Adidas Predator LZ 2

Welcome to post one of two today! As promised, here's my post about the Predator LZ 2. A week late, but better late than never, right? Well, without further ado, here we go!

The Adidas Predator LZ is Adidas' control boot, the answer to Nike's CTR360 Maestri silo. Originally created as a power boot, the Predator had been known for its black, red, and white color combo, a staple colorway for Pred fans. The LZ has changed most things around, going from power to control and making the main release colorways bright and colorful, not something many fans really want. But you can't change what has happened, and thus the LZ silo was born. So, what does this boot have to offer? Let's find out!

The Predator LZ's weight is at 8.0 oz. Not too bad for a control boot. Nothing too crazy, but light enough that they won't hold you down. 

The Predator series has always included some type of control element to it, but the latest evolution of it has the most dramatic amount of control elements. There are five areas that were put into consideration for the control elements: drive, sweet spot, pass, dribble, and first touch.

- Drive is used for your shot. It's placed on the vamp (midfoot) of the boot, and aids in more power and control towards your shot. The raised rubber on that area creates a rebound effect and almost bounces the ball off your foot. 

- Sweet spot is placed on the inside front of the boot and is used to create more swerve and speed on the ball.

- The pass area is on the inside of the boot and is basically a pad used to give and receive more acurate passes. 

- Dribble is used to keep the ball near your feet. It's placed on the front of the boot and acts as a cushion to help you keep the ball with you while you, you know, dribble. It's kinda the same idea as the dribbletex used on the new F50, except this is used with a rubber material. 

- Finally, the first touch area placed on the outside front of the boot. This helps your first touch to be close to your foot and keeps you ready to create a chance on the pitch. 

The upper is composed of the hybridtouch material, which takes the lightness of synthetic boots and combines that with the touch of leather boots. The original LZ was the first boot to include this upper.

My thoughts: I really do like them. I haven't had the chance to, but I'd really like to take a stab at the control boot silo for both Nike and Adidas. They've intrigued me. And with the lightness of the LZ 2, that might lure me in even more, considering I do like a lightweight boot. Definitely worth a try in my opinion!

Gonna have to switch things up a bit...my fault.

So because of falling behind, I'm going to post about the Predator LZ next week. I'll have another boot as well...I'm thinking the Nitrocharge. This week will be more of an opinion post and next week will be a double post...my bad. But time for opinions!!

First of all...the World Cup 2014 draw.

My thoughts for my two teams. First of all, the USA. The home country, and the main one I'll be rooting for. They've been drawn into quite a group. Many people have been calling it a group of death. And, except for the more supportive fans, most aren't giving them a chance. They're saying the group will end up how it was posted. I say it'll be a tad different. I'm thinking this order: Germany, USA, Portugal, Ghana. Never count the US out. Example: Gold Cup 2009 Semifinals. USA defeated Spain to move on to the final. Germany of course will be number one in the group because they're just too good to be otherwise. Portugal is where the US has their chance to make it to number two. Portugal hasn't been in the best form, and even though they have Christiano Ronaldo, which will majorly increase your chances to win, no matter who you are, they still don't have everything together. If you shut Ronaldo down, they can be a more mediocre side. Just remember, never count us out.
Next we move on to Argentina, team number two. I tend to be fairly vocal about the fact that I'm a Messi fan, and although that sounds like I'm just a bandwagon fan for Argentina, they really do have a solid team, especially on the attacking side. With names like Sergio Aguero, Di Maria, and Gonzalo Higuain, you really can't go wrong. Their group, group F, is probably going to be one of the easier groups out there for them. The main question is, can Lionel Messi stay fit for the World Cup? He's had a string of injuries for the past number of months and just recently got injured again. Argentina has plenty of attacking power on their side, but, like Ronaldo, Messi dramatically increases any team's chances of a win. I know that this is about Argentina, but another question about Messi arises. Will his scoreless 2010 World Cup come back to haunt him? Because if Argentina is to win, they're gonna need his help. And that means he's gonna need to make it on the score sheet. They'll no doubt be number one in their group unless they somehow crash. The only question is, how far will they push into the tournament?

Second, boot color preference. For me, I don't mind either bright or dark. I'll wear whatever I have, although history has shown me more with bright colors than dark. I just wanna play basically. Whatever helps me play well is what I like. My indoors are completely black Nike5 Gatos, but my boots for my sunday night games are my bright yellow f50's. I don't think there's a wrong color to wear, so long as you have your style and stick to it.

Finally, any boots I wanna try out? Most definitely. The new Adizero, of course, The Nike CTR360 Maestri 2 and 3, the Predator LZ 1 or 2, and the Puma Evospeed. Pretty much in that order.

