They think it's all over....it is now (for my current boots)

October 27, 2009 3:23 AM

What is the best 5-a-side football outdoor footwear? I play twice a week on modern outdoor five-a-side pitches (the ones with the little black rubber balls). My Nikes have finally given up the ghost and are being held together with gaffer tape at the moment. I thought Adidas Samba but my mate says they'd be wrecked in two matches. Any ideas? Ta.
posted by mooreeasyvibe to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

Samba are useless outdoors. Brilliant indoors on wooden floors, grip is second to none.

But outdoors, you may as well wear grease on your feet.
posted by MarvinJ at 4:09 AM on October 27, 2009

Best answer: I wear adiNOVA TRX TFs on both the new pitches and the evil, knee-destroying, astro-over-concrete old ones, and they're excellent. The grip lasts about a year playing on the old pitches (this would last a lot longer if I was playing exclusively on the new style pitches), and the upper is pretty much indestructible.
posted by Kreiger at 4:29 AM on October 27, 2009

Response by poster: Got the adiNOVA off Amazon. Bargain too. Much cheaper than the official site. Thanks for the advice they look good too, understated. Didn't want anything blue or red.
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 4:43 AM on October 27, 2009

I see you've already made a decision but for the benefit of future readers, I bought a pair of Adidas Mundial Team for outdoor modern astroturf (with the little black balls) and dry grass play, and recommend them so far.
posted by galaksit at 6:27 AM on October 27, 2009

Response by poster: They do look good too. Can I just add that everyone I play with says Nikes are comfortable but really don't last long - the sole normally comes away from the upper.
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 6:37 AM on October 27, 2009

They have a Samba-like feel (though only from memory as I haven't owned a pair of Sambas for many years) and the bonus for me was I was playing in screw-in studs and finding they got a bit stuck in the astro surface in heavy tackles. After yet another ligament sprain I switched to the Mundial Team and haven't had a problem since (4 months). They are not cheap but it was worth it to me given my dodgy knees.
posted by galaksit at 6:57 AM on October 27, 2009

Seconding the Adidas Mundial Team. They're not cheap, but they're actual leather and thus quite durable.
posted by Cogito at 12:27 PM on October 27, 2009