Modern football boots are a thing of beauty. We often tend to praise them for their flashy colors and tightly woven exterior, but what about what lies beneath? The soleplate and stud arrangement of a football boot is arguably the most important component. So that begs the question; what is the best stud arrangement for football boots?
In summary, conical studs are better suited to soft grass (SG), allow for better turning ability, and are preferred choice for midfielders and defenders. Blades are better suited to firm grass (FG) and are designed for explosive movement; these are the preferred choice for attackers. Mixed boots with both conical studs and blades are available, offering the best of both worlds. Artificial Grass (AG) surfaces are shallow, and thus require specialized AG boots that are designed for minimal traction.
I did some research to break down what all of this means.
Table of Contents
Why are studs used in football?
So, what exactly is the point of different stud arrangements? Glad you asked; the answer to this is penetration.
Football boots are designed for specific surfaces, of which there are many. The primary goal of studs is to ensure players have good control and traction on the field. What this really comes down to is how well the studs can penetrate a specific surface and how far into the ground the stud can penetrate.
The main categories of playing surfaces today are Firm Grass (FG), Soft Grass (SG) and Artificial Grass (AG). There are additional playing surfaces such as indoor courts, artificial turf and street courts, but I will be sticking with grassed surfaces within this article.
Firm grass
This is probably the most popular playing surface out there. This ground type refers to a natural grassed surface that is dry and hard.
Many associate FG condition with the Summer; hot and dry weather. Due to the firmness of the ground, one would not need to penetrate the ground deeply to achieve good grip and traction. Blades are typically better suited to FG surfaces.
What are blade studs?
Typically blade style boots have multiple short “blade” or chevron shaped studs and offer a large amount of traction. This is due to the large surface area they offer.
The “science” behind this is that the larger surface area of the studs helps distribute your body weight more evenly and improves the power you can generate when pushing off the ground.
As a result of this, these boots are better suited to attackers and players that rely heavily on quick, explosive movement.
Nowadays, the vast majority of blades are made using rubber or plastic material as this offers good traction, while not being an incredibly stiff and rigid material.
Early versions of blades were frowned upon due to the fact that they provided too much traction, which was reported to cause ACL damage in some instances.
In addition to this, metal blades have been blamed for causing contact injuries too. For years Sir Alex Ferguson advocated for the outright banning of metal blades, stating that they were the cause of injuries to Roy Keane in 2005, and Wayne Rooney in 2013.
Soft grass
In contrast, SG refers to wetter natural grass playing surfaces. The majority of well-kept professional football fields can be classed in the SG category.
These surfaces are associated with rainy, cold weather and can be tough to maintain. SG surfaces are more easily displaced than FG surfaces, which means it is more difficult to gain a stable footing in them. This surface requires deep penetration to grip the field. Conical studs are typically better suited to SG surfaces.
What are conical studs?
These are the traditional studs that you are likely familiar with. They are shaped like a cone and can either be fixed to the soleplate or screwed on.
These boots are usually packaged with several sets of studs of varying lengths that can be screwed onto the soleplate, depending on the conditions of the surface. Naturally, Softer and wetter playing surfaces are better suited for longer and pointier studs.
Conical studs are known to be more comfortable and better for overall manoeuvrability due to the fact that a conical stud can swivel 360° with little effort.
As a result of the added maneuverability, conical studs are the arrangement of choice for midfielders and defenders. In Addition, because they offer less traction in comparison to blades (and therefore put less strain on you foot), they are also the stud of choices for players with a history of bad ankles or knees.
A notorious problem associated with conical studs occurs when clumps of mud stick to your studs. This reduces the boots penetration abilities and can understandably be an issue in the heat of a game.
Fortunately, it seems that technology is continually advancing to solve this. In 2016, Nike unveiled what they call “Anti-Clog” technology to combat clogging of boots with mud. This works by creating a lubricated layer on the bottom of boots to ensure that muddy clumps do not stick to your shoe. Useful.
What are mixed studs?
Many modern-day boots incorporate a hybrid design that includes a mixture of FG and SG studs. This is great as it offers the best of both worlds.
