Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
The autumn chill has occurred and soccer in most Northerly climes in North America has moved indoors; to be completely honest I couldn’t be more thrilled about this. There are two reasons behind my happiness, the first is that I enjoy the freedom and quick thinking required in the small sided game as opposed to 11’s, and the second, well, I have a quite a few indoor boots to get play around with and offer opinions on this winter, so for me, indoor season couldn’t come soon enough this year. Kicking off my indoor review season are the Nike FC247 Elastico Pro II, which I picked up for an absolute bargoon (that’s a Canadian bargain). Retailing regularly at $84.99, I stumbled across my pair on a bi-weekly cross border gas run for $30!
The Pro series is the mid-tier release in the Elastico family, and drops in at a ridiculously light 7.6oz, which is easily the lightest indoor boot I’ve ever owned, they are however not the lightest in the family, that honour now goes to the top-tier Finale II which barely dents the scales at 6.8oz. This is a bit of a change from the original Elastico run, where the mid-tier Pro’s were the lightest of the silo. But weight aside how would the Pink Flash/Neon Lime (and even though Nike doesn’t say it there’s Black in there too) hold up on the court and other surfaces?
Find your pair of Elastico Pro II at Soccer.com.
First Take
If you’re looking to get noticed on the court the combination of bright pink, lime green, and black leopard print are a surefire way to do it! Despite featuring some colours some people might consider garish, it’s a good looking boot, it certainly caught my eye when I was in the Nike Factory Store in Niagara Falls, NY. The boots are a combination of synthetic leather in the forefoot and a light breathable mesh in the remainder of the boot which gives them a distinctive gloss and matte look to them depending on which part is exposed to the light. The forefoot also features a grippy substance cemented to the boot designed to aid the touch when dribbling. I was also interested to note how low they sat to the ground when compared to other indoor shoes I’ve worn, usually there’s visual foam separation between the sole and the upper, so I was interested to find out how they’d feel on harder surfaces, as I’m not known to have the lightest of steps.
Break In and Fit
I picked up a size 9 because it was the only size available for purchase, so I was dropping a half size with the Elastico’s. The fit was snug but certainly not too tight. The materials used are very malleable so they wrapped around my foot exceptionally well, it was pretty much like wearing slippers. As is my usual MO, I took them straight into a game to see how they’d be comfort wise. The two hours of play on turf left me in no discomfort, these definitely are an indoor boot you can take from the box to game, without any adverse issues. About the only thing fit wise I could gripe with is the tongue, it has a tendency to shift around during use, not to the level of causing discomfort but it certainly stoked the ire of my boots OCD.
The Good
With the Elastico Pro and Finale, Nike have stripped pretty much everything you don’t need from an indoor boot and left you with the bare essentials, it weighs in 2oz lighter than most other boots in the high end indoor boot range, and not having that extra weight when you’re trying to beat a marker over 2 or 3 yards makes a difference. The synthetic forefoot w/grip aid has a certain tackiness to it which the ball sticks to, in the confined spaces of the indoor court I can’t emphasize how important having the ball on your foot is, and you don’t have to worry about that in the slightest with the Elastico Pro II’s. It’s also good to note that the lightweight didn’t hinder the striking of the ball at all, and I have worn some superleggera boots where hitting the ball was like hitting a cinder block!
[Also: Checking out the Nike Elastico Pro II]
I used these boots on the major indoor surfaces (court, AG, AT, carpet) and grip wise was never left wanting. Nike have done a modified Herringbone design (the sole also features a midsection of the sole designed to air ball control) on the soles. For those curious Herringbone sole patterns are routinely featured on yachting shoes due to their exceptional grip under most adverse circumstances.
The Bad
It should be noted that the Elastico Pro’s do everything you want an indoor boot to do, and they do it very well. However, I found two glaring issues during the testing phase. First up is the durability, now this seems to be a common issue with this tier of the silo. The grippy strip on the forefoot of the boots, they began to peel away from the upper after the first wear. While is hasn’t affected the touch on the ball because of the synthetic’s natural tackiness, this is still something which should not happen after one use when you’re charging your customers $85 for the privilege of wearing your indoor specific boot. It’s things like this which lead to hideous options like the IC versions of the F5, F10 and the Nike Libretto’s and Victory’s being so popular among indoor players, and that makes my heart bleed and blood boil. So message to Nike, up your game on the durability of your high level indoor boots! Unless of course you don’t want the masses to spend the money on them.
