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adidas F50 adiZero miCoach

Comment: 0 November 11th, 2011 by: admin

At long last, adidas has created what one could consider its response to the Nike+ product range.

The company’s biggest “Ha!” aimed square at Nike’s forehead begins with the introduction of the adidas F50 adiZero II miCoach.  After the frenzied buzz and sky-high anticipation, the product has been unleashed to the market and has come in swinging and swaggering in all kinds of cool.

Dubbed ‘the world’s first football boot with a brain’, adidas’ new creation merges the dynamic design of the adiZero line with performance data tracking SPEED_CELL technology that puts Nike to face-covering shame.

In a nutshell, this piece of work tracks and then displays metrics that display wearer’s overall performance on and off the field.

The miCoach-powered F50 adiZero comes on strong in both design and technology, and it is because of this that each aspect deserves focus.

Design and construction

Despite being rocketed 100 notches up the technology scale, the F50 adiZero still retained some signature features such as the SprintSkin synthetic single-layer upper covering meant to reduce overall weight and increase ball feel.  This version however displays greater texture that should help with overall ball control.

The shoe’s Sprintframe technology lines the outer sole, presenting a thin, lightweight design that allows the wearer to move at top speed with reduced effort.  With a sole that features strategically-placed spikes and heel support, the Sprintframe also now includes the SPEED_CELL cavity that helps maintain a rigid mid-foot area.

And then there’s the new Sprintweb, which is meant to increase the durability and resistance of the boot.  It helps give stability when moving.  It also has a 3D texture that helps increase the feel of the ball when dribbling while going at high speed.

As of now the boot presents itself with the High Energy/Electricity/White colourway that although looks strong and will definitely stand out, kind of looks like a Ronald McDonald-like ketchup-mustard combination.  Either you like it or you don’t.

Or you could opt for other colourways like the Black/Electricity/Warning, which is overall more badass.

The boot comes in a synthetic or leather version.

miCoach technology

It may be argued that whatever setbacks the boots may have are absolutely positively forgettable when put together with the miCoach system.

Installed via hardware literally within the boot itself, the miCoach technology includes a sensor that fits right into a cavity within the boot and captures the player’s movements and key performance information.

The thumb-sized SPEED_CELL device tracks the player’s average speed (per-second tracking), maximum speed (every 5 seconds), average distance, distance at high intensity, total time, active time, number of steps, stride rates, even the total number of sprints.

Up to seven hours of total active time can be recorded into the SPEED_CELL memory, and the information is then transmitted to your computer (PC or Mac) or tablet either wirelessly or via USB.

The stats can also be shared on social network sites like Facebook, giving room for a little competition between friends.  And for those looking for more aggressive competition, they can compare their stats with those of football giants like Lionel Messi, who train using miCoach technology.

Lastly you can upload your information onto the miCoach official website, where you can receive your own personalised training program based on your statistics.

The SPEED_CELL weighs a mere 8g, which brings the weight of the entire boot up to 173g; without the device, however, the shoe drops to 165g, preserving its reputation for being a super-light but super-efficient boot.

Overall

The miCoach technology takes football training to an entirely different level; adidas should be proud.

The F50 adiZero boot (without the SPEED_CELL) is priced at around the £200 mark (synthetic and leather); the SPEED_CELL is around a £70 addition.

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