Typically, these boots will have conical studs on the outer rims of the front of the boot, and blade studs in the center of the boot.
The concept behind this makes sense, in theory. Firstly, players tend to turn on their toes, meaning that conical studs are ideal. And secondly, players tend to use their entire front foot to push off the ground when sprinting or strafing.
Having blades in the center increases the points of contact of the boot and the ground, promoting explosive movement.
However, I could not find any publicly available evidence or data that suggests that these are superior to either FG or SG boots
Artificial grass
Artificial Grass fields have been growing in popularity in recent times and are becoming more and more prevalent, as they require very little maintenance.
This pitch type is built with layers of rubber between the concrete and the artificial grass layer. Many would associate artificial grass with those pesky black pellets that get everywhere after playing.
AG fields are not really affected by the weather, as the rubber and grass does not absorb any water or dry up in the summer. In addition, the surface layer is far shallower than SG or FG fields. For that reason, very little penetration is required to achieve good grip and traction.
What are AG Studs?
AG soleplates consist of several, short conical studs. This arrangement and stud shape is the best way to distribute weight around the boot ,reducing impact from the ground and preventing injury.
Unlike FG and SG surfaces, AG surfaces do not require deep penetration, therefore, flatter and shallower studs are better suited to this surface.
A good way to describe these boots is that they are built for maximum comfort and minimal traction.
What is a soleplate on football boots?
The Soleplate, or outsole is the long, hard plate on which the studs are molded to. There are several different kinds of plates with varying ranges of stiffness.
Your choice of soleplate material is really up to personal preference. This is because the material choice is not necessarily catered to the playing surface in the same way that stud arrangements are.
The exception to this is AG boots. Due to AG surfaces being rougher than natural grass, the actual soleplate is typically thicker and more solid. The reasoning for this is to offer protection from the rough AG surface.
Materials used for most soleplates are usually naturally synthesized polymers (plastics). It is worth noting that the stiffer the soleplate, the longer it will take to break in the shoe.
The materials of FG and AG boots are usually the same as the material used for the actual soleplate.
However, in the case of SG boots, the conical studs are typically made of a different material as the soleplate (usually metal). This allow you to unscrew the studs and replace them with whatever length is best for your playing surface.
Are blades or conical studs better?
Below is a short summary of the characteristics of each stud arrangement:
| Stud Type | Description | ||
| Blade studs | Best used on FG surfaces. Best suited for attackers and players that rely on explosive speed. | ||
| Conical studs | Best suited for SG surfaces. Best suited for midfielders and players that require high agility. Best suited for players with a history of ankle and knee problems. | ||
| AG Studs | Best suited for AG surfaces. Designed for minimal traction and maximum weight distribution. |
What are the best stud arrangements on the market?
Most boots that are released nowadays are shipped with FG, SG and AG stud arrangements, so it is difficult to recommend a specific boot, based on the stud shape alone.
However, I have previously written about the different boot upper case materials and what to look out for in a boot here.
Nonetheless, for the sake of completeness, I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 highest rated boots on the market at the moment:
- Nike Phantom Venom Elite
- Adidas Copa 20+
- PUMA Future 5.1 high tops
- Nike Mercurial Superfly 7
- New Balance Furon 4.0
Final Thoughts
Personally, I have used Conical studs on FG, Blades on SG and vice versa, and I can attest that there is indeed a difference in the traction and grip provided from each stud arrangement.
However, if you do not have the resources to have a pair for each surface type, it is not a train smash. This is especially the case if you play casually.
Having said that, if you only have the option of acquiring one pair of boots, I would suggest going for FG boots, as these can still do a job on SG surfaces.
However, I would highly recommend that you try to strictly use AG boots on AG surfaces, if you intend on playing on AG surfaces frequently. You’ll thank me later for this one.
In conclusion, it’s important to take note of the specific type of surface as well as your own personal preference when choosing the ideal soleplate and stud arrangement.
Hopefully this short post can help you decide on what stud configuration is best for you.
