Sports brand Nike has debuted a new range of products, including a football boot designed to resist mud, and garments made from fabric that channels away sweat and has built-in fins to make athletes more aerodynamic (+ slideshow).
AntiClog football boots in Magista Obra
Nike's AntiClog Traction sole is designed to tackle the problem of playing football on muddy ground, when wet soil often clogs up cleats ? the spikes on the sole that help a player grip the ground ? and weighs down the wearer.
AntiClog football boots in Tiempo Legend
"The beautiful game is never played in beautiful conditions," Max Blau, Nike vice president of football footwear told Dezeen. "Mud can add 50 per cent to the weight of the boot, seriously impacting performance." AntiClog football boots in Hypervenom Phantom
"This has been around since cleated footwear started in the 1900s," he said. "It could mean the difference between winning and losing. Mud is the enemy of traction and speed, and that is why we're taking it out of the game."
AntiClog football boots in Hypervenom Phantom
The sole has a plate made from a material Nike described as an "adaptive polymer that becomes compliant when exposed to water." Essentially, the sole becomes so slippery that mud can't cling to it.
AntiClog football boots in Hypervenom Phantom
"We stopped thinking about repelling water and started thinking about using it to our advantage to create a lubricious laye...