Knit vs Leather: What will you choose?

When getting down to it, we can say there are three different types of football boots; leather and knit. Each silo cater for different needs for different players on the pitch and the general needs for players are; fit, control/ball feel, comfort and weight.

 The leather boot comes in many variations. Kangaroo leather or “k-leather” and calf leather are the most common variants. Kangaroo leather has been recognised as the best material due to its incredibly soft feel, flexible fit and the durability. At Ultra Football we house a selection of leather upper boots. For example; Adidas Copa 18.1, Nike Tiempo Legend 7, New Balance MiUK, Mizuno Rebula and Mizuno Morelia. It is also worth mentioning the classics sporting the plush leather upper; Nike Premier, Adidas Predator Acceleratorand Adidas Copa Mundial. Comfort has seemed to be the overlying reason for choosing the leather boot. With a slight break in, leather provides a personalised fit, stretching and conforming to the uniqueness of your foot. Leather shoes will commonly provide more protection, as the material is commonly thicker than knit based boots. There aren’t many downside to leather except that leather is commonly heavier and the uptake and absorption of water is a lot higher. Absorbency will make the shoe harder to clean over time, however Nike’s ACC (All Conditions Control) have aided to reduce the absorption and made the upper weather resistant.

The Knit Boot revolution started back in 2014 when Adidas released the Samba Primeknit. It was the wavemaker for knitted material in performance football boots. Nike released the Magista Flyknit not long after Adidas made their stand with the first knitted football boot. The attraction to the knit construction was the ultimate 1 to 1 fit, almost barefoot feeling and ultra lightweight, without sacrificing construction and rigidity. The knit upper is also constructed from one piece with minimal amount of off cuts and waste as a result. Ultra Football stock the collection of knit made uppers from the major brands. In this category we recently see the Nike Superfly, Adidas Predator, Nike Hypervenom, Puma Future and New Balance Tekela. The original boots that utilised the innovative materials included the Nike Magista and Magista Obra, and the Adidas Primeknit 2.0. There are a plethora of benefits to this construction. They allow for lightweight uninterrupted performance that is formfitting and stable. The knit construction for Nike and Adidas provide a lightweight layer of protection over the knit that will see coverage from all weather conditions, with little absorption of water/rain.

So what side will you choose? It’s clear to see there are plenty and pros and cons to be found in each category of upper construction. But in the end it comes down to personal preference. Are you looking for a comfortable and classic style boot, then you would head down the leather path, or if you’re looking for aggressive, responsive and lightweight then you would fall for the knit upper materials.