The Phantom GT is a good football boot, no doubt. But it’s safe to say that it is a bit short in generating excitement among football boot enthusiasts compared to the likes of the OG Hypervenoms or even the present Mercurials and their Zoom Air technology.
So, with us focused on the upcoming do-or-die World Cup games, Nike is hitting hard and unexpectedly, launching generational update to the Phantom line. While the brand allowed the GT to open up the World Cup, it will be the new-gen GX that will close out the curtains in Qatar and open up a bright new future for the Nike Phantom silo.
The outgoing GT nudged the direction of the Phantom line towards being a control boot, and the Phantom GX is doubling down on that regard. Central to the latest Nike Phantom boot is the Gripknit technology. For the ‘Disruption‘ launch colourway, it is the outer pink shell that go across the upper that tapers off towards the heel. It has a waxy on-hand feel which is obviously aimed at aiding ball touch and grip especially in wet conditions (this has been teased by the pods on the Ultra Venom).
The Flyknit base upper in black has denser pattern on the sides to maintain the boot structure. Towards the tongue, the knit build relaxes to give it some stretch for opening and fitting purposes. At least on the DF model, the Ghost Lacing cover that was last seen on the Phantom VSN 2 is making a comeback.
Tooling-wise, the Phantom GX features a zig-zag stiffener lines, targeted at increasing responsiveness for the soleplate. The stud configuration involves a healthy mix of conicals, blades and, surprise surprise, the exact Tri-stars first seen on the current Air Zoom Mercurials.
With the black with pink launch colourway, the inaugural Phantom GX boot bear some semblance to the ‘Future Lab‘ debut colourway of the Phantom VSN 2. The white Swoosh outline on the new boot checks out, considering the solid white fill of the Nike logo on the former Phantom. Perhaps indicating its connection to the ‘Generation‘ Pack, the GX is decorated with small textured Swooshes in copper on the elbow of the main outline and around the endpoint of the Gripknit shell on the medial side. Completing the look is the spiral-like pattern in purple that is stitched within Gripknit itself.
