The adidas F50 adizero miCoach is one of the lightest, fastest boots to hit the field. Made from full-grain leather for excellent comfort and in-boot feel, while innovative internal TPU support bands in the upper offer support and stability. With a Sprint frame outsole for lightweight stability, and a newly designed stud pattern that is designed to improve balance at high speeds, the adizero is truly built for speed.
Comfort/ Fit
Given that the leather adizero is easily one of the most popular boots on the market, you would expect the miCoach version to make some improvements over the last model. To start off, the biggest improvement on the adizero miCoach has to be the heel area. There is finally a physical heel, with a proper liner, and a back that is actually going to offer a secure, comfortable fit, as opposed to having a little flap. This low cut on the back of the heel was the cause of most of the blisters that many were experiencing, and now that the problem has been fixed, it makes for a more comfortable fit. Another change that doesn’t have as much of an impact on the overall comfort, but is nice, is the suede lining. Other than that, you get the same leather tongue, a very similar lacing system and the front of the shoe is still leather. The problem with the shoe is no longer comfort, but is instead the fit. The leather, of which there is less in comparison to previous versions of the adizero, is really soft, and I know that this may sound like it isn’t really a problem, but the leather is verging on too soft. Given that the leather is a cheaper full-grain leather, as opposed to something that is a little higher quality, it will stretch a lot. They’ll fit great from out of the box, but will expand so much, that you end up with a much roomier fit than you might like. If you compare it to the synthetic version of the adizero miCoach, the fit is not nearly as tight and you just don’t have that secure feel in the boot when you pull the laces tight. The leather version also features the exterior support bands at the midfoot, but what ends up happening is that you will have a very tight fit just behind the forefoot, and then a very loose and roomy fit at the front of the shoe due to the leather stretching so much.
As far as fit goes, the adizero miCoach leather seems to be much wider than previous versions, especially after stretching. Even the heel area is on the wider side. Once the leather stretched, which it will do very quickly, I could actually stand up and have the sides of my toes not touch the sides of the shoe, which is something that shouldn’t happen. Sizing is also a little tricky, because the leather stretches so much. I wore my usual size 9US and from right out of the box, they fit very nicely. After about two hours of use, giving the leather a chance to stretch, the shoes felt almost too big and somewhat sloppy on my feet. Unless you have tremendously wide feet, I would highly recommend that you order half a size down, especially if you are looking for that tight fit. This is the most comfortable adizero to date, but it just doesn’t have the best after break-in.
Weight
The main selling point of the adizeros has always been that they were very lightweight. The listed weight for the leather adizero is 6oz, but when I held them in my hands, they just didn’t have that weightless feel that the previous versions did, so I weighed them myself. The pair I weighed, which were a size 9US, weighed in at a much heftier 6.9oz, which is still very lightweight, but is not even close to what is actually claimed, and is much more than previous leather adizeros. Does that mean that these shoes are not light? No it doesn’t, it just means that it isn’t as light as previous models, which is the main reason why the adizeros have become so popular.
Traction
New adizero, new stud pattern, kind of. Adidas is calling the stud pattern on the new adizero a new and improved stud pattern, and the honest truth is that the difference is incredibly minimal. There are three minor changes from the previous adizero stud patterns, and when I say minor, I mean that it doesn’t really change the feel of the stud pattern at all. The first difference comes in a slight change in the shape of the front two studs. Instead of being perfect triangles, one side of the triangle is slightly curved. The second change is the stud in the middle of the foot, where instead of being flat, like the rest of the studs, it is angled at about 30 degrees. The last change is the surface of the studs, meaning the part that comes in contact with the ground. There is a triangular pattern on each stud, where part of the middle is slightly cut out. With all of these changes in place, the overall feel of this stud pattern, like I said earlier, is the same. If you have ever worn an adizero in the past, this stud pattern should be familiar territory. They provide decent grip, without locking your foot in too aggressively. It works well on nearly any surface, but it is worth noting that the studs are ever so slightly longer than your average firm ground stud pattern.
Touch
Something that I have always liked about the adizero is that option to get leather or synthetic. I think that it is pretty safe to say that the leather version has easily become the most popular version of the two, but what I don’t understand is why Adidas are taking away more and more of the actual leather from the shoe. The leather now spans the entire toe area of the shoe, and then cuts off at a very sharp angle, just back of the first lace hole. What leather is there, s very soft, and feels very nice on the ball, but since the amount of the leather is so small, you are going to be touching the ball just as much on the synthetic parts of the boot, as you will with the leather part. The general consensus around the leather adizero is that it is a lightweight, leather shoe, where I would call it more of a lightweight synthetic soccer shoe, with some extra cushion. I also noticed that the leather on the miCoach adizero seems to be a little thicker, and it will provide a little more cushion than you might expect. I really liked that they didn’t have that ultra-thin feel, and there was more of an evenness in thickness between the leather and synthetic portions of the shoe.
Shooting
Shooting with these shoes is pretty much the same as all of the adizeros. You get a thinner feel when striking the ball, which is great. I also like the added stiffness from the new soleplate, which appears to be made of a slightly stiffer plastic this time around, which is great for shooting. The feel is definitely going to be a little thicker than the synthetic version, simply because there is a little more bulk, but the overall barefoot feel remains relatively the same.
Protection
Out of all the adizeros, this one feels the safest. They have a solid feel about them, and with all of the comfort additions to the boot, it made for some added bulk, which made for a more protective adizero. You don’t like you are running around in your socks, like you do in the synthetic version. Does that mean that the leather adizero is going to be super protective, no it doesn’t. Should you get stepped on, you are still going to feel most of the blow, but not all of it. For being so lightweight, this shoe is going to offer some of the best protection for ho much they actually weigh.
Durability
The last version of the adizero did have some issues as far as durability was concerned, but thankfully, these problems seemed to have been addressed with the new miCoach version. They feel more solidly built, but unfortunately the quality of the leather remains the same, which can lead to some issues down the road, but only on certain types of surfaces. It is worth noting that this is a shoe built to be used on firm ground, not turf. Should you use these on turf, don’t be surprised if you have some issues. Should you wear these on the correct surface, meaning natural grass, you should not have any issues. If you are going to be playing regularly on turf, which many people do, I would strongly recommend going for the synthetic version of the adizero.
The Verdict
Being that this one of the most popular high-end soccer shoes on the market, I have to say that I expected a little more. I am happy that Adidas have addressed concerning the comfort level of the adizeros, but what disappointed me was that they continue to use less and less leather on the boot. What I am getting at is that some problems were fixed, but there are still some issues with how the boots wear-in, which is a problem for the people who are buying these shoes to last an entire season. If you are a fan of the adizero range, and have worn the leather versions in the past, these are still a good option, but I also feel that you should give the synthetic version a close look before making a purchase.
| Comfort/Fit | 8 out of 10 |
| Weight | 8 out of 10 |
| Traction | 8 out of 10 |
| Touch | 9 out of 10 |
| Shooting | 8 out of 10 |
| Protection | 7 out of 10 |
| Durability | 7 out of 10 |
| FINAL SCORE | 55 out of 70 or 79% |
