With lightweight speed at the forefront of the design, Mizuno release the Alpha II Teaser Edition, introducing us to a new era of fast in football. The boot arrives in a bold colourway, teasing the new tech under the hood.
Two and a half years on from its original debut, Mizuno upgrade the Alpha model, debuting it with the ‘Teaser Edition’ ahead of its full launch. It comes in a “Black/Galaxy Silver/Black” colourway, but like several boots in recent months, that only tells a small part of the story. A combination of blues, yellows, reds and greens play out across the upper, overlaid by a shimmering silver layer that really shines in the light. It’s a bit of a marmite look in all honesty – you’ll either love it or hate it. But it does exactly what it’s intended to do, and that’s introduce us to a new boot. So let’s dive into what’s under the surface…
Visually (radical colourway aside) the silhouette of the Alpha II isn’t all that different to the original Alpha, but don’t let that fool you; there’s plenty of new innovation here. For starters, the upper features a new construction that sees six layers (ZEROGLIDE a mesh, PU Sheet, Engineered Fit Sponge, Engineered Fit Frame, Engineered Fit Woven, and another PU Sheet for good measure) combining for greater levels of comfort on foot. You may think that having those additional layers would be counterintuitive, given we’re going for speed here, and as we all know, lightweight equals speed. But the Alpha II Made in Japan model actually comes in at a mere 185g (UK size 8), making it a super lightweight speed boot and one of the lightest in its class.
Moving inside the boot, and the ZEROGLIDE a Mesh (not a typo) features throughout the boot, not just at the heel this time. It offers great grip, locking the foot in for a secure feel and no movement when on foot.
Mizuno ENERZY then sits underfoot, boosting the levels of comfort and energy return. Designed to keep you from being flat footed, contributing to your sprinting and short bursts, it’s one of the softest and comfiest insoles on the market. It sits on top of a KaRVO RS insole board, which itself has been reduced from 1.2 mm to 0.9 mm, offering high resilience, spring and flexibility while contributing to the overall reduction in weight. This is a specific feature of the ‘Made in Japan’ edition, with the regular elite edition adopting the same insole board as the Morelia Neo series.
The tongue has also been reworked, reducing some excess space in and around the collar that existed in the original Alpha, improving the fit and overall comfort of the boot.
On the outsole, there’s a switch to a triangular stud shape, with the positioning borrowed from the learned Morelia series. The idea is to improve traction whilst also allowing for quick release and sharper turns. In all honesty, we've pretty much seen it all when it comes to studs these days, and any variation feels like a reinvention rather than anything revolutionary, but it certainly doesn't detract from the overall package on offer here.
The Alpha II Tease Edition is only available in limited quantities, doing exactly what it's intended to do – teasing the full release, which will follow in the coming weeks. So if you fancy yourself in a pair of these, best be quick and get ordering!
The Mizuno Alpha II is available in limited quantities at prodirectsport.com/soccer
