Footwear

[snuff]

After finding myself unable to scale some hills last week I decided to investigate footwear options.

Does anybody use cleats or football/rugby boots?Can you share the good and/or bad points?

I couldn't get up a few hills but also slid down 2 or 3 too boot ( not a pun).My normally superb boots let me down and as I lack the reflexes of a cat now chances are I'm going to land on my face or ass sooner rather than later.

Should I opt for "different" footwear or avoid hills altogether,many players struggled BTW.

TIA.

 

[Rickwales]

something like this maybe? I used them on my boots in the snow. Fiver a pair 

View attachment 154044

 

[Lyndication]

There's not much that can help if it's just sloppy and muddy tbh. 

Good boots with ankle support are pretty essential. It's a long, long three legged race to the car if you fuck your ankle on most sites.

 

[snuff]

There's not much that can help if it's just sloppy and muddy tbh. 

Good boots with ankle support are pretty essential. It's a long, long three legged race to the car if you fuck your ankle on most sites.

Yes everyone else seemed to struggle the same,just trying not to naff up my wanky knees any more than they are already.Avoid hills it is.

 

[Tommikka]

Reserve cleats for good ground - they aid grip on the right surface but can grip too well and turn an ankle

(Ive seen people run, turn and left their foot grip in place trying to go in a different direction) 

For variable surfaces it must be something with good ankle support, chunky soles help but as Lyndication noted deep sloppy mud is sloppy mud

In my tournament photography days I wore astro football boots for astro turf (chosen by a football mum and turned out perfect on good turf)

For grass I would use dedicated paintball cleats (actually close to golf shoes) with a range of changeable studs - they included asto studs but I never fitted those as football mums know best 

These were great on the grass and mud but the studs stabbed into the soles of my feet on the gravel paths 

For anywhere else boots are the right answer

* I would not have spent money on those cleats, but a copyright infringement when a manufacturer publishes an advertising campaign using an uncredited meme of your photo works wonders for copyright compensation

 

[The_Lord_Poncho]

Echoing the above, I would think that studs/cleats a sensible option to play in - transitioning from muddy areas to hard ground, crossing tree roots, heading into buildings, crossing bridges, entering any kind of man made structure, moving over improved path surfaces - in all of these scenarios, having studs/cleats on your boots is downright dangerous.

Boots with a deep, self cleaning tread+ a softish flexible sole that allows you some feel through them is the way forward. Big clompy military boots (at least the genuine issue ones) which are mostly made as a compromise to allow the carrying of significant weight will mostly fail the latter criteria.