Joma Top Flex – A Second Look Review

As I mentioned about a month ago now, SC101’s Canadian HQ received a little pre-Christmas care package from Spanish outfit Joma. The first thing I spied in the package was Joma’s futsal party piece, the Top Flex. Now it’s been just shy of three years since Bryan took the Top Flex out for a whirl, but I wanted to take a second look at them, as they’ve been on my boot bucket list for sometime.

The second reason I wanted to get a look at them is that I like to consider myself a bit of an indoor specialist (although certainly not to the same level of our very own The Boot 411 contributor Norman LeVesque). The pair I received for my review were a size 9 (US) and came in a Sky Blue/Navy/Orange scheme that I can’t find the official name for on account of the Top Flex range changing colourways with the same frequency of mother nature changing seasons.

Also important to note in the kick off is that the Top Flex was designed with futsal in mind as opposed to indoor soccer so it has a bit of a different build to your standard indoor soccer boot. This boils down to the futsal ball, which is a different beast to the soccer ball. The futsal ball is equivalent in size to a size three or four soccer ball but is filled with a dense rubber which reduces the bounce on court surfaces and also adds a whole slew of weight to the ball. This is the ball for which the Top Flex was designed.  So without further ado, let’s find out how the Top Flex held up.

You can currently find the Joma Top Flex at soccer.com.

FIRST TAKE

It’s a curious looking boot shape wise, the toe box is visually much wider than any boot I’ve ever come across, which instantly separated it from indoor boots of the cookie cutter variety. Build quality wise, Joma have left nothing to chance, the leather upper is soft and supple, the suede toe cap wraps the front of the boot and expands on the inside of the foot around the big toe to form a bit of a shooting guard which is great for the heavier futsal ball, finally the front of the toe box features a hardened rubber strip which is great for cracking off a quick toe punt chip, which is a move all fustalists should have in their arsenal.

Aesthetically I enjoyed the colourway, and opted to use the orange laces over the navy ones as the Top Flex ships with two pairs. Interestingly enough, I did take some razzing from my one co-ed indoor team for wearing “Baby Blue boots”, which amused me as no one said anything about the Hot Pink/Lime Green/Black Leopard Elastico’s I was testing before hand.

BREAK IN/FIT

The break in process of the Top Flex was non existent, I took them straight onto the court for my Wednesday night Futsal-lite pickup game and there no issues with comfort. While not being as flexible as the Nike Elastico, you’re still getting a flexible sole on the boot straight from the off, I know that there’s nothing more frustrating than getting onto the court only to suffer a great deal of pain in the arches of your feet while playing because your boots are not padded enough or the soles are too stiff.

Regarding the fit of the boot, Joma for the most part tend to run a wee bit long. So you’d be best to go down a half size. The US size 9 fit me perfectly, while still providing a bit of room to breathe. The running a bit long seems to be par for the course with Joma, as I was also sent the Super Flex model in a 9.5 and that fit a bit long.

THE GOOD

For me, everything was outstanding about my experiences with the Top Flex, from the bottom up it didn’t put a foot wrong. Traction wise on the court the boots were incredible, stopping on a dime and turning happened with ease, often times leaving markers still going in the other direction as their grip failed them. On the turf and carpet the soles proved to be a very good all-arounder but you’re going to see the top traction results on the court. The leather upper provides a fantastic touch on the ball, taking down passes out of the air was a cinch, and my passes seemed to pretty much always get to their intended targets. While Bryan had some issues with the extended toe cap as he felt it gave a less natural touch on the ball while dribbling, I’m happy to report that I didn’t find it a bother, in fact having played with an actual futsal ball for a good portion of the review I am thankful that there was a little more padding on one of the common strike zones of a football boot. The major surprise for me was how frequently I now find myself using the quick futsal toe punt chip in all forms of indoor, having had the benefit of experiencing the rubber strip on the toe box I now believe every indoor boot should come with it stock.

THE BAD

I suppose there could be a way to shave a small bit of weight off the boot, but even then, 9.4oz is on the lighter end of most indoor boots.

FINAL TAKE

It’s taken me forever to get this review up, and with good reason. I’ve loved playing in the Joma Top Flex so much that I’ve been using them in every indoor game, even when I should have been putting a couple other Joma indoor options into testing, so I do apologize to you the reader, and to Joma because you have made the best all around performing indoor boot I’ve worn to date and I didn’t want the experience to end.

Now into the nitty gritty. The Top Flex retails anywhere between $40-80 and for your money I don’t think there’s a better pair of indoor boots on the market; not to sound glib but if they had a swoosh or three stripes on the side of the boots they could probably retail for about $100 and you’d see them everywhere.

You can currently find the Joma Top Flex at soccer.com.

JOMA TOP FLEX – SUMMARY

About: Joma’s top end futsal boot
The Good: Everything about the boot. Quality materials, excellent grip, brilliant performances.
The Bad: They might be able to shed 1oz of weight, but that’s about it.
Price: Depending on the colour anywhere between $40 to $80.
Would I buy?: Definitely, I don’t know if I can recommend these more highly to the indoor player.

Rating out of 10: An easy 9 to 9.5