Close, but not quite it

Adidas’ Copa series has recently started being a weird spot. Sure, for a long time it was competing with the Nike Tiempo Legend or the Puma King but now that both of those boots are no longer leather, in a way it feels that it is less competing with those lines but rather smaller brand’s efforts like the ASICS DS Light X Fly or the Mizuno Morelia Neo. Before, it was easy to say whether or not adidas’ leather competed with the Nike and Puma, but now in this new space it is coming up against brands who pride themselves in their leather offerings. It is because of this that the adidas Copa Pure 2+ has begun to be judged in harsher light. It is a shame because in years before we could praise the fit and the softness of the leather but now its drawbacks have become more glaring.

Fit and Feel

Things do start positively for the Copa Pure 2+. Out of the box the leather is very soft and feels premium to the touch. Putting the boots on for the first time the structure of the boot feels nice, and the overall fit is very good. Adidas knows how to properly mix a synthetic midfoot and leather forefoot on the Copa series and the Fusionskin is seamless on the inside and outside of the boots. The technology has always felt refined, and it continues to be the case here.

In fact, it can be argued that even before Nike and Puma decided to drop K leather, adidas still had some of the softest leather available among the Big Three brands. There is a good plushness about the leather part of the upper and it feels like it was designed to fit most foot types with relative ease. It also has some stretch to it and forms around the foot well without losing any responsiveness.

Since the midfoot is a synthetic, it is stiffer than the leather, but it does help provide good structure and support for the foot and this, with the addition of the knit tongue, means that there is also a good amount of lockdown through the middle of the foot. The addition of laces to the Plus model does show that adidas is willing to sacrifice an almost completely seamless fit in order to increase lockdown and at least in my view, it is overall a positive.

Part of this is due to the fact that previous generations of the Plus model in the Copa line up could feel like there was not enough lockdown available in the boot and especially on artificial grass pitches, this was a noticeable issue. That is why I like what adidas has done here. There is much more lockdown available and the boots still feel fairly seamless in their fit.

Unfortunately, like many other boots on the market, the heel construction is a bit of a letdown. There is lockdown for sure, but the heel feels like it is lacking in cushioning and some support. There have been no hotspots to speak of, but at the same time it could do with more lockdown. This problem is more noticeable on AG where the foot can feel like it is sliding around in the heel.

As far as sizing is concerned, like most adidas boots, I went a half size down from my normal size and the fit was excellent. Not everyone will feel the need to go a half size down, but I prefer a tighter fit.

Touch

While the upper is nice and cushioned, it does feel overly cushioned, and the touch is not as barefoot as one might expect given how the boot looks and is designed to perform. The touch is still decent, but all that cushion means you do not get a close feel to the ball. Given that the adidas Copa 2+ is now competing with the ASICS DS Light X Fly 5 and the Mizuno Morelia Neo IV Japan, it is even more noticeable how deadened the touch feels on the ball. Both of the Japanese companies’ models have a great touch on the ball that manage to still have a softness to the upper. It does feel like adidas over did it with cushioning, which makes for a good fit, but takes away from the touch of the leather itself.

This is not the only problem however, as the leather also lacks texturing of any sort. On the one hand, this means that slick and soft in hand and to the touch. On the other hand, this means that any rain or moisture makes the upper very slick and makes the ball hard to control and manipulate.

In dry conditions, everything works as intended, but it feels as if the boots perform better when there is some dirt or turf residue on the upper as that means that there is something for the ball to grip onto. This is made weirder by the presence of a textured and padded surface on the midfoot. It is almost as if adidas knew there was a problem, added grip to the midfoot and called it a day.

Passing and Shooting

The cushioned upper also means that there is almost a disconnect between the foot and the ball when it comes to hitting it with any sort of power. While the strike area is uniform, the cushioning seems to interfere with performance, and you really have to pay attention to how you are striking the ball because it does not feel like you can a proper strike on the ball otherwise.

This also means that shooting feels overly deadened, and the fit can only do so much to help. It feels like the boot is a constant battle and cannot decide whether it wants to be a cushioned, comfortable boot or to be a high performing one and this is most noticeable when striking the ball.

Grip

Ok, so sure the soleplate is reused from the old Nemeziz series. But it is an excellent soleplate and has plenty of traction and stability on multiple surfaces. Even though the studs seem a little tall, they work really well on artificial surfaces, and it even has a little bit of snapback. I would argue that adidas should reuse older soleplates on some boots as you do not always need to change things for the sake of change (looking at you, Nike). The half moon shape of the studs means there is good grip and plenty of rotational ability in the soleplate and the stability bars through the middle of the soleplate helps provide structure and support.

Conclusion

Adidas seem to have set out to make a cushioned, high-performance boot. Unfortunately, they have overdone it on the cushioning and not enough on the performance. As a result of this, the boot suffers from an identity crisis. It is too cushioned to properly compete with Mizuno and ASICS in terms of performance, but it is too high tech to be considered a classic leather boot. If adidas can thin up the cushioning and add more texture to leather itself, they might have a winner on their hands. As it is, the adidas Copa Pure 2+ is stuck in no-man’s land.

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