The Boots of 2012

January 5th, 2012 by admin 2 comments »

Hi Everyone,

It’s time to do our yearly review on the footy boots of 2012. On Saturday we went down to Sporty’s Warehouse where we did a review on all the new stock of football boots coming in this year. Again, the same as last year, we didn’t do this review on what looks good, we did it on which boots may be better at preventing injury such as rolling the ankle, twisting the knee or developing heel pain which is very common.

Me in front of the range at Sporty's Warehouse.

With advice from Ben, Darren, Chris and Nathan(Podiatrists to the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns) and Richard (my Dad and Sports Physio) and Hardy (Physio at the Suns and the Titans) we’ve reviewed the different brands of boots and made some recommendations on the best ones.

Amart All Sports and Sporty’s Warehouse have possibly the biggest range of football boots on the Gold Coast. I have bought all of my football boots there since Under 8′s and love the wide variety. If you came to this website through my flyer that I handed out, you will be eligible for a discount on any of the football boots stock. If you want to go to the any of their websites. Look at the links in the right-hand side of the page.

So here is our review…

ASICS:

The ASICS Gel Lethal was the pick of the bunch last year and it has some minor improvements which will make it a strong contender again this year.

Lethal 14 – Wide stud pattern and strong heel cusp and slightly heavier than the Ultimate 8′s. Great stable boot. Rounded stud pattern should give great grip in dry conditions.

Ultimate 8 - Very Light with a wide stud pattern and a firm heel cusp. Slightly more flexible than the Lethal 14′s. They would suit someone with a neutral foot.(A foot that doesn’t collapse a lot at the arch).

Club 5 - The stud pattern is the bladed type instead of traditional studs. Also has a circular stud pattern which may prevent you twisting your knee. Not too flexy and was the cheapest in the Asics Lethal range.

The Asics boots from to to bottom, Lethal 14, Ultimate 8 and Club 4

Tigreor – Light weight but the stud pattern was too narrow and the studs were too long(not good for dry conditions like on the Gold Coast, maybe good for Melbourne type conditions). We think this narrow stud pattern make the boot “tippy” which may lead to ankle injuries.

Notice how narrow the Tigreor's(right) are compared to the Ultimates(left)

Flash - Model down from the tigreor with basically the same features but they are marginally more flexible. Again we didn’t really like this boot as much as the lethals.

Nike:

They seem to have the biggest range and the flashest boots. A lot of the boots were for soccer though so we only did the AFL ones.

T90 Boots-

Strike IV - Little bit flexible for our liking, has the blade stud pattern and a semi firm heel cusp, the best thing about these boots is that the lace pattern is to the side slightly which would help with kicking the ball smoothly and straight.

Shoot IV - Model down from the Strike’s with the colour, weight and quality of leather being the only main difference

Notice the laces are to the side which we like because it may improve kicking accuracy.

Tiempo – Legends/Mystic/Naturals. – We couldn’t really tell any difference between the three except the quality of the leather and the weight. Same stud pattern, look exactly the same, same heel cusp… the list goes on.

Mercurial – Lightweight, bladed stud pattern, reasonably firm heel cusp, quitel a flexible mid sole and they llok prettey flash.

The Nike Boots from top to bottom T90 Strike IV, Tiempo and Mercurial

XBlades:

Sniper Beast – Slightly softer heel cusp then the Asics but the boot itself is quite firm and long studs which would suit wet grounds or long grass.

Wild Thing – Outragous colours extrely flexible no heel cusp and narrow stud pattern. Not the best choice…

Outrageous colours, much?

Legend Elite – The most solid out of all the XBlade range with a firm heel cusp and long studs. Too narrow for our liking.

Legend Max – Slightly deeper boot than most of the others, firm heel cusp, semi solid mid sole and quite a wide stud pattern. One of the best blade type boots.

Adrenalin – Virtually the same as the Legend max just not quite as deep.

The XBlade Boots, from top to bottom. Wild Thing, Sniper Beast and Legend Elite

Puma:

Powercat – Blade stud pattern, laces to the side, firm heel cusp, wide stud pattern and reasonably solid. A great all round boot.

The Powercat(top) has the laces on the side while the Ascics Ultimate 8's laces are in the centre

VI – A firm heel cusp, a little bit flexy, semi wide stud pattern and a cover over the laces.

V5 – Hell cusp reasonably firm mid sole is flexy and narrow stud pattern.

King Top K – A traditional moulded boot, cover over the laces-firm heel cusp, semi-wide stud pattern and reasonably solid.

The Puma Range from top to bottom VI, Powercat and King Top K

Adidas:

F50 - Super Lightweight but no support whatsoever, narrow stud pattern and no heel cusp.

F30 - Heavier than the F50 again so support

F5 – Heavier than the F30 and again no support.

The Adidas F50 series from left to right. F5, F30 and F50

BE WARNED! The F50, F30 and F5 all say F50 on them. Do not be tricked! They are part of the F50 series but are not actually the F50 boot!

Predator – Firm heel cusp, blade stud design and it is the widest stud pattern out of all the blade pattern boots. Reasonably solid. I know these were popular in my team last year and I’m sure they will be popular again this year.

The Adidas Boots F50's at the top and Predators at the bottom.

Diadora:

Taipan - Firm heel cusp, solid mid sole, wide stud pattern and semi firm heel cusp. A great all round boot and only $59. A great budget option.

Zonda – Good firm heel cusp with a basic stud pattern and traditional studs. Pretty lightweight. Just what a football boot should be. Good for someone with a neutral foot.

