Football boots with good cushioning and support

DB_SamX · 30 Sep 2012 at 15:45

I've always bought cheap football boots for astro and grass -Sports Direct £25/£30 ones. I play once a week for 90 mins+ on grass outdoors (use bladed boots, not studded ones) and once a week for 60 mins on astro (rubber/sand) outdoors (use astros).

But I'm getting recurrent back pains, which appear to be from impact on the ground. I have been to see the GP and Physio with, so got medical advice on exercises, stetches, warm ups and cool downs etc and also started yoga recently.

So, trying to rule out the boots, is it worth spending more (say £50-£75) on better boots? Does it make a difference? I've always been sceptical.

Any recommendations for models that offer good support/cushioning/posture for both astros and bladed boots?

Goodie · 30 Sep 2012 at 15:52

I've always considered Nike Tiempo's to be some of the comfiest football boots around, maybe something like These would be worth trying

Icm76 · 30 Sep 2012 at 16:09

Try ditching the blades, they're vicious anyway, and get some studs for soft grass. Weren't blades banned in professional football? Studs may have a less jarring impact than blades.

On price - I remember Steve Cram appearing somewhere relatively recently taking about developing high performance running shoes and retail pricing. He said that once you are paying ~£80 the performance is about as good as it can possibly be, and the >>£100 shoes are all marketing fluff. Of course football boots aren't running shoes, but I doubt there is a wild difference in price comparison vs performance, so if you pay £50-£75 that seems reasonable enough.

My own experience with running shoes, trainers and astro boots is that I get on much better with Adidas and to a lesser extent Asics. I bought some Nike astro boots for summer five a side on hard dry grass, but I never really liked them and wished I'd stuck to my preferred Adidas. I think this is not a case of any brand being definitively the best, it's just a case of finding the ones the more typically fit well to the shape of your foot. In my case I tend to prefer narrower fitting and more padding at the heel, so e.g. the Nike shoes often end up too wide and loose on my feet. One of my colleagues says exactly the opposite Nike is great, but he hates Adidas.

foxrocks · 1 Oct 2012 at 11:42

I'd try a Puma King Top tbh. Largely unchanged in about 40 years so they must be doing something right!

DB_SamX · 2 Oct 2012 at 17:57

I've done some digging and will try to find Puma King Allround boots which have a cushioning cell, or Adidas 11NOva TRX, which have Adiprene soles. These are for Astroturf /Hard Ground.

I know what you mean about the blades, but they aren't soft ground ones which are deeper or have metal tips; they're firm ground ones which are shallower, so not as dangerous. If anyone's interested though, found a related article:http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...s-investigation-Blades-spark-safety-fear.html

I'll try rubber studded ones instead of blades anyway this time; never used them but will give them a shot.