Colour updates don’t make a boot special

The past decade in the boot industry has seen more than its fair share of releases. On top of the regular releases, we are seemingly seeing more and more limited edition releases peppered too. There is a good reason for this. Limited product almost always sells product at a better rate than a normal release. Part of this is because of the perception that one might “miss out” on a pair of limited boots. Brands sometimes make way from a limited boots, especially if they are selling most of them through their owns sites. Increased sales also come down to advertising, as always.

Normally, it isn’t recommended to go after most limited boots. For the most part they are just colour updates on models that are already out. This is part of the reason why not everyone (well, me) was sold on Nike’s recent Future DNA pack because although they looked good, a different colourway isn’t worth paying the premium over the normal releases. The same goes for many of the limited releases that Puma and New Balance have done over the past few years. Limited edition boots with higher than normal retail prices that do little to justify the extra expense.

The keen-eyed reader will notice that adidas hasn’t been mentioned as of yet. Adidas has done pretty good with many (but definitely not all) of their limited launches. There are plenty of reasons why one might want to buy a limited product from adi and lot of it comes down to the fact that their boots differ quite greatly from the general releases. If you want a classic Predator but want a more modern feel, then it made sense to buy the recent Mania re-releases. Likewise, the recent Dragon Predator differed itself from the normal models by being made with Fusionskin, though that in no way justifies the ridiculous price.

However, adidas has done releases similar to some the other brands by releasing boots that are nothing more than premium-priced colour updates. The Messi 15Y Anniversary boot is a good example of this. There were little details that made the boots nicer but there is little incentive to pay the retail (or resell market) price for those boots. And this another time when I am telling myself this as much as everyone else. I love the Messi 15Y, but the longer I waited on them and the more the hype died down the more I realised there wasn’t much point to buying them especially as I wanted to play in them. Since there are so many of the “normal” Nemeziz on sale right now it is a much smarter idea to save money that way.

It should also be noted that my favourite all time boot is indeed a limited edition release, the Mizuno Wave Cup. However, those were only available as a limited edition release and there were no “normal” colourways for that boot. One of the things I love about Mizuno is the fact that their limited edition boots do normally offer something different outside of a colourup. Their Rebuild Project series is a great example of this, as Mizuno launch changed or releases independent of their normal line.

Lastly, this doesn’t mean you should go for limited edition boots. If you really want a specific colour or the like then by all means go for it. But if you are not as concerned about colourway or they seem just a bit too much, don’t push yourself. After all, there are plenty of other boots on the market that could work for you.

What do you think about the way limited edition boots are these days? Share this with your friends and make sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

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