What kind of soccer cleats should you buy?

There are so many choices. And all this marketing nonsense out there. Exactly. There is no simple answer to this question. How to buy proper soccer cleats could be very challenging but it does not have to become a nightmare. With the adequate knowledge you can easily choose the right soccer shoes for yourself or your child, if thats the case.

So, lets see what should you look for while buying soccer cleats? Besides the price, you want to make sure they are comfortable. But how would you know if they give you enough comfort, before you play in them at least few times?

You wont.

But you can increase your chances of buying comfortable soccer cleats by considering the following factors:

1. Manufacturer.

2. True Leather or Synthetic.

3. Studs Type.

4. Size.

Let's talk about these factors a little bit more.

Manufacturer Adidas and Nike are the 2 most popular. For a good reason. They are probably the best on the market.

While Adidas has manufactured soccer shoes forever, Nike has made great strides over the last few years. Both companies make equally good quality soccer shoes.

I personally never played in Nike's shoes, so I cant tell you about this brand from my experience. My sons played soccer using both brands. After trying them for a while, the younger son sticks to Nike while Pat (older) uses Adidas shoes only. They both are very happy with their selections. Do you know why?

Their feet are build differently. Pat has a much wider foot than his brother. Adidas makes its cleats bigger in width than Nike.

Basically if you have:

Wide foot - look for a pair of Adidas Soccer Cleats.

Skinny foot - look for a pair of Nike Soccer Cleats.

It wouldnt be fair not to mention 2 other brands, almost as good as the above two: Diadora and Puma. Other brands like: Umbro, Kelme, Mitre, Lotto - only if you really cant afford the brands mentioned above or if you just simply like these brands.

True Leather or Synthetic

Upper portion of every soccer shoe is made out of either true leather or synthetic material.

What is better?

True leatherin my opinion. And I recommend it to everybody who is serious about playing soccer.

True leather gives you an uncompromising feel of the ball. It molds to your feet producing great comfort. It also lasts longer than synthetic materials. And it is healthier for your feet. Synthetic materials dont let the feet breathe building up of sweat, potential blisters and feet problem in the near future.

But(of course there is a but) ...True leather cleats cost more. There are few different types of leather used to manufacture soccer cleats. The least expensive is full grain. Sometimes full grain leather soccer shoes could cost only slightly more than artificial. Spending $10-20 more on much better shoes would be really worth it. The best leather out on the market is K-Leather (Kangaroo). Though more expensive but it is softer, lighter and still durable. If your feet are not growing like the speed of sound and your budget is not too tight, definitely consider buying soccer cleats made from K-Leather.

There is another but or an exception to my non-synthetic soccer shoes rule: soccer cleats made of high quality synthetic material. These soccer shoes are manufactured with special microfiber technology that upgrades synthetic material, usually a PU (polyurethane). It makes the PU very soft, and strong, giving it similar feel to a natural material. Top Super-Microfiber material can be just as expensive as some leather!

Nowadays almost all-leading sports footwear manufacturers use microfiber materials. For example, Nike makes their top quality cleats from super lightweight synthetic material called KNG-100 (Air Zoom Total 90) and Nike-Skin (Mercurial Vapor). Even Adidas, for the first time, used microfiber for its newest creation Adidas Predator Absolute (there is a Kangaroo leather model as well). So, my non-synthetic cleats rule applies only to a regular (cheap) synthetic material like PU or PVC (polyvinylchloride).

Studs Type