A series of guides to help improve your performance at & enjoyment of sport. We thought even though you probably know how to prolong the life of a Football boots we would get our ex-professional footballer and Managing Director, Bruce Bannister, to shed some light on caring for your Football boots Selection & Care of Your Soccer Footwear
Top Tips of Football Boots:
1. Caring for the Leather
boots relating to football generally have black leather uppers so that any scuff marks or stud marks can be polished out and so the natural oils can be replaced by polish, Dubbin or oil after the Football boots have been dried.
2. Drying
The best way of drying Football boots is to stuff them with paper and allow them to dry naturally. Never force-dry them (i.e. next to, or on a radiator, or in an airing cupboard). There are three main reasons for not force drying. The first is that, obviously, the upper is cemented to the sole unit and anything hot can dry out this adhesion. The second is that leather uppers react badly to too much heat, the leather drying up and becoming hard and brittle. The third is that the sole unit can warp if the heat is intense enough.
3. Types of Leather Uppers
The best leather uppers - i.e. hardest wearing, softest, that mould to the feet best - historically have been kangaroo skin. There are now oil based, water repellent leather that do a similar job (e.g. Pittards leather). Then we have full grain leather uppers from various origins ( e.g. American hide, Italian etc.) which wear well and are very supple.
4. Other types of Uppers
Further down the scale is split leather with a polyurethane (P.U.) coating, then synthetic Football boots which are still normally the cheapest. On the way through the scale, of the best downwards, are varying degrees of mixtures of full grain forefoot with the rear split leather with a P.U. coating or full grain forefoot with rear synthetic or forefoot split and rear synthetic etc.
5. New Types of Uppers
For over 50 years quality leather dominated the uppers of football boots. There are now uppers witha mix of Kangaroo leather and rubber (i.e. adidas Predator) which arguably give better touch on the ball. Nike have been working for years on complex synthetic uppers that perform equally as well as
leather but give a better feel on the ball.
6. Selection
Helpful information on selection of Football boots / shoes.
There are four basic types of football boots : (i) Changeable studded Football boots (ii) Moulded Football boots (often referred to as 'rubber studs' or 'rubbers') (iii) Astro-turf shoes (iv) Indoor football trainers.
(i) Football boots with Changeable Studs:
In the UK, these are the best sellers. In the rest of the world moulded Football boots are best. This is because of the changeable weather conditions in the UK - the studs can be changed to longer studs when it is muddy and wet and shorter studs when it is dry and hard - a balanced decision being made between traction and comfort.
· (ii) Moulded Football boots:
Multi - studded sole units ( generally 16 studs ) are often made of rubber, thus known as 'rubbers'. Much more comfortable on drier, natural pitches they provide good grip on drier ground but the more wet and soft the ground becomes, the less grip is given.
(iii) Astro-turf Shoes:
Extensively used in both football and hockey. Hard wearing rubber sole units with many small studs for traction on artificial surfaces. Often used as casual 'trainers' because of the hard wearing nature of the sole. Because of the hard nature of the artificial surfaces, there is generally a comfortable midsole to help absorb shock in Astro-Turf shoes. Not often used on natural surfaces as the closeness of the studs can clog with mud.
(iv) Indoor Football Trainers:
Sole units are generally flat and made of clear gum rubber. Not as hard wearing as carbon black mix rubber sole units ( i.e. sole units which are coloured black ), but will grip the indoor surfaces much better because of the softness. Many sports hall managers will not allow black sole units, as the carbon black can mark the floors.There are also 3 new types of outsoles based around the bladed sole unit.
(a) Moulded Bladed Sole Unit for soft natural surfaces
This has deep blades that allow traction on wet surfaces.
(b) Moulded Bladed Sole Unit for firm or hard ground
This type has the same postion of blade a
(a) but has a less deep
blade so that traction can be gained but also for comfort.
(c) Adidas has this year brought out an inovation of a bladed sole unit which has 8 blades, six of which are changable. This allows stud length to be changed to suit the ground conditions as well as when the
blade wears.
7. Care of Studded Football boots
When the changeable studded Football boots are first purchased, normally the studs will not be tightened. It is advisable to tighten them and while doing so, add a touch of Vaseline to the screw part to help stop the studs rusting into the boot.
8. Fit of Boots
Obviously, if a child is growing there needs to be room for growth. When growing has stopped, boots need to fit snugly. The reason being that there should be no movement inside when playing; leather when put under pressure stretches and when wet and put under pressure stretches even more.
9. 'Breaking - in' of Football boots
The best way to break Football boots in, is in the wet - when it has just rained or is raining. This allows the leather upper to fit to the foot. Vaseline can help reduce the possibility of blisters ( i.e. Vaseline the foot prior to putting boots on). Many professionals initially break boots in without socks.
articles by : www.richmondaviators.com
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