I've had the privilege to work with the top sporting brands for well over a decade now. In my current role at Packer Leather, we have supplied some of the most innovative soccer boot leathers in recent times, especially the dual control leathers for Nomis. Currently in existence there are a number of different skin or hide types used as a basis for the vamps in soccer boots, each with certain benefits. Obviously K-Leather (which is an alternative branding name for kangaroo) holds the premier position due to it being incredibly light weight and super strong. The bovine (cow hide) type leathers are generally 40 - 50% thicker to gain enough strength to be robust enough to be used in the boots, and there have also been attempts with goatskin, sharkskin and others. On these base leathers we can build in many technologies to enhance the players performance, and one of the greatest benefits of all that I see in the future is that leather is ultimately a renewable resource, which is extremely pertinent in this day and age of a world that is chewing through non-renewable resources at a staggering rate. Synthetic leathers on the other hand are very 'hungry' of oil based products in their manufacture, and also struggle to mimic many aspects from genuine leather.
So I'd like to start out a session reviewing what it is that the 'punters' out there like about synthetics, and try to understand what it is that you would like to see in a football boot leather.
Looking forwards to your comments. Regards,
Dr Leather
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3 comments:
The main reason that I generally choose synthetic over real leather is the durability. Real leather tends to lose its color and rip faster than synthetic. In regards to softness though, nothing beats a pair of k-leather boots.
I agree with Tate. The only reason to buy synthetic is for either its durability or weight (i.e. vapors). Nothing beats a pair of K-leather boots. They just form to the foot much more naturally. The thing that amazes me is that the price of a synthetic boot can be so high. I could go buy a perfect fine pair of Copas with k leather for $90, but a pair of vapors costs me $195. Obviously we know these are much more marketed etc....I also wonder about how much of a difference there really is in "lower end" synthetics vs. high end synthetics. After all, aren't they all just plastic?
Thank you for your thoughts. Actually I was in the lab this morning testing some of the synthetic leathers, with a view to your comments. I can definitely say that of the synthetics I tested they are far more stretchy at corresponding strength levels to leather. Now this may not be true for all synthetics, as there are so many.
I'm not sure of the cost of synthetics these days, especially with the price hikes in oil. But they are undoubtedly getting more expensive. I think brands like the synthetics predominantly because of their price, but also as it is available in big rolls, and so automated clicking/cutting of the components with minimal wastage all adds to their profit margins.
So thanks for the comments. I'll do some more work on the two aspects you note.
Thanks,
Dr Leather
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