Right away, I can tell you that the adidas adi5 X is definitely a very wide fitting shoe. The mid foot area is pre-made very wide, but I think that the reason for this is due to the predominantly a mesh material that will stretch at all. I would say that this shoe fits more like a running shoe rather than a soccer shoe, making them very comfortable to wear. Because the upper is made of mesh, they are very soft from the first time that you put them on, making for a boot that requires no break-in time. What I also liked about this shoe is the heel liner that is very similar the liner that is in the adipure IV. It’s a very smooth material that is very high quality for the typical indoor/turf soccer shoe. The tongue is made of a somewhat cheap feeling foam material, but once you have the shoe on your foot, it does the job, providing just enough padding. Like I said before, this is a very wide fitting boot, but it does still fit true to size. I wore my regular size 9US for review and they fit perfectly, so I would recommend ordering your normal size.
Weight
This shoe weighs in at 10.4oz, which is pretty much average for most indoor and turf soccer shoes. I would say that wearing these feels like a light pair of running shoes and they will certainly not weigh you down. As there are not a ton of options out there for turf soccer shoes, weight really shouldn’t be oe of your concerns when selecting a turf soccer shoe.
Traction
This boot uses a pretty standard issue turf sole plate. It’s nothing unique, like you might see from the Nike Bomba Finale, but still does the job. Whenever I look at a turf shoe sole plate I always consider how aggressive of a turf sole plate it. What I mean by this is how long the nubs on the sole are, shorter being less aggressive and longer being more aggressive. The reason why I look at this is because most people only buy either a turf shoe or an indoor shoe, even though they are going to be playing on both of the suggested surfaces. Given the choice between an indoor or a turf shoe, I would usually pick a less aggressive turf shoe because they will provide good traction on turf and will still perform well enough on an indoor surface, such as a hard wood floor. As far as the adi5 sole plate goes, I would consider it to be mid-length as far as turf sole plates go, which will allow you to get away with wearing them indoors. I really don’t find there to be much of a difference in traction on turf from one turf sole plate to another, and this one is no different. It’s a traditional turf sole plate that will give you a solid a mount of traction on either turf or indoor surfaces.
Touch
I would say that this is certainly the most unique part of the whole boot. Because the upper is made of a mesh, Adidas decided to add a very unique rubber coating that covers the entire front of the upper. It’s not a rubber covering like you get on a pair of Predators, but is rather a very thin coating. This thin coating is laid out in strips with small gaps in between to allow the upper to breathe through the mesh upper. What makes this rubber coating unique is that it is very sticky. Because this coating is so sticky, every touch on the ball will be very grippy, which some may like and other may not. I wasn’t really a fan of it, but I can certainly see why many people would like this extra grip on the ball. Where the extra grip did help was when juggling. I found the extra grip allowed me to make more controlled precision touches on the ball, making little flicks and tricks feel a little easier.
Shooting
Shooting with this boot is pretty bare bones. There really are no gimmicks that are supposed to benefit your shooting ability. I did find the rubber coating to provide a little extra grip on the ball, allowing for potentially more spin when bending the ball, but these effects are minimal.
Durability
Because this shoe is made of a mesh upper, this shoe will certainly be extremely durable and definitely last a long time. They will not stretch and the build quality is pretty good for a mesh shoe. The materials are of decent quality and I am positive that these will last for a couple of seasons of use of turf.
The Verdict
This is an average turf boot by Adidas that is certainly not a bad boot, but is really nothing special. The mesh upper provides a unique touch as well as being very breathable, but will not give the same quality touch as a leather material would. On a positive note, this is a very cool looking boot that can certainly pass as a street shoe a street shoe, should you choose it to be. I would recommend this boot as a boot more for freestyle rather than a serious turf shoe to use for playing at a high level. At only around $50, this is a well-priced boot that is definitely worth taking a look at.
Comfort/ Fit 8 out of 10
Weight 7 out of 10
Traction 7 out of 10
Touch 7 out of 10
Shooting 7 out of 10
Durability 8 out of 10
Final Score 44 out of 60 or 73%
