History of the Nike Phantom
Mon, Nov 15.21
The Nike Phantom is built for dynamic playmakers, this boot silo is designed to unlock a player’s natural creativity.
Nike Hypervenom Phantom
Nike Introduced the HyperVenom Phantom in 2013 as the successor to the much loved Nike Total 90 silo. The Nike Hypervenom Phantom featured an all-new upper created using the NIKESKIN system.
The NIKESKIN featured a soft, mesh bound with a thin polyurethane film, and included the Nike All Conditions Control technology (ACC) to provide the same level of foot-to-ball control in different conditions.
The Nike Hypervenom Phantom exploded onto the boot scene and was extremely popular amongst players. Neymar was the face of the boot with his recent move to Barcelona and was also worn by the likes of Wayne Rooney & Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Nike Hypervenom Phantom II
The 2nd generation of Hypervenom Phantoms featured a dynamic fit collar something which has become the norm on boots these days.
The Hypervenom II was the successor to one of the most popular boots ever and had a lot to live up to. The Hypervenom II featured a redesigned upper which was stiffer than the last and required a while to break in.
With many players preferring the gen 1 upper, Nike released another version of the Hypervenom Phantom II ahead of Euro 2016 which featured the upper from the first boot.
Nike Hypervenom Phantom III
The third generation of the Hypervenom Phantom saw drastic changes to the boot, focussing on being a finisher’s boot, with the likes of Rashford, Lewandowski, Cavani and Harry Kane all wearing the boot.
The Hypervenom Phantom III included a flyknit upper, and a new soleplate designed to give players the optimum strike.
Nike Phantom Venom & Vision
In 2019 the Nike PhantomVNM was released and picked up where the Hypervenom left off. The boot was heavily inspired by the T90 boot and was again designed for the modern striker.
The PhantomVNM increased the size of the strike zone on the boot by 30% compared to hyervenom, allowing for a cleaner strike. This was achieved by covering the lower part of the laces in an additional layer of flyknit to cover the bottom of the laces and moving the laces off centre.
The Phantom Vision was all about giving player the ultimate comfort and control. The boot came with an internal quadfit mesh which acted like a sock, to keep the foot in place.
The Phantom Vision also allowed players to tuck their laces away behind the upper, giving them the clean surface to control and strike the ball but also the benefit of tightening their laces.
Nike Phantom GT
In 2020 Nike reverted back to just the three boot silos for the first time in 10 years. The Phantom Vision and Phantom Venom were fused into one silo for the Phantom GT.
The Phantom GT was all about accuracy, explosiveness and the cutting edge, combing the best features of the VSN & VNM silos. The Phantom GT uses flyknit and the brand new Generative Texture. By studying how the ball connects with the boot at a micro-level, Nike produced the Generative Texture to give players extra grip and control to put the ball exactly where they want.
The Phantom GT was worn by creative midfielders like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Kevin de Bruyne and also deadly finishers like Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.
Nike Phantom GT 2
For the Nike Phantom GT II, the changes are minimal. Some new lines are instantly apparent on the newly tweaked upper, highlighted in grey tones. The blue flashes through the Swoosh branding and the stud tips. We saw Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Delaney training in what was believed to be the new Phantom GT II back in early May, and even then the changes looked minimal, something which now seems to be confirmed.
Nike Phantom GX
The newest addition to the Phantom Family is the Nike Phantom GX, featuring Nike's newest innovation; Gripknit technology.
Gripknit is made from Nike exclusive yarn coated with TPU that when melted down to the optimal temperature creates a grippy, flexible & durable upper which is a successor to Nike Flyknit.
The Gripknit yarn will also protect the boot from weather conditions, protecting the knit from getting wet and giving the player better boot to ball connection. Theoretically the player should have the same touch on a winters day in the UK & a summers day in Brazil.
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