Nike5 Elastico Finale Review
The Nike5 Elastico Finale IC is designed for optimal touch, control and accuracy. The Elastico was created specifically for the fast pace of small-sided games. Kanga-Lite synthetic leather for excellent ball touch. Tacky debossed dots on the upper for a soft touch when dribbling or passing. Molded sockliner for low-profile cushioning. Non-marking outsole designed for enhanced movement and traction
Comfort/Fit
I was really excited to give these a try because they followed the same styling as the CTR360, which I really liked. They are made of Nike’s kanga-lite material that is supposed to mimic the feel of k-leather, but unfortunately these do not do a great job of doing so. The upper is very stiff and doesn’t even feel soft at all. It also seems very thick and they just weren’t that comfortable at all. It has the same lacing system as the CTR360, but this time it seems to give you a fair amount of lace-bite if you tie the shoes up tightly. I also found that the toe box was not very tall and it put a lot of pressure on the top of your toes. Just overall they fit alright, but are not very comfortable. Nike has also taken out the air zoom cushion in the heel, that I really liked, and the front of the shoe seems to actually lack the necessary padding for a gym floor. I found myself to get some pretty bad foot pain after running around for about an hour because of the lack of padding. I wore these shoes for around ten hours and they still felt stiff and uncomfortable. They fit at a normal width and I actually found these to fit a half size small as I found my usual size 9US to be pretty tight.
Weight
These weigh in at 9.4oz, which is one of the lighter indoor shoes that you can buy. They don’t feel super light and they don’t feel very heavy. I can’t say that I usually notice the weight of indoor shoes as much.
Traction
This is another strange choice by Nike. They seemed to have replaced the soft rubber sole with a very hard rubber that almost seems dried out. It just isn’t soft enough to get good grip on a gym floor. They also have a strange rap around midsole area made of little nubs that come off the shoe, but these have very little effect and are mostly there just for show.
Touch
The touch on this shoe is honestly awful. The kanga-lite is awkwardly thick and stiff and you almost don’t feel the ball at all. It makes it even tough to juggle as you can barely feel the ball hit your foot. The small circles that rap around the bottom of the shoe actually are indentations in the material that just feel weird. I think this is part of the reason why the upper is so stiff. This shoe does not at all make a good representation of how good Nike’s kanga-lite actually is. Honestly one of the worst feel shoes on the ball I have ever had.
Shooting
The shooting seemed equally poor as even with the hardest of strikes, you cannot feel the ball. This makes for some frustrating miss-kicks that are just annoying. They just really don’t feel good at all.
Durability
I have no doubt that these shoes are definitely durable. They are so stiff that you have no worries of them ripping or any kind of normal wear, such as stretching.
The Verdict
Coming off of some of my favorite indoors in the Nike5 t-7, I have to say that its successor is nowhere near the same quality. They are stiff, uncomfortable and just feel awful on the ball. The grip is so-so and really the only thing that this shoe had going for it is its looks.
| Comfort/Fit | 4 out of 10 |
| Weight | 7 out of 10 |
| Traction | 6 out of 10 |
| Touch | 5 out of 10 |
| Shooting | 6 out of 10 |
| Durability | 9 out of 10 |
| FINAL SCORE | 37 out of 60 or 62% |
