Aunque se está dejando un poco de lado, hubo hace años una moda de tacos intercambiables, incluso de suelas enteras, como las F50 Tune it, de parte de las botas de fútbol adidas. Y a partir de ahí, muchas marcas de botas de fútbol ofrecían tacos intercambiables para dar esa oportunidad de adaptarlas a los terrenos de juego. Lo cierto es que el resultado fue dudoso, funcionando en muchos casos y en otros fallando con estrepito. El panorama actual es muchísimo mejor.
Although it is being somewhat discontinued, there was a fashion years ago for interchangeable studs, even whole soles, such as the F50 Tune it, from adidas football boots. And from then on, many football boot brands offered interchangeable studs to give the opportunity to adapt them to the pitch. The truth is that the result was dubious, working in many cases and in others failing miserably. The current outlook is much, much better.
What do I need to know about studs?
The first thing we need to know is which studs to choose, and this varies depending on the pitch we usually play on. FG (Firm Ground) for natural grass pitches, AG (Artificial Grass) for artificial grass, SG (Soft Ground) for wet natural grass pitches and Turf, for carpeted pitches. Then we have mixed options such as FG/AG boots or mixed SG boots that mix aluminium studs with normal studs.
So depending on our field we must choose which football boots to buy in order to avoid unwanted injuries and to play on each of the fields with the appropriate material.
So can I replace my aluminium studs with rubber ones?
The short answer is ‘you can’. The long answer is IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED. The reason why is very simple, a mixed SG or only SG boot with 6 studs and therefore 6 supports, is designed for deeper and longer supports. And of course, if we change those studs for rubber studs, we will get a different support and that is not designed for pitches in good condition and even less for artificial grass pitches. So, obviously it can be done, just like you can put tape on a broken boot, but of course I don't recommend it. We will end up breaking our boots and even injuring ourselves.
And how do I fix that?
Pues lo cierto es, que después de muchos años jugando en ligas con campos de hierba natural, artificial y jugando en campos con mucho barro, a nivel personal, tengo siempre unas botas para cesped natural para cuando la hierba está en buen estado, otras botas de fútbol para hierba artificial y unas botas de fútbol mixtas o especificas con tacos de aluminio. Seguro que pensareis, claro, es que entonces hemos de comprar dos botas o incluso 3, pero lo cierto es que si vais a jugar normalmente en hierba artificial y tenéis dos partidos en hierba natural embarrada al año, si compráis unas botas buenas mixtas o de SG, a dos o tres partidos por año, os durarán mucho más de una temporada y por lo tanto el gasto no será tan grande y jugareis los partidos con las botas específicas para ese terreno de juego.
Well, the truth is that after many years playing in leagues with natural grass pitches, artificial grass and playing on very muddy pitches, on a personal level, I always have some boots for natural grass when the grass is in good condition, other football boots for artificial grass and some mixed or specific football boots with aluminium studs. I'm sure you will think, of course, then we have to buy two boots or even 3, but the truth is that if you are going to play normally on artificial grass and you have two matches on muddy natural grass per year, if you buy good mixed or SG boots, two or three matches per year, they will last much longer than a season and therefore the expense will not be so great and you will play the matches with the specific boots for that pitch.
So, my friends, you know, interchangeable studs can work, but it's not really a good option, as it has been proven. We have great AG options in football boots from all brands, FG/AG options such as the Puma Future football boots, or the amazing Anti-clog that we see in the Nike mixed football boots.
Options for all budgets and that will make you play more comfortably, in a better way, and most importantly, without injuries caused by wearing the wrong footwear.
