Times are changing. And so is Nike. Meet the Nike Vapor Laser Talon. Built exclusively for explosive linear acceleration and speed, The Nike Vapor Laser Talon weighs just 5.6 oz. and was created to help the nation’s top football athletes maintain their drive stance longer as they train for and compete in the 40-yard dash.
With over 40 years of athlete insights and innovation across sport, Nike designers worked with elite Nike SPARQ trainers as well as long time partner and gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson to understand how he and his team at Michael Johnson Performance train football athletes for the 40. “Nike’s new 3D printed plate is contoured to allow football athletes to maintain their drive position longer and more efficiently, helping them accelerate faster through the critical first 10 yards of the 40” said Johnson. “Translated to the game of football, mastering the Zero Step can mean the difference between a defensive lineman sacking the quarterback or getting blocked.”
The plate of the revolutionary cleat was constructed using Selective Laser Sintering technology (SLS) and is the sport’s first 3D printed plate. SLS is a manufacturing technique using high-powered lasers to fuse small particles of materials into a three-dimensional shape. Through proprietary material selection, Nike was able to prototype a fully functional plate and traction system within a fraction of the traditional timeframe and at a fraction of the weight.
