Football Cleats Review

 Nike Men's Vapor Edge Dunk Panda Football Cleats

    The Nike Vapor Edge Dunk Panda Football Cleats have been a fan favorite since they were released on February 14, 2023. The cleats made big waves as football cleats usually have a distinct feature with certain looks that are always found on football cleats. However, the Panda cleats did not and that instantly got them a lot of popularity. With the recent Nike Dunk's obsession notably the black and white "Panda's" Nike attempted to take a normal shoe and convert it into a dynamic football cleat. While we have seen this type of transition from popular shoe to football cleat before; they are usually not easily attainable to the general public and can only be seen on star NFL players as well as best of the best college athletes. When Nike first released these to the general public on Valentine's Day of last year everyone went crazy and scrambled to get their hands on a pair. But as with all new drops people had to sit online and wait for the exact moment they were released to buy them otherwise they would be sold out in minutes. Now resellers had made a profit selling them more than $800 above the original retail price of $160. With this settled let's get into the actual cleat.

    

        The cleats are obviously very clean looking and rightfully viewed as a "Drip" necessity. They have a sort of reflective swoosh as well as iridescent laces to match the swoosh that are all tied together with the matching tongue and heel lettering. The black and white colors make them capable of being worn with almost any color uniform combo on the football field which is really dynamic when it comes to matching them with a preset uniform. But how do they feel and what is the performance capabilities of the cleat when compared to other cleats. In my opinion the comfort level is top tier, and while I understand that not all players prefer or enjoy the sort of built in sock that is incorporated into the ankle and lines the inside of the entire cleat; I enjoy it and find that it gives a good amount of support to the ankle and grips your foot. A lot of players hate the feeling of their heels blistering with the low cut and tough heel backing of average football cleats but I've found that these don't do that and every player knows that's a huge plus. The cleats are also super light and great for getting in and out of cuts on the field. My only downside is that the cleats aren't super airy and breathable meaning there isn't a lot of hole that allow for air to flow in and out of the cleat. This can make inside of the cleat warm and if it's hot enough outside damp from sweat. I understand why they chose not to put a ton of breathable holes on the cleat as it would take away from the Dunk Shoe look but I feel it would've been a worth while sacrifice considering practicality.  If I had to rate these cleats I would give them a 9.5/10 based on the comfortability, lightweight, snug fit and clean look.