A giant brand in rugby clothing and footwear, Canterbury have recently released their lightest boot ever made. The all-new Speed Infinite Elites have landed, after becoming the first rugby boot in history to be sent into space!
Design for rugby’s flying speedsters, the Speed Infinite Elites are being worn by the likes of Newcastle Falcons flyer Adam Radwan, Ireland and Connacht winger Mack Hansen, and England Women’s Sevens star Jodie Ounsley.
MACK HANSEN: “Canterbury really has delivered the next generation of rugby boot. My first reaction was that, for a boot designed specifically for rugby, it’s incredibly lightweight – it’s about the same weight as an iPhone. It looks great and the tight fit is comfortable on your foot, so it’s amazingly comfortable and helps to maximise my speed and performance on the pitch.”
ADAM RADWAN: “I’ve been wearing them for probably the past year, I love them. Obviously they’re Canterbury’s lightest boot yet. Because the majority of my training has been speed work – so I’ve literally been wearing them the whole time. Doing my speed work, so yeah, they’ve been brilliant so far, and you know hopefully that’s going to help me to get quicker.”
JODIE OUNSLEY: “Well, in terms of the speed boot, obviously, with my position, I’m a winger, and you always want a light boot, basically, you don’t want a heavy boot that’s going to slow you down. So when they (Canterbury) came to me about this speed boot, it got me really excited.
“I was completely like blown away, because in the past, Canterbury have been known for heavy boots, obviously, which are great for forwards, but as a winger, probably not the best sort of option of boot. But with the speed boot it’s the lightest boot they’ve ever launched, and it’s not even a kilogram. That’s how light it is!”
At just 217 grams, the boots are ultra-light, and built for speed. The first design saw Canterbury release a cool all-white boot (that also glows in the dark), and a slick looking black version. We were able to get our hands on their latest brand new purple colourway, and tried them out last night for this review.
BOOT REVIEW: CANTERBURY SPEED INFINITE ELITES
DESIGN:
The instantly striking purple colouration gives the boot an eye-catching pop. When we brought these out of the boot bag for a social game of tag rugby, heads were certainly turned at the unique colour scheme. With the purple base colour, and pink Canterbury logo with interwoven spotted design the boots seemed to carry a rightful reputation that they are built for speed.
Thankfully, the professional players who wear these boots have the gas in the tank to back them up. There were less expectations for a causal game of tag rugby, but the opposition were certainly taking notice, and marking the player in the bright and light boots. The illuminated ‘moon-rock’ colouration on the moulded studs and underside of the boot are another nice touch, with the pre-match stretches showing off the ‘out of this world’ design.
COMFORT:
The first thing you notice is the padded support wrapped around your heel. This extra grip and support stops your foot from slipping around the boot, and adds a weightless feel to the on-field performance. The extended heel of the boot rides up the back of your ankle, to form a protective cushion behind the Achilles. All of rugby’s flyers know the importance of having a reinforced ACL, to hit your top speeds without the worry of an ankle injury.
The laces are without the top loop, and instead have an extended built-in ‘sock’, that works as a tube-like grip across the top of the foot. Despite the tightness of the boot, wide-footed athletes will find a nice amount of give, in the high-quality materials used in the design.
Speed Infinite Elite is Canterbury’s most advanced product and draws on the brand’s 119 years of heritage and rugby knowledge, combined with futuristic technology and materials to meet the needs of a modern elite player.
PERFORMANCE:
Taking further inspiration from nature, the FLIGHTBEAM outsole was devised from the shape of a Furcula.(or wishbone) and provides extra reinforcement and stiffness. The support of the midfoot boosts your explosivity, and added a new bounce as you accelerate off the mark.
Using Artificial Intelligence to power its design and strip out unnecessary weight, the Speed Infinite Elite have been inspired by science-pioneer Alan Turing’s Reaction Diffusion Algorithm to apply embroidered stitch reinforcement to targeted areas in the most efficient organic pattern.
With such technological advancements in the boots design, the on-field performance is maximised for both the soft and firm ground versions. Canterbury.com priced the boots with a retail price of £140.
Link to purchase: https://www.canterbury.com/boots/speed-infinite-elite.list