Nike launches Summer 2014 Football Equipment Innovations

Custom bag and ultra-light shin guard use 3D printing technology to create the best equipment for the game's best players.

This summer, Nike launches its first 3D printed bag and a new shin guard built specifically for speed.

Nike Football Rebento Duffel: The world’s first 3D printed performance sports bag 

State-of-the-art innovation meets traditional craftsmanship in the Nike Football Rebento duffle bag. The 3D printed base combines with a premium leather upper in a bold expression of technology and style.

Designed for the game’s best players, only three bags have been created and will be carried by Neymar Jr., Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo this summer in Brasil. Each bag features custom gold hardware with the player’s name.

“We wanted to create something that was truly special for the game’s greatest players,” said Martin Lotti, Creative Director for Nike Football. “We did this by utilizing one of the most cutting-edge technologies – 3D printing – to make a bag that is unlike anything else.”

Rebento is Portuguese for “explode,” an apt verb to describe today’s game. The Nike Rebento bag references the stud plate of two groundbreaking Nike football boots – the Magista and Mercurial – with a unique graphic on the base of the bag.

Taking cues from the Nike Flyknit pattern of the Magista and Mercurial, the laser-sintered nylon creates an intertwined weave on the bag’s 3D printed base.  The 3D print also gives the bag body and creates a lightweight, yet durable structure that allows for flex.

Handcrafted, premium leather is used on the bag’s upper and straps, which seamlessly fits into the 3D printed base without the use of glue or adhesive. 3D printed hardware allows for unprecedented levels of customization and opens new possibilities for integrated individuality.

Mercurial FlyLite Guard:  Revolutionary design and built for speed

“Players such as Neymar recognize the need for a guard and want that protection, but they tell us they want it without sacrifice,” said Martin Lotti.  “So we sought to give them just that – our best protection without sacrificing, speed, fit or comfort.”

The combination of engineered materials and a new design provides premium protection with a barley-there feel.

A specially engineered shock system at the back of the guard combines with an outer shell that work together for optimal impact protection with increased flexibility and breathability.

The Mercurial FlyLite Guard replaces traditional foam backing with a new webbed shock system that, gram for gram, provides more consistent impact absorption hit after hit than foam. The innovative webbed backing utilizes pips, which come into contact with the outer shell to help absorb and disperse impact, protecting the shin while removing excess materials.

“We found that the more material you took away, the better the guard protected the shin,” added Lotti. “Reducing material also allowed for unprecedented flexibility, creating a fit that was unlike anything players had experienced.”

The FlyLite Guard provides the most anatomical fit to date.  In addition to the increased flexibility, allowing for a more customized fit, the pips cover a larger surface area along the shin bone to help distribute force over a greater area and  absorb impact. The honeycomb structure also delivers optimal airflow and breathability, while the thin profile offers the ultimate in lightweight strength.
Nike’s equipment design team also utilized 3D printing technology to experiment with hundreds of impact patterns.

“With 3D printing, we were able to quickly innovate, experiment and test hundreds of patterns and prototypes for the engineered shock system,” said Lotti.

The Mercurial FlyLite Guard will be available at nike.com beginning July 1.

By press release