adidas adiPure IV Play Test
The next football boots to come under the scrutiny of the SoccerBible play testers is the adidas adiPure IV. The range has established itself as one of the leading leather boots on the market, but have adidas upheld their consistent performance for these latest versions, and how do they compare with what else is on the market...
When you move away from synthetic football boots to leather, style unquestionably becomes an issue. Although it's difficult for us to comment on this area due to style being a personal choice, the impact of moving the back adi stripe to the front has definitely given these boots a retro style.
In hand, the adiPure IV weighs about the same as the previous incarnation, clearly it's never going to rival an adizero or SL but then this isn't a boot you'd associate with forward players or wingers. Once again the leather feel's extremely soft, but there is a reduced amount for the toe area due to the lacing system being extended, which prevents any form of toe-box and maintains a close fit to the foot.
With the boots on they feel extremely snug, secure and more importantly comfortable, first impressions are key and if the boot's feeling good, chances are it's going to perform well. One initial annoyance is that the suede-like material on the insole will pull your socks tight around your toes as your foot goes in, but after a bit of running this soon works itself out. It's also worth noting that for anyone who finds adidas boots have quite a narrow fit, these adiPure's again follow that fit and will need to be broken in.
What we've always loved about the adiPure is that they fit like a trainer, you don't always expect your trainers to be extremely lightweight you just expect them to be comfortable, and this comes to the fore during running and movement. The tried and tested adidas Traxion sole-plate was responsive through the cones and this was particularly pleasing during turning and changing direction as the pitch we were playing on was quite soft and wet.
After a gentle warm-up session, it was time to bring a ball into play to see what kind of touch and feel the adiPure IV offers. With a quality soft leather upper you get a really good feel for the ball, further enhanced with the extended lacing system closing the leather over the toes, which also gives confidence for dribbling.
It won't surprise you to hear that when our play testers started to strike the ball they weren't particularly overwhelmed, as there is no added tech to improve shot power and accuracy. But accepting what the adiPure was built for, there was universal agreement that the adiPure IV won't let you down in front of goal, or due to the feel you're getting for the ball when hitting a long pass. Our only gripe though is that the heel counter provides a little less stability for the planted foot, as it's not as rigid as on previous versions, but to be honest this isn't something that's going to affect your gameplay.
The adidas adiPure IV football boots were comfortable to start with, and remained comfortable throughout our play test session, which is something that's only going to improve as the leather moulds to the shape of your foot. There's no reason why you couldn't have these boots for a long time as they are quality made, very durable and the leather will stand the test of time. The only area we could see suffering is as mentioned the heel, where both the new heel counter and boot collar seem to be quite soft and could suffer as the season's progress, but then again do people wear the same boots for three or four consecutive seasons?
In summary, the adidas adiPure IV football boots are how you'd imagine them to be, if you're after lightweight performance or innovative technology then our advice is to shop elsewhere. However, if what you're after is a quality leather football boot that's very comfortable, won't let you down and gives you a great touch and feel for the ball, you need look no further than the adiPure IV.