The Budget Boot - The Diadora Taipan

Summary:

Okay, heres the verdict, the Asics boots are the only boot that gives both good looks, and great quality. We reccomend this boot because of its support, wide stud pattern and firm heel cusp. These are all contributing factors to help preventing injury. The Nike, Puma, and Adidas boots are all basically the same. Look fantastic but lack support and are extemley light weight. Most of them have a narrow stud pattern which we feel make the boot more unstable on firm ground. The XBlades scored some good points and had some good features so are worth a look.

Thanks for reading this review and enjoy your new footy boots!

If you have any questions or would like us to do a review on a certain boot , please feel free to contact us.

Harris Newton.

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Nike CTR 360 Review

April 10th, 2011 by admin No comments »

This video is showing the new Football Boot from Nike, Its name, the CTR 360. I can imaging most of you will think these are very flash and look great. Well they do and some of the features included are very good, for example they are not flexy the have a wider stud pattern than all the other Nike boots, and have a semi-firm heel cusp.

These boots are the most expensive boots in the Nike range but have many features that others don’t. The Nike CTR 360′s are available in red or blue.

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Tags: Nike

Football Boot Review – Best boots 2011

February 12th, 2011 by admin No comments »

Location: Sporty’s Warehouse

On Saturday I went to see Brock and the crew at Sporty’s Warehouse to do my Footy Boot Review.

Now I didn’t do this review on just what looks cool. In fact most of the boots looked pretty good and from a “looks” only view I would have been happy to wear pretty much any of the wide range on display at Sporty’s.

This review was based on which boots may be better at preventing injury.

With advice from the crew at Pindara, Ben, Darren and Nathan, Podiatrists to the stars (including the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns) and Richard (my Dad and Sports Physio) and Hardy (Physio at the Suns and the Titans) here’s my review and recommendations.

Brock and me in front of the range of Footy Boots at Sporty’s.

ASICS

ASICS had the biggest range in both junior and adult sizes. The pick of the bunch was the Gel Lethal series. The Ultimate7, 13, GS4, and club 4 all looked similar but we noticed the stud pattern was different on the 13 compared to the 7. We thought the circular pattern under the 13 may have allowed easier pivoting and may prevent you twisting your knee, which is what it was designed for. We liked the fact that they all had a firm heel cusp to keep your foot secure in the boot. They also come with a small wedge or heel raise which my help take a little tension off the calf and achillies and with many of the boys having heel pain at the moment we felt this was a good feature. These boots weren’t too easily twisted either giving good support.

We didn’t like the ASICS Tigreor as much. All the same features as the Lethal but the rear stud pattern was much narrower. (see photo) . The studs were also longer. Now taking into consideration we play on grounds that are pretty hard, the longer studs won’t penetrate as much and this combined with the narrower pattern we felt the could be a bit more unstable. We felt because most of us only have one pair of boots that the Lethals were a better choice. For wet soft grounds the Tigreor might be better, but we rarely get these conditions. At elite level, the big boys will have a number of different boots for different conditions. If only we could get a boot sponsor too!

Check out the difference in width of the studs on these two ASIC’s boots. The Lethals on the right (Red and White) and the Tigreor’s on the Left (Blue/Black). We like the wider base for stability. All other Brands were narrow like these on the left.

Nike

Nike have quite a large range, the best boots at Sport’s was the CTR 360, Mercurial, T90 and Tiempo range. These all looked pretty flash as we come to expect from Nike. But some of the features weren’t up to scratch. Poor heel cusp, too flexy for our liking, and a narrower stud pattern which could lead to rolling the ankle. The CTR’s are probably the top of the range and are a bit stiffer and have a better heel cusp. They do have a great lace pattern to prevent the ball from hitting the laces and going all over the place. If I were to get one of them I would choose the Tiempo because they’re cheaper and are basically the same as the others.

Adidas

Adidas has the Preditor, Adipure and F10 range. These boots were stiffer than the Nike range with a much better heel cusp. Again the stud pattern was too narrow, and no heel wedge. However these seem to be the most popular boot with my team. I have no problem with these boots and they look pretty good to.

XBlades

The XBlades have the Sniper, Legend and Bullet range. We quite liked these boots and I have had a pair of these myself a few years ago. The stud pattern was wide, not quite as wide as the ASICS but close. The circular layout of the studs may also assist in pivoting in that it’s less likely to get your foot caught. The heel cusp was solid. The main difference between these and the ASICS was they lacked the slight heel raise or wedge that made the ASICS more like a running shoe. Still a great boot.

Puma:

The Puma boots are an all-round boot. A small range consisting of the Powercat, King and the Liga.They have a firm heel cusp, are not too flexy, and have a medium sized stud pattern. But they lack the heel raise. I had a pair of these a few years ago and found they looked pretty good too. I have no problem with these boots.

Nomis

The Nomis range are good boots for people who don’t have heel problems. The have a firm heel cusp, a good stud pattern to prevent rolling the ankle, but are very flexy. An good boot for the price.

Pele:

These are the new range and are very similar to the Nomis boots, nice firm heel cusp, a little bit too narrow for our liking and are prettey hard to flex. Another good boot for the price.

The Verdict.

Here’s the Best in our opinion…the ASIC’s Gel Lethal.

The winner was as you may have guessed was the Gel Lethal 13. It’s not ASICS’s top of the range boot (Ultimate) but had great features and for an all round boot for Gold Coast conditions this was our pick.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check back on my website for more advice and reviews for Junior AFL players.