I've just posted what I intend to be my last review of the year. Thanks to everyone who has rated me...
I've just posted what I intend to be my last review of the year. Thanks to everyone who has rated me this year. I will still be around to rate in December but just fancy a month off writing.
Member since:15.02.2007
Reviews:67
Members who trust:70
Background
I have been doing football coaching now for almost four years and in that time, I've had several pairs of boots from all the leading sports manufacturers. Although I don't play competitive games, it is still important to have the right footwear as I will be spending roughly 3 hours per week in these boots during training and on the touchline during matches. These were the first pair of Umbro boots I tried after using Nike and Adidas in the past.
The boot in more detail
First impressions were that the boots were very well made. I was sceptical about having white boots as I was expecting them to have gone a nice muddy browny white colour after a few uses which to my surprise, never happened as the boots cleaned nicely just by wiping a wet rag over them.
The boots were very comfortable to wear with adequate padding and protection for the toes which in my opinion is one of the most important considerations when buying football boots, sure I want to look good, but I also want to be able to walk off the field at the end of the session wiith all my toes intact. The Umbro boots come with traditional screw in studs which are widely recognised as being a lot safer than the blade style studs that a lot of boot manufacturers seem to be using these days. The screws on these studs are standard length which means that you can replace them with a non-Umbro stud should you lose one which inevitably you will over the time you wear them. The laces were ideally sized as some football boots tend to have longer laces that can be wrapped under the boot. The Umbro laces were long enough to do up like an ordinary shoe but were strong enough to hold the boot firmly on the foot.
On the pitch
I really enjoyed wearing these boots during training sessions, they were comfortable to wear and didn't give me any cause for concern on soft or hard ground. Even through last winter which was wetter than most that I can remember the boots performed well, keeping my feet relatively dry. Towards the end of the summer however, the boots started to deteriorate. I noticed a split developing and the main part of the boot was coming away from the insole. As the boots were only a few months old, I was very disappointed with this, especially as the cost was bordering on the £50 mark. To balance things up though, these boots did spend most of their life in the boot of my car which may not have been the best conditions for them and could have quickened up the wear and tear on them. I still think that fhis shouldnt have happened to a pair of boots in this price range, after all, I was only using them to coach 9 and 10 year olds, not going into full blooded tackles with fully grown men!
Verdict
These boots are hard to sum up. I really enjoy wearing them, but at the same time they haven't really lasted anywhere near the length of time I expected them to. If you intend to buy these then I wouldn't really expect you to get any more than one seasons use out of them. If you are happy to spend £50 for one seasons use then you will not go far wrong with these boots. If you expect longer than a years use then I would suggest looking for another type of boot.
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