Most high-performance level soccer shoes will boast better touch, superior quality materials and excellent comfort for the player. And they’ll have an element of the shoe that makes it stand out – something that makes a $185-$200 price tag a bit more understandable. The new Nike Total 90 Laser firm ground shoe has all of that and more so I thought I’d check it out. I wanted to make sense of the “innovative S.P.P. technology and KNG-100 upper.” For many of us the letters and numbers don’t really mean a lot. We take Nike’s word for it that this is a high quality shoe that should be durable and comfortable and lets you play the game the way you want to play it. There’s no reason not to believe Nike, they’ve done an amazing job of creating excellent soccer shoes over the years.
 
So, first I tackled “S.P.P.” Nike tells me it stands for Swerve, Power and Protection. In my opinion, shoes don’t automatically make the ball swerve when it’s kicked. The player makes the ball swerve using great technique. However, if the shoe can make the ball swerve more then that’s certainly a competitive advantage. The same is true for power. Shoes don’t add power but if you’ve got great technique and you hit the sweet spot then the shoe’s surface can affect the speed and accuracy of the ball. The Nike Laser FG is trying to help a great player play even better. When I first looked at the T90 Laser I thought it was interesting that Nike has gone through a lot of trouble to provide offset-lacing. This is traditionally done to create a smooth kicking surface, yet the Laser comes along and adds ridges to it. It’s a bit of a contradiction. The big difference is that the ridges are made of this rubbery material that seems to grab the ball where the laces probably just rubbed the ball. You do have to use the inside and outside of the foot to get the feel of the ridges – but that goes back to using great technique to make the ball swerve. The center disc of rubbery material serves as the sweet spot for striking the ball. According to Nike, 60% of all goals are scored by striking the ball with the instep. Even if the rubber material didn’t provide more power, I like the subtle reminder of, “Hey! This is where you want to connect with the ball!” It’s a good concept for any premium soccer shoe.

The Nike Laser comes in two upper materials – kangaroo leather and KNG-100. The KNG material is their synthetic leather and has been getting great reviews from players for awhile now. The Nike Vapor family uses it and it’s both light and durable. The Nike Laser also has something called E-vent waterproof mesh that keeps your feet dry by letting sweat out and not letting moisture back in. It will take someone a lot smarter than me to figure out how that works but in theory it’s great! Fewer blisters, shoes don’t soak up water and get heavy during the game – good stuff.

Then there are all the little things to round out the Laser. Nike’s S.P.P. technology is great but I like some of the other enhancements just as much. There is extra support and padding at the heel that helps provide a snug and comfortable fit. The Nike Zoom Air technology has always been a great addition to a shoe, and is of course built into the Nike Laser as well. And the combination of the round cleats in the front and the ‘blade’ cleat in the back seems to work great as well. The attention to detail in the Nike Laser firm ground cleat is outstanding. If you like leather it works for you. If you like synthetic uppers it works for you. The new Total 90 Lasers come in both a loud, brightly colored design as well as a simple, more subdued color scheme to suit anyone’s aesthetic preferences. All in all, I was very impressed with the styling, comfort and technology that Nike has fused into the T90 Laser FG.

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