Over the 27 years that I have been selling football boots, “Do I need screw-in football boots?” is one of the most asked questions by our customers. The short answer is “probably not”.
What is a screw-in football boot?
It’s a pair of boots that instead of having a moulded stud or moulded blade pattern on the sole they have studs (usually nylon or aluminum or part thereof) that screw into the sole plate and can be changed at any given time to either replace worn studs or change the length of the studs currently in the boot.
Are they legal in my sport?
Yes they are legal in all sports for adult players. Junior players would need to check their association’s rules. The studs would have to be maintained to make sure there were no sharp edges on them. But ultimately, it is the discretion of the match official as to if they are allowed.
What are the advantages of wearing screw-in boots?
The advantages are you can get better grip on soft grounds because you can have longer than normal studs. For example screw in studs can be up to 18 or 21mm in length rather than the normal moulded stud which is around 10 – 12mm. Plus there are fewer studs on the sole of a screw-in boot and therefore mud doesn’t accumulate between the studs as easily as it would on a moulded boot.
What are the disadvantages of wearing screw-in boots?
The disadvantages in wearing screw-in’s are that because there are only 6-8 studs and if you play on a ground where the studs don’t sink in, then all of your weight is on 6-8 pressure points and this can cause discomfort and lead to other foot problems.
Plus there is the potential to roll your ankle if you have long studs on and they are not sinking into the surface.
Studs can also fall out if not screwed in properly or if overtightened the threads can be stripped and the studs won’t come out.
And also screw-in boots are not permitted on most synthetic pitches.
Who should buy them?
Most weekend warriors play on grounds that are firm, and as screw-ins are designed for soft grounds, therefore if you were to buy only one pair of boots I would stick with moulded boots which are more versatile.
If your budget can handle it then by all means go ahead and get a pair of screw-in’s, but you may only need them occasionally as often when the grounds are too wet and soft the games get called off by club ground officials or councils.
We sell most of our screw-in boots to elite players and those that get to play on the better manicured grounds where the grass is of a longer length.
We also still sell a lot of screw-in’s to Rugby Union forwards because they still contest the scrums.
We don’t stock screw-in boots for juniors any more a few manufacturers make them nowadays.
Are 6 or 8 studs better?
The trend has been for rugby forwards to buy screw-in’s with 8 studs (2 studs at the heel and 6 under the forefoot) whereas soccer and league, as well as AFL tend to buy the 6 studded screw-in’s. This is mainly because they are lighter than the 8 studded boots.
What type of screw-in studs do we stock?
Most studs have a common thread and therefore will go into most brands of boots (e.g. Puma, Asics, Gilbert) however some like the Adidas F50 range have a different thread.
So before buying you should check if replacement studs are available. The lengths we would normally carry in stock are 13/16mm sets of full aluminum and 18/21mm sets of full aluminum. We also stock aluminum tipped nylon studs which are smaller in diameter at 13/16mm length.
Full aluminum is normally bought by rugby union players and to a lesser extent league players. Aluminum tipped is the preferred stud for soccer players.
Have a question? No dramas. Drop us a line and we are more than happy to help.
