Admittedly, I'm showing my age. Back in the late 60's or early 70's, the Oakland A's players started wearing those white shoes (I believe they were kangaroo skin). At that point, every half-ass athletic footwear producer came out with white baseball spikes, and believe me, they were not kangaroo skin or anything close to that quality. Basically, they were white vinyl. So every time I see a player (especially Euros) wearing that shite, I get flashbacks of Joe Softball in Kmarts finest. Is there no end to that dark period of our history??
I used to work in a soccer shop. Ask some people on this board cause I've sold them some stuff. Ask OGHT I sold him a Sunderland scarf! Warning: The following is some serious shoe talk Not many companies actually use Kangaroo skin anymore. As far as I know the only company that ACTUALLY uses real kangaroo leather is Kelme. They had a sh-it-hot shoe when I was working that was %100 kangaroo leather. The only on the market. It's expensive and you'll get some PETA fookers on yer arse. You have to becareful because some will say kangaroo leather but it might only be %20. Nike shoes are mostly synthetic. They are actually a quality synthetic and probably almost as good as kangaroo because the reason behind k-skin is it is very weather resistent and soft. The softest. I used to make a killing for Kelme. I would shift their shoes and if I couldn't sell them they would find somebody in another part of the country who could and take them off my hands. They had a great product. Nike would tell us that in order to get their stuff we had to book some $25k with them. We would book it and then cancel at the last moment and get what we wanted. Most kids went with Copa Mundial because it is by far the most popular solid shoe on the market and other companies really worked hard trying to make competition but Adidas sold itself. They changed Copas in the early 90's and they stopped making them in k-skin and started shoving cardboard in the heel and changed the stitching to something that would wear out more. The Copa Argentinas were actually a limited edition classic Copa with a different name. With Adidas, not many people can fit their mold. It has a narrow heel and a wide upper. But kids would wear them anyways. Part of my Kelme selling point is kids with wide feet and I sold sjit-loads. To be honest..and most Eurosport wearing kids don't realize this but the best quality shoes on the market are Puma and Fila with Lotto and Diadora not far behind. Kelme is good but like I said for a very wide foot. I have put Pumas through a world of hurt and they last forever. It is by far the most durable AND quality. Puma Kings is all you need. Lotto's top of the line shoe is excellent quality but not many kids want the neon green. Diadora Brasils are also great just a bit more narrow. Fila has some great shoes but they are extremely narrow as they still use an Italian mold last tiem I checked. Alot of kids wouldn't take a chance on the kevlar shoes but it was definately the lightest shoe on the market and I never had 1 return. Fila is also very active and very aggressive in youth soccer and do alot for kids so they should be supported. That's the end of my rant for now. If you want to know about shoes ask me. I have tried on hundreds of shoes.
I'm a young guy who graduated from high school in 1993. My high school soccer coach once said that if a kid showed up to tryouts in white shoes, especially Mitre, he'd have to cut them on principle because no self-respecting player would wear white shoes. Now shoes are coming in every freaking color.
Can and will. I'll be looking into some new boots soon. I have a narrow foot and I play keeper. Are the vapor's a good boot or are all the horror stories I hear true. I know I need to try them on first, but I was just wondering if you have any opinions on them. By the way we could really use your expertise here...https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=55867
They are of the Mecurial mold so they are narrow. Buy them so they almost fit because they won't stretch like leather will. They will streatch a bit but nothing like some pure hide. Buy them tight but not uncomfortable. I had no problem with mecurials other than kids who thought they'd last 3 seasons. With a huge foot mind you. The instep is very narrow so if you can fit that then it's a go. Your options are quite a bit more open. A goal keeper shouldn't need the same boots as a fieldplayer so a pair of mecurials could do nicely. But buy them from a shop. Try some Filas on as well. Even if you are desperate to buy from a catalog. Please buy from a shop before a catalog because they do more for your local soccer community. Now don't going buying a new pair next season unless you need them. Save yer parents some cash.
Best shoes I've ever had : Puma Kings...and they were white . BTW....if you're a keep I wouldnt spend the money for the vapors. Keepers don't need track spikes...but thats just my opinion. I tried on the mercurials when they first came out and they were horribly akward.
best shoes I've worn also Puma Kings(black) wore them two solid years untill a stud came out... Copas are great. I think lots of people will stick with buying lotto or diadoras because they know that is the specialty, football boots, not golf wear, etc those neon green lottos have long studs, seem dangerous!
I started out with Copas. Absolutely loved them, but for some odd reason I decided to buy Kelmes for my next set. Thought they were good, but not as good as my Copas. Once I busted those out, I went all out and got a pair of Valsports. Hands down the best cleats I've ever owned. They broke in quickly. Unfortuately, I used them so much that they only lasted about a year. I was stuck in Okinawa at the time and was forced to buy a pair of Nikes. Never again. Someone had a pair of fairly new Copas they weren't using, so I bummed his. I played in those until they were dead. I unfortunately haven't played a game since. Too busy. Really.
FWIW, I had a long discussion once with a guy who owns some stores and sells a lot of shoes. He's not particularly down on Nike boots in general, but has nothing but bad things to say about Mercurials. He observes that a couple years ago customers started noticing weight as an issue. One of adidas' problems with Predators, particularly in the beginning, was that they weighed so much. 14, 15 even 16 oz's. Diadora and the other Italian makers were going for lighter. They were peddling 11 oz, even 10 oz shoes. And people were buying them. So Nike said "fine, we can play that game" and stripped down a shoe to nothing. Mercurials can weigh as little as 7 oz's. The problem, as my guy described it, is that in doing so they besically eliminated stuff like actual support for the foot. His contention is that if you're playing on a more or less perfect pitch, like Crew stadium, Mercurials are fine. If, however, you're like most guys and are playing on uneven, ragged ground, Mercurials won't help you out a bit and in a very short time will turn your feet to hamburger. But Mercurials are hot and sexy, and they cost $200 which makes them desirable and so they sell a bunch of them. To me, it all goes back to the fact that Nike really doesn't give a crap about making good soccer stuff; they care a lot more about selling as many as they can, regardless of the consequences. adidas and Puma make much better stuff.
To be honest I think Adidas is just average. Their running shoes are horrible. Nice thing about Kelme shoes is they bend where your foot bends. Better for yer feet.
It's his excuse for letting a ball roll underneath his feet and out of bounds. "The lights reflected off my white shoes and temporarily blinded me".
i know two guys that had their feet torn up from Vapors. it's simple: don't get them. One went with Nike Air Zoom Total 90 II's (the one's Denton wears) and one went to Manias. I wear the new Supernovas and love them.
Because it tore up their feet doesn't mean it will do that to someone elses. It's all about the shape of your foot.
That's certainly true up to a point, but at the same time you DO sacrifice some support when you strip down a boot to seven or eight oz's. I think the better question, and I honestly don't know the answer, is whether most players can benefit from saving three oz's in weight. Or even tell the difference. If they can't, there's not much of a reason to go with the Vapors.