The All New Nike CTR360 Maestri III (First Images)

It’s been (arguably) the one boot that adidas has failed to keep up to Nike with. It’s one of our favourite boots that are going around at the moment, and Nike know that they are going to have to pull out all the stops when they update it to compete with a new rival in the market. Introducing the all new CTR360 Maestri III.
From the start, it’s easy to see that this boot has been given more than a fresh lick of paint. There’s certainly more to this boot than the update between the CTR360 I and the CTR360 II. It’s a fresh update of virtually the whole boot.
We’ll start with the upper. Kanga-Lite I is gone. Nike have updated the upper to Kanga-Lite II so that’s it’s lighter and more durable. It’s certainly different and, when I first saw the pictures, I actually thought the upper was k-leather. It’s looks very soft and comfortable, and full marks to Nike in that department.
The front-foot dampening pods have also been updated. In their place is what resembles the surface of the Moon. It’s actually the same texture as what was found on the old dampening pods. This will all aim to aid ball control and without a doubt, this surface will be softer than the rest of the upper to aid cushioning of the ball. The famed CTR360 pass-pad (that’s the thing in the instep) is also gone. This is where it starts to get a little confusing on Nike’s behalf. Instead, we have the 3D pass-pad. We guess the 8 strips on the instep will work a little bit like the 3D Power Shooting Technology on the Puma PowerCat 1.12. There’s varying levels of hardness in there, and separating the strips will mean that accuracy ‘can be maximised’, while the harder strips will minimise any energy absorption when the ball is kicked.
The sole-plate has also changed. Instead of the old CTR360 sole-plate that attempted to offer greater stability, the new looks a little different and it looks like the same stud configuration as the Tiempo IV. It’s still a TPU sole-plate, but there will be less emphasis placed on stability or aiding the placement of the foot when passing the ball. Looking at the pictures, it seems the new craze with Nike and adidas is to make boots look more sleek and futuristic. They’ve carried it through with the CTR360 Maestri III. While we may all jump up and down and ask Nike ‘why fix something that isn’t broken’, at least Nike have attempted to make the boot different. If we look at adidas, they did virtually nothing to the adiZero II except for the miCoach. Nike have given the boot quite an overhaul, and it’ll be interesting to see if it competes with the Predator LZ come the October release date.