Adidas F50 Pro Review — A Takedown Boot as Good as the Best?

Adidas’ line of revamped F50 speed boots has caught the boot-loving community’s attention, with the relaunch of the iconic silo getting some serious praise from footballers, rugby players, and all those who don the Three Stripes.

Thankfully, Adidas has also launched multiple versions of the F50, with different options to appease those on varying budgets. The Elite tops of the range, but does set one back a cool R4,700-odd, but the second-tier Pro model offers players essentially the same experience at about half the price.

The F50 Pro features the exact same light Fibretouch upper as the Elite model, which is a huge bonus. It’s incredibly light and almost paper-thin, but is durable, sturdy and soft and pliable on your foot. Weighing in at just over 200 grams (in a size UK10), these boots are basically the lightest you’ll get.

While the upper is incredibly thin and sock-like, it does feature some coarse texturing around the toe and forefoot area which helps with ball control, but these boots are very-much designed to feel fast and comfortable on your feet, rather than being a control boot. The one downside is that there is a bit of creasing and crimping when you bend your foot, but thankfully it’s so soft that it doesn’t push and prod your toes or forefoot on the inside.

The F50 Pro features a burrito-style tongue, like an inner-sock-type structure inside the existing shell of the boot. It’s incredibly soft and has a light, slick neoprene-like feeling that does have to be slid into correctly while you’re putting your boot on, but when it’s in there, it’s as snug and secure as can be. Think of it like a seatbelt for your foot on the inside of the boot.

One of the core differences between the Elite and Pro models is the heel counter. On the Elite, you get a solid plastic heel counter to keep your foot in place, but the Pro only features a thickened and hardened back that, to be fair, does the job anyway. It may not be as super-structured and stable as the Elite model, but it’s probably 95% of the way there.

Adidas’ outsole that they’ve been using on recent speed boots (an all-bladed, chevron-type stud pattern) has been changed to the ‘Sprintframe 360’ outsole on the Elites, but you get the ‘Sprintshell 360’ with the Pros, which is basically the same albeit a little more flexible.

As for the ‘360’, it emphasises that the boots are not just for straight-line speed, but also have some agility movements in mind, adding in four conical studs on the medial and lateral side of the forefoot. This should be a good move and make the boots safer and more appealing to a wider audience who find Adidas’ speed boots of late too aggressive.

There’s no doubt that they still have a fair bit of ‘bite’ to them, but they definitely feel more agile and responsive than the ultra-snappy, super-aggressive Crazyfast soleplate design.

Generally speaking, it’s always best to go for the higher-end football boot options (if you can afford the cost, of course). However, in rare cases, some takedown models are better buys given the price. Are the F50 Pros better than the F50 Elites? Probably not, but they’re damn close and given the price-point, they’re arguably a smarter buy that gives more bang for your buck. They’re a phenomenal pair of boots with great lockdown, a comfortable modern fit, and a great soleplate to get you jinking around the field.

The Adidas F50 Pro is priced at R2,699 and available on Adidas’ online store. Prices for the other models (including the more affordable takedown models that lose out on some of the more expensive elements and materials) are below:

Adidas F50 Club — R1,099

Adidas F50+ — R5,799

Adidas F50 Elite — R4,799

Adidas F50 Elite Laceless — R5,299

Adidas F50 Pro — R2,699

Adidas F50 League — R1,699