Nike LeBron Soldier 11 SFG 'Burgundy'
Colorway: Team Red/White-Total Crimson-Black · Style code: 897646-600 · Release date: December 2017 · Price: $199 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike LeBron Soldier 11 'Light Bone' (897646-005) · Nike LeBron Soldier 11 'Safari' (897646-006) · Nike LeBron Soldier 11 'Silver Bullet' (897646-007) · Nike LeBron Soldier 11 SFG 'Ultramarine' (897646-101) · Nike LeBron Soldier 11 'Olive' (897646-200)
The Soldier line runs parallel to LeBron James's numbered signatures as the lighter, strap-based alternative, and the straps are the whole idea. Replacing laces with adjustable bands across the midfoot and ankle gives a player one adjustment instead of a row of eyelets, and gets the shoe on and off quickly, useful for a forward playing heavy minutes who changes shoes between halves.
Its origins predate the name. Ken Link's Zoom LeBron 20-5-5, which used two straps over a plush inner bootie with full-length Zoom Air, served as the template the Soldier series was built from.
SFG stands for the Strive For Greatness treatment, which upgrades the materials rather than the structure: suede panelling in place of plain mesh, richer colour, more finishing. On this version the strap system is four elastic bands over a mesh and suede upper, with Zoom Air in the midsole. The palette runs deep red into crimson against black, which is about as close as a shoe with no laces gets to being formal.