Adidas F50 Adizero Leather

I was excited when I saw that I could get a adidas F50 adizero leather and  only weighing in at 6oz. The shoe fits at about a normal width, leaning more towards the narrow side. They are not made a k-leather, but instead of Goleo leather. The leather quality to be honest is not very good at all. It is not very soft and is so thin that it doesn’t even give that added cushion that k-leather gives. But I do have to say that these give a slightly better fit then the synthetic version. The hype around the leather version, for me, was disappointing. The only reason that you see most pros wearing the leather version is because they are getting a k-leather version, which is much softer. The other small problem I had with these shoes is the stitching in the heel. It creates a little bit of a rubbing issue upon break-in creating small blisters. This was fine after about 4 hours of use. Surprisingly though, these shoes do provide a fair amount of support for such a light-weight shoe. They create a pretty good amount of stiffness too. I wore a size 8.5US in these shoes, a half-size small, in hopes that they would stretch, but they didn’t. So I would recommend ordering your normal size.

Weight

This is the whole reason to get these shoes. They are incredibly light and make it feel as if there is literally nothing on your feet. This sense of lightness, mental or not, does make you feel like you are a little bit quicker, which is entirely possible considering the weight of these shoes. They’re so light that I found myself swinging my leg too hard upon striking the ball the first couple times. The lightness is really something else, but in a good way.

Traction

The stud configuration on these is different. The studs  are pretty widely dispersed triangular shaped studs that are unusually tall. They do a good job of grip while running forward, but because of how tall they are, I found myself not slipping, but having a hard time changing direction at high speeds. But as long as the fields you are playing on are not rock hard, you should find these shoes to grip quite well. The stud configuration also does a good job of keeping mud from sticking to the bottom of your shoes.

 Touch

The touch on these is nothing special in my opinion. Because the leather is not that soft, the touch on these shoes feels like any other cheap entry level, cheap leather shoe. They don’t provide that premium soft touch that k-leather is known to give. They are also somewhat of an awkward thickness. I just felt that I was not feeling the ball on my foot like I would on similar thin shoes. I just felt that it was so thin that it will not perform as well as k-leather or give that nice touch that a premium synthetic can provide. It is stuck in the middle somewhere.

Shooting

Shooting with these shoes is actually pretty good. I like the feeling that you can get more power with a shorter swing of the leg due to having less weight. They give you the confidence to attempt the quick shot while the ball is in tight on your body which is a good thing. The lightness also seems to give you the ability to move your ankle a little bit quicker, allowing you to adjust your foot more quickly to make that deceiving in-close shot to slide it past the keeper. This in close accuracy feeling is great if you’re a quicker player. I did also feel that I did lose a little bit of distance when striking the ball down field.

Durability

These shoes did seem to hold up pretty well actually. I anticipated them falling apart pretty quickly because of their weight but they did hold up pretty well. Although I had no issues with durability, one of my teammates did have a stud fall off after only a couple weeks of use. That’s not to say that these are not durable, but perhaps there is a chance of factory defects in the shoe that are covered by Adidas warranty.

The Verdict

These are a unique experience to have on your feet. The weight alone is enough to give these shoes a try. Although I was not impressed with the leather version of this shoe, they are still a good option if you really don’t like synthetic. They do make you feel quicker, but be warned that they do not offer much in the way of protection.

Comfort/Fit	7 out of 10
Weight	10 out of 10
Traction	8 out of 10
Touch	7 out of 10
Shooting	9 out of 10
Protection	6 out of 10
Durability	8 out of 10
FINAL SCORE	55 out of 70 or 79%