Well, I think I'll leave it at that. Next week will be a double feature. I'll be back to normal before you know it!

Adidas F50 Adizero Samba

This week I'll be talking about my favorite boot silo...the Adidas Adizero F50! But this isn't just the F50...this is the newest generation of it...the F50 Samba!! After reading up on it and watching a lot of reviews on it, it's been pretty exciting for me. Let's dive in, shall we?

The F50 Adizero Samba has undergone a major overhaul on weight (it might not seem like much, but still, for how light the Adizero is, any weight can seem like a lot), looks, and tech.

Let's begin with the weight. Some of the tech involved in the F50 helped bring the weight down, which will be mentioned later. With older versions of the Adizero weighed 165 grams (5.8oz.) and when you picked them up, you couldn't help but be in awe of what was one of the lightest boots you would ever hold. Adidas have once again figured out how to cut weight down dramatically, dropping 15 grams and making the boot 150 grams (5.3oz.) even with that small reduction, there is an even lighter feel to the boot, one that'll probably be noticeable just by holding it.

Now for looks. Obviously, there's going to be some interesting colorways coming out, as the F50 is a speed boot and is created for the speedsters wanting to be noticed. Many eye-catching colorways will be showcased throughout the lifespan of this generation. One of the most noticeable differences is the three stripes have been dropped from closer to the heel to closer to the toes. A thin line runs between two of the stripes and ends at the ankle with the word "Adizero" placed toward the end of the line. The sprintframe has a little design on it, giving the boot a more all-around look.

Finally, the tech. This is where Adidas have added the most to their already superabundance of technology stuffed into the F50. Adidas have added a speedfoil upper toward the back half of the boot, a mesh material created to reduce weight even more while still giving that formed-to-the-foot feel. The front of the upper has a 3D texture called dribbletex, added to aid touch while dribbling. It's supposed to mimic the Nike ACC (All Conditions Control) in terms of being able control the ball no matter what weather you're playing in. Finally, Adidas have reconstructed their outsole to include a new stud pattern, called speedtraxion. The studs are more rounded, with the idea of helping with turning. The upper has been changed to Adidas' hybridtouch, an upper that takes the lightness of a synthetic upper and the touch of a leather upper. This is used on the Adidas Predator LZ and the First F50 Messi edition.

The downside of the F50's is, as always, the protection issue. The thin upper is always an invite to be stepped on, and with how thin the upper is (1.5mm) you feel everything...and I mean EVERYTHING. Whether it be the ball while dribbling or shooting, or the bottom of someone's foot, you feel it. From personal experience, I can honestly say it's not a very pleasant experience getting stepped on.

Personal thoughts: as far as F50's go, I can't say how they perform, as I haven't actually tested them out, but they look to be a win for Adidas. There were many improvements internally and externally and they seem to be a big step in the right direction. Plus, the bright blue upper (my favorite upper color) isn't a bad touch either! Definitely gonna try these out if I can get my hands on them. Hopefully I will, one way or another!

The Adidas F50 Adizero Samba has been a major overhaul much needed for a silo that's been fairly dormant (except for a few upper design updates). It's possible Adidas were planning on saving this specifically for the World Cup, but either way, well done Adidas. Looks well, performs well (from what I've seen), and something I look forward to seeing in person.

Next week will be another of the Samba range, the Predator LZ.

Samba time!

I'm back! Second week consecutively!! Gonna keep pushing on with all this. So this week I'll be talking about the Adidas Samba Pack, made for the 2014 World Cup.

Here they are. Made for next summer's competition, the Samba Pack from Adidas is a brightly colored range not for the faint of heart. The bright colors are to symbolize the exciting and crazy atmosphere that comes along with Brazil, the host of the World Cup. Each of the silos have been given insane colorways. Nothing short of sticking out like a sore thumb. But in a good way.

Two of the silos have received an update on looks and technology, bringing in two new generations of boots. The Adidas 11Pro and the F50 have both been completely updated, while the Predator LZ and the Nitrocharge have remained the same. Considering the Nitrocharge is a fairly new boot and the Predator LZ is just a tad less new, there's no reason to do anything about them. Along with the new generation, the F50 also received two brand new colorways instead of just one.

     So, time for my opinion. All of the colorways are pretty intense, but not all are for me. I believe Adidas did a good job making them all stick out, and I think that all of the colorways do a good job of sending Adidas' message across. To be honest, though, I'm not a huge fan of any of the colorways except for the F50's two colorways. The Nitrocharge is one I might wear, but that's just an if. Overall, I think that Adidas did a decent job on this pack, but it's mostly not for me. Just a little too much on the loud side.

