Nike Develops Lightweight Vapor Untouchable II Football Cleat

Nike is getting aggressive with products built to dominate on the gridiron: The brand is gearing up for the release of its most innovative cleat to date, the Vapor Untouchable II.

The football cleat is slated to hit select Nike retailers and the brand’s website in January.

According to the brand, the cleat was made using 3D printing and Finite Element Analysis software to identify key stress points. The cleat is the lightest Nike has produced, weighing in at 9.5 oz., and also its most adaptive.

“Our goal is to give athletes strength, speed and traction in a lightweight package,” said Jeff Rasmussen, senior designer for Nike Football Cleated Footwear. “The Nike Vapor Untouchable II achieves that by restructuring the plate and reducing the number of separate components that make up the entire cleat.”

The cleats, designed over a 21-month period, feature a carbon-fiber cleat plate for multidirectional movement, with a new stud configuration of new four-sided studs. Studies by the Nike Sports Research Lab found that the studs offer maximum traction and also help advance acceleration, deceleration and lateral movement, according to the brand. The cleats also feature the brand’s Flyweave technology on the upper and Nike Skin near the toe to give the area durability and additional protection.

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The new stud pattern on the Nike Vapor Untouchable II cleat.

CREDIT: Courtesy of Nike

“When you talk about a player breaking off the line, running in and out of routes and making sharp cuts, the studs in the plate act as a braking system. They are built to help enhance the player’s vertical and lateral speed,” Rasmussen said in a statement.

The cleats will make their debut on the feet of select high school football teams playing in state championship games in the white and gold colorway, and also will be worn by the four teams in the College Football Playoffs, in their respective school colors. After the high school and college athletes wear them on the field, Nike athletes on both Super Bowl teams will wear them.