The second issue I had is a bit more of a personal issue, I’m not the lightest runner, so on the court there wasn’t enough padding in the midsole for me to avoid searing pain. On turf, AG and carpeted surfaces they were exceptional, but on the surface they were designed for I couldn’t wear them because of my running style and being honest I’m too old to be trying to play with that to wear these boots on the court. Once again this isn’t really something Nike can fix as it would change the whole profile of what they’re going for, it’s just something that didn’t work for me.
Conclusion and Would I Buy Them?
The Elastico is a bit of an enigma, it’s a top end performing boot, however, it’s durability is suspect, I suppose the easiest way to describe it is that it’s the Michael Owen of boots. So with that being said would I buy them? The answer is a provisional yes. The performance of the Elastico Pro II is well worth the $85 retail, however, given the durability issues, I wouldn’t recommend you pay that price, somewhere in the $45-$55 range would see them as a good buy, but even then I can see some recreational players unhappy at the durability of the boot at that price. If Nike could address the durability they’d be on to a winner here.
Find your pair of Elastico Pro II at Soccer.com.
Nike Elastico Pro II – The Summary
About: Indoor specific mid-tier Elastico series release
The Good: Does everything well! Grip on all surfaces is superb.
The Bad: Durability is an issue
Price: Original retail of $84.99
Would I Buy?: Yes but not at full retail
Rating out of 10: 7, should be higher, but I just can’t get away from durability issue.
The F10 turf isn’t THAT bad. It is by no means a great shoe but I do find its unnecessarily vilified. The thing with turf and indoor shoes is that many players are only using them once a week, so its hard to justify paying for top tier shoes. Shoes like the F10 and others you mentioned are cheap at retail and tend to be on sale a lot also, and they suit most players needs. I would love a pair of Copa turfs but unless I start playing more than an hour a week on turf I just can’t justify it. I am quite picky when it comes to FG/outdoor boots, but indoor/turf not so much. I know many players who are the same way.
There are some companies who spend a lot of time producing great indoor products which won't break the bank. If you're looking for a turf specific boot check out the Pele 50/50 it currently retails at $43 at soccer.com and is head and shoulders better than, boots like the F10 and Libretto and so on.
My vilification of models like the F10 isn't meant to call out the once a week indoor player. It's meant for the crowd of people that play 3 and 4 nights a week who just don't care about what they wear on their feet because "it's only indoor". Indoor is all about skill and control so I don't understand why semi-serious players are willing to wear a boot which they'd never wear outdoor because it'd hinder their control. But then again I take my indoor a bit seriously, thanks for your feedback, I do understand where you're coming from.
I get what you're saying about the people who buy nice outdoor boots and then play 3-4 days a week indoor, but it's worth remembering there are a lot of people out there for whom buying a boot on every surface is more of a pinch than others. I captain an indoor team of grad students in my rec league, and there are a few players who have a bit less means. I had a friend who has worn the same pair of FG tiempo flights for four years, and for indoor season just wears his tennis shoes. He's wanted to get a decent pair of indoors for a while, but between expenses and the money he needs saved for emergencies, he's never been able to justify the expense even though he plays futsal with me quite often.
That said, I've seen people who own two or three nice pairs of outdoor cleats yet use an F10 indoors. Those people just confuse me.
Most often the people wearing F10's indoor, that I come across, are those who have multiple top level outdoor boots who feel that "it's just indoor" (despite playing 3-4 times a week), so they can pick the F10 indoors on the cheap.
People like your friend who has limited funds, or someone like keane who would never see the return on investment in a top tier pair of indoor boots, I understand their necessities and choices.
Yeah I think we're all on the same page. I was in part making the more general point (not to just you, but to everyone reading), that we shouldn't judge a player's dedication to the game based on their choice to wear F-10s or worse. I agree with you that the people who don't take indoor as seriously as outdoor are quite frustrating.
Also, Richard, thanks for engaging with the readers and everything. That doesn't always happen on websites/blogs, so it's refreshing to see when it does.
Nice review Richard, but it made me think of a question. I am also a bit of a heavy runner and have had trouble finding a good shoe for futsal because of it. The best padding I've found so far is in the Lunar Gato (first one), but I've also found that the sole is a bit stiff and can make my arches sore after the fact. I've been tolerating it but am considering a new pair of indoor shoes if I could find something that both had adequate padding and a flexible sole (and ideally, a nice soft touch on the ball). Do you have any recommendations?
Joma Top Flex, it's a good quality boot and I've found it quite comfortable, I had one issue with them arch sores wise and that was when I switched into them after trying out the Elastico's on court. Also with the price point of the Top Flex you can't go wrong! Thanks Shyam!