      Adidas wanted to generate some hype for the world cup and really put themselves out there with this range. Mission accomplished. As always, I'll look forward to checking out the F50's but all of them will be pretty interesting. And in honor of the F50's new generation, I'll be focusing my next post on them. Next Saturday, same time, same place!

Back! (it's about time.) Also, gonna have Saturday posts.

Soooooo I'm back on the blog thing. I think I'm actually gonna try to get into the loop with this blog. I just got away from this blog. But I'm gonna catch up on things. Post more. Every Saturday I'll try to post on something that happened in the past soccer week. Or multiple things. We'll see. But for now, I'll leave this post here. I'll start next Saturday! See you then!

New Cleats!!

Yeah, this post is a month late. But these are my new boots! I was especially excited to get these. The Messi f50 Adizero. Messi, of course, is my favorite player. And I gotta admit...this colorway is probably the best one Adidas has come out with so far for this edition of the Adizero. But of course, as the name suggests, it was made specifically for Lionel Messi. A few key features of this boot compared to the normal Adizero.
1) The most obvious is the colorway. This is the only Adizero with a split colorway. The two main colors have significance: the red is Messi's favorite color and represents the danger he presents on the field. The white is for lightness.
2) The red stud on the bottom is a cool little feature as well: it represents Messi amongst the ten other white studs (his teammates). Messi is a big supporter of the team as a whole and expresses it on his boots through the single red stud.
3) On the sockliner is printed a phrase of Messi's: Give all for your team.
4) Finally the upper isn't the same as the basic Adizero. It contains the Dualmax material (has a more leathery finish to it to enhance the touch).
Now, on to my thoughts. The colorway is definitely a plus. Nothing too much or crazy, but definitely enough to catch the eye. I do enjoy a few bright colorways but can always appreciate some more basic colorways and the simplicity they provide. In my opinion, these look fairly classy. I may not be right about it being classy, but that's how I see it. But looks aside, how are they on the field? I've only played a few times in them, but they definitely performed well. My main issue with the older edition Adizeros were the fact that blisters were terrible when breaking them in. So far, there's been a major improvement in this area. Nothing hurting too bad. I personally felt a decent touch with them as well. Whether it's because of the newer upper or not, I couldn't be too sure. But I've definitely enjoyed using them. Definitely a good boot! Definitely worth a try if you like the colorway, but they're basically the same Adizero as each of the other colorways. Best looking colorway in my opinion so far, but if you already have a pair of the same ones, there's not enough difference for me to justify getting another pair simply for the new upper. But either way, I think these are still pretty neat. Plus I own them anyway haha. Looking forward to tearing it up with these bad boys when the weather is nicer!

First entry - Messi Ballon d'Or Adizeros

  My favorite sport, and activity to participate in, is soccer. And one of the things I enjoy about soccer the most are soccer boots. I always love to see what boots are being used by professionals and learning about them. But anyway, I've decided to take this out of my main blog and make it a side blog. Occasionally I'll say what I think about a certain boot looks-wise (or perfermance-wise, if I've used it) just because that's what I wanna talk about. It's my blog, after all. But these are the boots I wanna talk about tonight:

The Messi Ballon d'Or edition of the f50s. These boots were made for Lionel Messi for his winning the Ballon d'Or for the fourth time in a row. I've owned two types of f50 boots. First, the f30i in the cyan/white/black colorway. I'm a fan of bright colorways and flashy boots, so if you've ever seen them, you know why I chose them. Quality boots, from what I've experienced. Lasted me for all the years I used them (about 3) and they're still match-ready if I wanna pull them out again. Never had a problem with the comfort while wearing them or any ripping or tearing. I love them and have nothing bad to say about them. The second pair of f50-type boots I've owned are the F50 Adizero second edition, the electricity/infrared/anodized synthetic colorway. I love wearing these boots because they're so light. When you put these on, you literally feel like you're playing in your bare feet. Pretty crazy. The only complaint I have with these is the comfort. I seemed to get a lot of blisters on my heels the first few times I got to play with them. But other than that one thing, they've performed very well.
      But back to the boots I wanted to talk about. I've always been a fan of adizeros and always will be. But as for the colorway, I don't really like these. I definitely do like the base colors they used in black and gold...you can definitely make a class boot out of those colors when used correctly. Unfortunately, I think Adidas went a little subpar when designing these, but that's just my personal opinion. I definitely respect their implementing Messi's heritage into the design through the suns surrounding each year he's won the Ballon d'Or (which represent the sun found in the center of the Argentinian flag), but they seem out of place. Naturally, they included Messi's logo, which definitely looks good on this boot.
      Overall thoughts: a quality boot performance-wise, but lacks a certain amount of attractiveness to it. I might get these for a show piece or as a collectable, but definitely something I wouldn't wear in a game.