"Pig Skin" shoes- The weirdest pair if shoes I've ever seen.

[JRstriker12]

Craig Johnston, who created the Adidas Predators, is supoosedly developing a new shoe called the "Pig". He says his new "pig skin" shoes are better than the predator. He's also working on a "skin" that you can slip over stadard boots.

Has anyone played in or seen these in shoes? With all thoses rubber spikes on the top of the shoe, I would be surprissed if FIFA would let them be used during a a game.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/bestinventions/2002/dec18boot.shtml

Large Picture- http://www.supaskills.com/news/2002/12/17/the_pig.html?p=14

[Becks7]

Good find!!!

I agree that the spikes might pose a bit of a hazard. They must be pretty stiff to be durable.

[nopheer]

yeh, the spikes will be fine, they're only rubber! I mean metal studs were allowed, so why not rubber spikes? And i didn't think these were out yet, so i don't think any would have played in them yet.. i could be wrong though.

The best thing about these boots are that they're gonna be really cheap, because Craig Johnson doesn't believe the price should be very high. He wasn't happy at the price of the predators, but as it was up to adidas, he didn't really have a choice.

[Becks7]

Originally posted by nopheer
yeh, the spikes will be fine, they're only rubber! I mean metal studs were allowed, so why not rubber spikes? And i didn't think these were out yet, so i don't think any would have played in them yet.. i could be wrong though.


Metal Spikes have a flat bottom though. If the rubber is flimsy and weak it will rip off, so I'm guessing it's a hard rubber compound.

[nopheer]

Originally posted by Becks7
Metal Spikes have a flat bottom though. If the rubber is flimsy and weak it will rip off, so I'm guessing it's a hard rubber compound.

I do see your point, but it still is a less hazardous part of the boot than the stud (whether it be rubber, plastic or metal).

[NC_ODP02]

all they have to do is make the spike base sturdy, and then make the end softer. To tell the truth, I think that idea is crazy, and your game would have to conform to your boots, rather than the other way around. I just cant see myself hitting an accurate shot with those spikes there.....

[gerr18]

I imagine it would be like going from kangaroo leather to the nike kng...which for me was extremely difficult, and I still am not used to nike's.

This transition seems like it'll be even tougher...which is the reason I won't be purshasing a pair of these.

[JRstriker12]

I still think the spiked surface on the top mght be a little dangerous. When I play, odds are that the top of the boot makes contact with my leg/shin/foot rather than the cleats on the bottom of the shoe. It may be rubber, but it could still increase the chance that someone might be cut or scrapped pretty bad. Couldn't imagine what would happen if you got kicked in the face. But I guess we'll see what happens once someone produces these shoes.

[vakeeper22]

Originally posted by JRstriker12
I still think the spiked surface on the top mght be a little dangerous. When I play, odds are that the top of the boot makes contact with my leg/shin/foot rather than the cleats on the bottom of the shoe. It may be rubber, but it could still increase the chance that someone might be cut or scrapped pretty bad. Couldn't imagine what would happen if you got kicked in the face. But I guess we'll see what happens once someone produces these shoes.


I feel bad for any goalkeeper who goes up against those!!!

[Jc18star]

Really these boots or the skin to put over the boot which ever one is going to be made nad sold is not a whole lot different than the first few pair of Preds that adidas put out in terms of bulging peices of rubber on the boot.

As a matter of fact if I remember right there was a article on the Predator's development in either Eurosport or TSI when they first came out showing diffrent designs used to try and get it right so to speak and there was a very similar looking boot to this one then and even the idea of a skin to remove insted of it being built in to the boot.

I am not too sure if Johnston even has anything to do with the Predators anymore because when they first came out untill the Predator Accelerator the rubber was called Pulsion and said Johnston on it now they just call it the Predator upper and his name is no where to be found on the boot or on adidas's history of the Predator website feature.

BTW some of the real early designs for the Predators were worse looking than this pig boot.

[JRstriker12]

Originally posted by Jc18star


I am not too sure if Johnston even has anything to do with the Predators anymore because when they first came out untill the Predator Accelerator the rubber was called Pulsion and said Johnston on it now they just call it the Predator upper and his name is no where to be found on the boot or on adidas's history of the Predator website feature.

BTW some of the real early designs for the Predators were worse looking than this pig boot.

From the sound of the articles it looks like Johnston isn't involved with Adidas anymore as he seemed to be upset with the cost of the adidas boot.

BTW- have any picts of the early predator designs. That would be interesting to see. Hard to imaging the predator concepts looking much sorse than the "pig".

[Jc18star]

Originally posted by JRstriker12
From the sound of the articles it looks like Johnston isn't involved with Adidas anymore as he seemed to be upset with the cost of the adidas boot.

BTW- have any picts of the early predator designs. That would be interesting to see. Hard to imaging the predator concepts looking much sorse than the "pig".

About a year ago I came across an old stash of my soccer catalogs like TSI, Soccer Madness, and Soccer World all now who are out of business and some real old Eurosports, it was somewhere in there, but they got thrown out due to the fact they were of no use to me other than childhood memeories.

The article had an interview with Johnston and a history of him trying to get this concept developed, they had pics around the outside of the storyborder with the first few homemade designs of the Predator and then a few early adidas test models.

I think the story even was about the Predator 2's and showing how much the boot had evolved from the first design(not much better of a boot to be honest I had the first three pairs and the indoor model with only the indoor and the 3rd version being worth any where near what I,well my Mom and Dad paid for them at the time).

There was a cheaper version of the Predator 2 out at one time it was the first in the line related to the Manic, it was called the Rapier and was much nicer than the Predator 2 in terms of fit, comfort and weight. I guy at the adidas store in College Park MD at the time told me that adidas was trying to decide if they were going to continue making a expensive Predator or just stick with the Rapier version here in America, due to poor sales of the first (and very expensive at the time) Predator, which was closer to the current Mania in price than the other models that followed.

The Predator range has really come a long way since the first model to come out in 94, and since the homemade ones Johnston used to get his idea moving.

BTW, the pigskin thing comes from one of his first homemade "Predators" where he covered a shoe in a pigs blatter according to the old article