Nike has just unveiled their latest evolution of the beloved Magista soccer boot by introducing the Nike Magista 2.
“After reading research around evolution and morphology,” explains Nike football designer Phil Woodman, “I was interested in the hypothesis that pruning hands were an evolutionary development for maintaining grip on wet surfaces and tools. That got me thinking about how the foot might have adapted had its primary purpose been football.”
Woodman worked with the Nike Sports Research Lab to define which parts of the foot are most sensitive to touch and mapped those against high-touch zones gleaned from slow-motion film study of ball control. The data collected in this research was visually applied to a foot model in the form of a heat map, revealing significant overlap in areas of high sensation, effectiveness and engagement.
Equipped with this information, Woodman began 3D printing test uppers featuring peaks and troughs of varying dimensions. This was a marked transition from the upper of the original Magista, which was uniform throughout. “We envisioned the upper of the Magista 2 performing as an organic extension of the foot,” continues Woodman. “The texture is podular and cushioned, designed to communicate with a player’s sense of touch when the ball comes in contact with it.”
Look for the Nike Magista 2, complete with a heat map colorway, to release on July 24th via the Nike Football App before making its way to wider retailers worldwide.
