The
Nike Mercurial Vapor III are arguably the best iteration of the Vapor series to date. Still being one of the lightest versions of the Vapor in the series, the MVIII brought a lot more to the table as well. The MVIII provided a newer more comfortable fit compared to the previous two, and introduced the foam inserts around the Achilles to provide for extra comfort and support.
The new Teijin upper that first appeared on the MVIII as well provided a thinner boot while also allowing the upper to mould to your foot better. (Still nowhere near as much as a leather boot however) The design on the upper of the boot was a hit as well. With no external heel counter for the first time on a Vapor boot, the heel colour was made to look as if it were blending into the rest of the upper. This simplistic design provided for very nice colorways, most of which Vapor fanatics are yearning for on the newer styles of the Vapor series. All of these qualities have made the
Mercurial Vapor III my favourite boot of all time.
The colorway on the Mercurial Vapor III that I am reviewing is the
Bright Cactus/White. Ever since the first Vapor boot was given to Ronaldo in 2002 I had been begging and praying for this colorway to appear. With the Nigeria home kit in mind (circa Nike 2002) I even wrote a letter and email to Nike asking them to produce such a colorway for my new favourite boot line. Being a boot fiend,
Adidas Football Boots, I stumbled upon pictures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic training with Inter Milan during the summer of 2007 only to spot him in Vapor III’s with the colorway I had been dreaming of for 5 years. Right there and then I knew I had to have that pair of boots and a few months later when made available to the public, I got them.
They are still with the rest of my boot collection, only this pair is unworn. Being my dream boot, I could not come to terms with wearing them and dirtying them, especially with the other options my boot collection supplied me. The first time I plan to wear these boots is if and when my dream comes true and I play soccer professionally. When that day comes, my dream will have come true and no boots would suffice for that moment other than the boots of my dreams as well.