With the release of the Vapor IX just around the corner, it’d be easy to brush the durability problems of the Vapor VIII under the carpet and ignore them, with the hope that Nike will fix it for this upcoming release. Yet, after holding up admirably for a little while, my Clash Vapor VIIIs suddenly took a turn for the worse a week or so ago, hence this article.
This is probably old news for most of you, with it being widely known that all of the Vapor VIIIs prior to the Seaweed colourway were shoddily made. But for the people that haven’t witnessed first hand exactly what the bizarre faults on the VIIIs are like, here they are. On both boots, there is a tear on the instep, more prominently on the right boot.
This is common in most football boots now, but not after a matter of weeks. There are also strange little tears on the toe that refuse to show up on camera. All in all, it is disappointing. I thought that maybe it didn’t affect every pair out there, and I’d gotten away with it. But seemingly out of nowhere, these faults appeared with seemingly no explanation. The only comparison I can really think of is the AdiPowers, which split and tore almost immediately. So it’d be unfair to single-handedly criticise Nike for this, as other major companies have done it before.
It’s a shame that my experience has been slightly marred by this situation. There is no doubt that the Nike Mercurial Vapor VIIIs are top class football boots, but I’m sure that many people have been put off buying them because of these problems. We’re currently in contact with Nike about this, and they assure us that this problem has been sorted with the recent Retro/Orange/Red release, and by sorted, they mean completely sorted. For now, leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
About Jon Nicholson
Your Adipowers tore immediately?
That’s weird as I’ve had mine since release and played in them hundreds of times
Unfortunately the same could not be said of the two models of the mercurial vapor 8s I got(mango then I got the seaweed one) both displayed tears pretty quickly
Indeed; I’ve had my Adipowers now since day 1 and never experienced any issue whatsoever in terms of durability etc. (even though I am meticulous in cleaning them/maintaining them before/after training and games) so I find it rather peculiar to hear of these issues.
I think this is soccerreviews attempt at not being biased or critical of 1 single brand. I’ve also had my adipowers since day 1 and still play with them from time to time even though my LZ’s have taken priority. Nevertheless, sweeping aside all the BS..this is Nike’s 3rd attempt at fixing the durability problem and to me that’s shocking.
On the new ACC Vapor, though, they placed a Siliconringaroung the toe and instep so they won’t rip, and it’s not like all Nike releases have durability issues it is only the Vapor.
Hey Coolguy,
Yes, that’s what Nike told me. It’ll be interesting to see how this colourway holds up.
Interesting with the reinforcement ring around the upper…basically what adidas have been doing since the very first adizero F50.
Hey Hondo,
I’m also extremely meticulous in cleaning my football boots yet there are still certain boots that break almost immediately.
Which variety/model/brands are you finding are breaking down like that? I’m very curious
Agreed with positives about the adipower. Mine have a tiny bit of separation between the upper and toe are but its an easy fix with a tiny bit of super glue
Hey guys,
I have had two pairs of AdiPowers. The first one tore hugely after 3 hours of wear, and I recently bought myself a second pair (since I believe they are the best boots ever) and after one wear the leather has cracked and they have a few tears.
That’s a real pity you’re having such bad luck. I’ve worn my Adipowers in pretty miserable conditions and on some terrible pitches and they’ve come out in very good condition albeit caked in mud etc. which I then take pains to clean; although I can never really get the mud out of those infernal ‘grooves’ than run through the studs-very annoying.
Hey Hondo,
I would create an article about it. But unfortunately, I don’t think many people would be interested about it.
Thought this article was going to be on the play test off the retro colourway, with the added plastic adhesive lip all around the toe and the instep.
Can you guys play test those and see if there has been an improvement for durability.
Considering the seaweed colourway came after the clash series, not surprise of the durability issue still there…
Hey Stephen,
Yes we shall be doing that.
I was wondering if there was any update on whether or not the added protective strip fixed the vapor problem yet??? thanks
ive had the exact same vapors except in FG since June and there is not one thing wrong with them, i guess im lucky but durrability is not an issue with mine
So is Nike replacing your cleats with the new vapors with the lip? Or does it not count under your warranty?
I’ve had exactly the same with my seaweed vapors,which I have owned for around 2 months, and likewise with my older pair of adipowers.
I’m beginning to see the small tears on the instep on my leather adizero’s that I purchased about 3 weeks ago. Mainly like the first two pictures.
Hey Omar,
Yes.. This is common on AdiZeros. However, I wouldn’t worry about it. Quite frankly, AdiZeros do tear, but then hold up well. The Vapor VIIIs tend to just disintegrate when they tear.
Yeah I have had my Sail/Blue ones for about 3 weeks now, and they already have rips along the insteps of both shoes. I’m going to send them back to NIKE and get the new ACC ones