Indoor Vs. Outdoor: How Turf Changes Cleats

Written by Soccer Shoes.us

While it’s obvious to many that there is a difference in indoor and outdoor soccer shoes, there is even specialized shoes for fields that are hard and dry or wet and muddy. Getting a pair of adidas soccer cleats specifically designed for your environment can vastly improve their performance.

The five main types of soccer outsoles are firm ground (FG), hard ground (HG), soft ground (SG), artificial turf (AF), and indoor (IN). Each is specialized in to work in a certain environment, sometime to the detriment of working in other.

Firm ground shoes are very versatile and good in just about any situation except for playing indoors. If you’re playing outside but don’t know what the conditions will be like, an FG shoe like the adidas Copa Mundial is always a safe choice.

If your field is dry and the grass starting to get bare, a hard ground shoe will work wonders for you. The many small studs in these shoes are also well equipped to handle artificial terrain, if you don’t have a pair specifically for turf.

If your field is well watered and taken care of, the soil will be much softer. In this case, youth soccer shoes designed for use on soft ground is an excellent choice. These are also great shoes if you are playing in the rain on an otherwise normal field. However, the relatively fewer cleats can lead to pain or injury if used on a harder surface.

Artificial turf has been gaining in popularity and it handles differently enough that a shoe was designed to provide greater tracking on its hard surface. As a result, these shoes may also be useful if lack a hard ground shoe for dry natural fields.

Indoor shoes are definitely the most unique, ditching the cleats and blades of the other types for material that won’t harm or mar the playing surface. These shoes are for use when playing in a gym or recreational center.

As you can see, knowing what type of fields you will be playing on is extremely helpful. Since if you know this before you purchase your shoes, you will be a great advantage in picking a pair that is best suited to the terrain to provide improved comfort and traction.