elite
One of the stand-out boots I found was the Nike Phantom Venom, which seems to be a night-themed colourway.
It is made of colours Black and Volt, and overall they have a really appealing look. Now unlike the other two phantom football boots, there are laces shown.
However, these aren’t like the other boots Nike has to offer. These are half-covered and slanted to the right.
I am a big fan of them, and I feel like they would be a great pair of boots for a late training session or a midweek game on a 3G.
4) Nike PhantomVNM Elite Tech Craft
Next up, we have the Nike Phantoms that were part of the Tech Craft Pack. These are quite similar to number three, in terms of design and colour, with it being a bold black all over.
These feature premium kangaroo to help you bring down the ball effortlessly.
Another feature sees a different sole to the boot on other Phantom models, with a HyperReactive plate integrated to help you make fast turns on the field.
Q1) What Professionals Wear Nike Laceless Football Boots?
Several professionals wear them; these are mostly midfielders. However, anyone can wear them regardless of where you play.
As I mentioned, the only range of laceless boots that they have are Phantoms, which are designed for midfielders in attacking roles.
You have the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Thiago, Raheem Sterling that are currently wearing Phantom boots.
Q2) Are Nike Laceless Boots Better?
I would say that the laceless boots and the boots with Nike laces are on par with one another.
Each model that Nike releases boots for is made for various players and comes with different technology in them.
No football boot will make you instantly amazing. However, if you are a midfielder, then a boot like the Phantoms will be a good match for you.
They are made to aid passing with the non-visible laces and helps you become more accurate with the ball.
With that said, I still rate the Mercurials and Tiempos because they bring their own qualities to the table and help you in other areas.
All in all, whether laceless boots are better depends on you. My advice would be to try different boots and see what helps your game more and gives you If you try them out and gives you a better experience on the pitch.
Q3) How Much Are They?
Nike has four-tier ranges for all of their boots, which include the Phantoms. However, I only found laceless boots for the Academy, Pro, and Elite versions.
This means you will be looking at between £80-£220 per pair of boots.
Academy tiered boots are the cheapest however, while you will still get that laceless experience, it won’t be of the same quality as the Elite versions, which are the most expensive.
The difference is that the Elite football boots have better quality materials used, and everything is stitched together more precisely.
If any of the boots above take your fancy, you can check them out using the links, and from there, be able to choose the tier for you.
Conclusion
So there you have it, that’s my top four Nike laceless football boots that I could find. There are some nice boots within the new phantom ranges that you can give a go.
Admittedly there aren’t too many out there, as Nike tends to stick to laces with most of their models. If you want a wider choice of laceless boots, you can also check out Adidas and Mizuno, which have their own ranges.
If you are on the fence on whether to buy laceless boots, you can always pick up a pair and see how they feel.
As I mentioned, they do have a much different fit to other boots, but having tried them, I can say that Phantoms are really comfortable and have plenty of great features.
What are your thoughts on laceless boots? Have you tried them before, or are you still debating whether to try them out?
Let me know by dropping a comment down below 🙂
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