Football Studs For Kids: Buying Guide
Football Studs For Kids
Buying football boots for kids can be really confusing and if you don't play football yourself, the different types of boots available can be mind boggling. Our simple guide will break this all down for you so you can find the perfect kids football boots to suit the pitch type, your budget and your child’s style.
There are five basic stud types for kid’s boots: firm ground, soft ground, turf, indoor and artificial ground. We will cover each of these in detail and show you the cheapest prices for each style.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT FOOTBALL STUD
The aim of a football sole is to provide a good grip for the pitch the player is playing on, while allowing them to easily manoeuvre and reducing the risk of injury. It can be extremely dangerous to use the wrong type of boots on the wrong surface so if your child plays on a variety of surfaces it may be worth investing more than one pair of boots. I was recently at a kid’s training session on a 3G pitch which was moved inside to shelter from the rain. Most kids were in studded boots and looked like Bambi on ice trying to play indoors, very dangerous and irresponsible of the trainers to carry on with the session in my view.
FIRM GROUND KIDS BOOTS
Best Surface Type
Dry or slightly wet grass pitches where the grass is well mowed.
Many modern firm ground boots can also be used on 3G or 4G pitches too but will inevitably end up with an insole full the little rubber particles all football mums love to hate!
Don’t use on
Indoor pitches as they will offer no traction at all and will cause injury.
What are they?
Firm ground boots have a plastic sole with plastic or hard rubber studs moulded into it. They tend to have the following types of studs:
Moulded Studs
Moulded studs come in various shapes, traditionally they were conical but now they can be hexagonal, arrow-shaped or anything else the manufacturers can imagine. The following kids firm ground boots have moulded studs:
adidas Predator, adidas x, adidas Nemeziz, Nike Tiempo
Bladed Studs
Bladed studs have a greater surface area than the moulded version which some players prefer as it reduces the stud pressure and gives them greater traction. The following kids boots have bladed studs:
Nike Mercurial, New Balance Furon
Mixed Studs
Offering the best of both worlds, mixed soleplates use a combination of conical and bladed studs to benefit from the advantages of both stud type. The following boots offer mixed studs:
Nike Hypervenom, Puma evoPOWER Vigor
Links to the cheapest kids firm ground boots
SOFT GROUND KIDS BOOTS
Best Surface Type
Wet and muddy outdoor pitches, they offer great traction and are perfect for the winter months.
Don’t use on
Anything other than a wet muddy pitch, they will be very uncomfortable and dangerous.
What are they?
Soft ground boots are the most traditional type of boots with metal screw-in studs or a mixture of these and a few moulded studs.
6 stud pattern:
This is the traditional stud formation, 2 metal studs at the back of the sole and 4 at the front. The following kids soft ground boots have the 6 stud pattern:
Mixed Studs:
This more modern formation replicates the firm ground soleplate formation of more studs and a combination of moulded studs and interchangeable metal studs.
adidas Predator, adidas X, Nike Mercurial, Nike Phantom
Links to the Cheapest Kids Soft Ground Boots
ARTIFICIAL GROUND KIDS BOOTS
Best Surface Type
3G or 4G artificial pitch
Don’t use on
Grass pitches or indoor, they won’t have the traction you need for a grass pitch whether it’s firm or soft and they are dagerous to use indoors.
What are they?
As more and more pitches switch to 3G and 4G the demand for a specific artificial ground boot has grown. Artificial ground can be extremely damaging to boots so they are more durable and have more studs than a firm ground boot which can make the boots stiffer to wear but also last longer.
What are the Best Artificial Ground Kids Boots?
adidas Ace, Puma evoPower, New Balance Furon, Nike Hypervenom, Nike Magista, Nike Mercurial
Links to the Cheapest Kids Artificial Ground Boots
ASTROTURF (TURF) KIDS BOOTS
Best Surface Type
Sand or water based astroturf. They can also be used on 3G pitches.
Don’t use on
Indoor pitches. Many parents mistake turf boots for indoor boots as they look quite similar but since indoor pitches can get very slippy you shouldn’t risk using astroturf boots as they don’t have the right traction for that surface.
What are they?
Astroturf boots are more like a trainer in construction and flexibility but they feature multiple rubber pellet like studs on the soleplate which offers grip and manoeuvrability on water or sand based pitches.
What are the Best Astroturf Kids Boots?
adidas Ace, Nike Hypervenom, Nike Magista, Nike Mercurial, adidas Nemeziz, adidas X, adidas Messi
Links to the Cheapest Kids Astroturf Boots
INDOOR (FUTSAL) KIDS BOOTS
Best Surface Type
Indoor courts
Don’t use on
Any other surface than an indoor court. 3G or astroturf pitches will ruin these boots and they don’t have enough grip for grass pitches.
What are they?
Indoor boots are very similar to a trainer in construction (and are often referred to as football trainers). They have a flat, non-marking rubber sole but look like regular football boots from above.
What are the Best Indoor Kids Boots?
adidas Nemeziz, Nike Mercurial, Nike Hypervenom, Nike Phantom, adidas Predator, adidas X
