Studs Up

Umbro has pushed its way back into my consciousness in a big way the past few months.

First, I found out that Studs Up is quite popular around their offices which is always great to hear.

Secondly, Umbro-sponsored Darren Bent contacted me about helping him get to 10,000 Twitter followers and I ended up working with he and Umbro to create a custom cartoon wallpaper for his Twitter page.

Lastly, and most relevant to all of this, is that I really liked what they have been doing with the recent release of Speciali’s. I have a soft spot for the model as it was one of the first pairs of boots I really, really, REALLY wanted when I was a young lad. It was tough to find around my parts and really the only option was mail-order. Alas, I never got them. A sad, and miserable child I was.

Fast forward a decade or so to today and the folks at Umbro graciously sent me a pair to check out for myself. The last pair of boots I received for review were the Nike Superfly with their monstrous price tag, track-shoe technology and “Made In Italy” construction. They’re the first pair of boots I’ve had to keep in individual cloth bags (that came with the boots), but at GBP220/USD350 what do you expect? The Speciali’s are much more reasonably priced at GBP80/USD100.

Here’s a breakdown of my thoughts followed by a copious amount of photos:

The Smell: Mmm… new boots… the smell of new leather and new boots waft straight out of the box and up into my brain. I really think they should bottle this stuff, I’d bathe in it.

The Look: A classic profile, the Racing Green stripes add some subtle personality. But it’s that old-school look that you either love or hate in modern football (I love it).

The Slip-On: I normally don’t see this mentioned in boot reviews, but how a boot slips onto the foot is important to me. Is it a gentle glide? A comforting “pop”? Or is it a finger-mashing, skin-burning exercise in futility? The SuperFly’s were a pain in the ass to get on at first but I’ve worn them in now, but the Speciali’s went on like a pair of slippers. Excellent.

The Fit: I’ve mentioned I have some foot quirks, I have relatively slim ankles and my second toe is longer than the alleged “Big” one. I also sometimes have issues with pain in my heel or ankle of my plant-foot, o there have been a number of boots I simply could not wear due to my foot falling between sizes or some sort of anatomical problem. Luckily, no such problems here. The fit is snub, the leather hugs my foot and there’s only a short amount of lace left that needs to be tied. A few test kicks reveal no issues on the heel, ankle or weirdly long second toe. Perfect.

The Play-Test: Most importantly, of course, is how the boots play. To be honest, when you’ve got classic boot like this as long as the fit is great you know what you’re going to get. There’s no fancy stud system, rubber attachments or new age “strikezone” material to muck about with. True to form, the Speciali felt like a I was playing in my socks. Umbro had put an emphasis on making sure the boot was light and, perhaps tellingly, I never once even thought about them once the match was underway. No discomfort, no laces coming undone, no slips or breaking-in woes. My preference is for boots that are like a ref, if you never notice them during a match then you’ve got a winner.

After a few weeks, the boots hadn’t changed shape much and were just as comfortable as the first run out. Considering my team trains and plays on a variety of surfaces (grass, multipe kinds of turf) the boot has held up very well with little signs of wear and tear and still no complaints from my feet, knees or ankles.

The Speciali is an excellent boot with just enough personality (I’d say wearing Umbro alone can make you stand out these days) to put a bit of pep in your step. I’m definitely going to make these my boot of choice for the rest of this league season just to give them the attention they deserve, and then probably switch back and forth between them and the Superflys. Woohoo!

Enjoy the pics!