In order for you to play football safely and properly, you should wear a pair of football cleats, which would allow you to have a better grip on the football field to avoid slippage and consequent injuries. Football cleats are a type of footwear that have spikes or studs at the bottom that pierces through the grass, soil, or turf on the football field and provides both traction and grip for your feet. Without wearing football cleats, you will most likely slip a lot on the field, especially if the grass or soil is wet due to rain.
There are different types of football cleats that you can wear, and in this article, you will be able to learn more about those types so that you can decide which one is suitable for you to wear based on your preferences and the fields where you will be playing football. Here are the different types of football cleats.
Types of Football Cleats Based on the Upper
The upper of football cleats can be different for each model, as there are some that have a high ankle collar, while there are a lot of cleats that have a low ankle collar that gives you more freedom of movement. To know more, here are the details for the types of football cleats based on their upper.
High-Top Football Cleats
High-top football cleats are the type of cleats that have a high ankle collar, which means that the collar goes above the ankles. Because the ankles are covered by the cleats, they will get support from the materials on the ankle collar. The ankle collar prevents your ankles from overextending, which can cause major injuries that require weeks or months to heal.
A lot of high-top football cleats today have an ankle collar made of soft and flexible textile, so they will basically feel like you are wearing a second pair of socks on your feet. If you want a lot of support and protection for your ankles, then you should definitely wear a pair of high-top football cleats.
Mid-Top Football Cleats
Mid-top football cleats look like a pair of high-tops from afar, but they have a lower ankle collar, although not as low as the ones present on the low-top football cleats. The ankle collar of mid-top football cleats still goes above the ankles, but it is shorter than the ankle collar on high-tops.
These mid-top football cleats would still give your ankles support and protection, but they also provide more freedom of movement for your lower legs and feet. However, mid-top football cleats are what you call “the jack of all trades, master of none,” as it doesn’t provide the same level of support for your ankles (compared to high-tops), and it also doesn’t offer the same level of movement for your feet (compared to low-tops).
Low-Top Football Cleats
Low-top football cleats are arguably the most popular type of cleats today, as they allow players to have a lot of freedom when it comes to moving and shifting in different directions on the field. In addition, these cleats are also lighter compared to the other types of cleats since they don’t have a lot of material on the upper.
The downside to low-top football cleats is that they don’t provide support for your ankles, so you are more susceptible to getting ankle-related injuries when you wear these cleats. But you can just wear ankle braces, which can be like the high ankle collar of high-top shoes but still allows your feet to feel freer.
Types of Football Cleats Based on the Outsole
Besides the types based on the upper, there are also different types of football cleats based on the outsole. The outsole you choose would depend on the type of football field you will be playing in, as well as the condition of the field. Read below for the details about the different types of football cleats based on the outsole.
Rubber Molded Cleats
Rubber molded cleats have a rubber outsole and studs that feel more comfortable for the feet since they are soft and flexible. They are also a great pair of cleats to wear by beginners, as it allows them to have more flexibility when it comes to the moves they are practicing on the field. However, because the studs are soft on these cleats, they don’t provide the same level of grip as other types of football cleats. But, if you are a newbie in football and want to buy an affordable pair of cleats, the rubber molded cleats are perfect for you.
Hard Molded Cleats
Hard molded cleats have outsoles that are made of metal or a harder type of plastic compared to rubber molded cleats. These cleats provide the best grip out of all types of football cleats, and they are usually worn by professional players that want to perform various quick moves without slipping on the field. The downside to hard molded cleats is that the outsole can be quite rigid, so they don’t provide a lot of flexibility for your foot, but this is also a benefit for a lot of players that don’t want to overextend and injure any part of their feet.
Turf Football Cleats
Turf football cleats have smaller studs on the outsole, which make them the perfect pair of cleats for turf football fields. A turf field, also known as artificial turf, is a type of football field that has a surface made of synthetic fibers that look like grass from afar. This type of field is easier to maintain, but players are required to wear turf football cleats for them to play safely and comfortably on its surface.
Futsal Shoes
Futsal shoes are a type of football boot or shoe that is worn on cemented fields or hard courts. These futsal shoes don’t really have studs, instead; they have outsoles that you would normally find in basketball shoes and other sports shoes. The outsoles of futsal shoes offer the wearer better traction on the field or court, and these shoes also have thinner midsoles compared to other types of sports shoes for a better court feel.
These are the different types of football cleats that you should know about before buying a pair. Now that you know about these types, we hope that you will have an easier or better decision in buying the perfect pair of football cleats for your style of play or for the type of football field you will be playing the sport in.