Excellent

Hummel has almost no presence in the global football market as a whole these days, but the brand has a small, but reasonably successful, following in Japan. Hummel Japan is actually run by a brand called SSK, which owns the license for Hummel in Japan. Through this licensing agreement, Hummel has a lot of Japan-only products, especially football products. The headline Vorart series has been running for around a decade now and has its dedicated supporters as the boots offer some tech along with a generous fit for wider feet. I personally have worn the first model in the series but never reviewed them until now. This has definitely been an oversight on my part because the Hummel Vorart 3 Pro is a simple, yet well-executed, excellent pair of boots.

Fit and Feel

What is pretty impressive with the Vorart 3 Pro out of the box is how soft and plush the leather is. While the boot is not made in Japan, the quality of the leather and the boot overall is great. I especially appreciate the fact that upper is riveted to the soleplate. I know a lot of brands claim they no longer need to do so, but it is mentally reassuring to see it done here.

Another positive is the fact that the midfoot and heel are made of a more stable material. This does mean that both areas are stiffer than the forefoot, but it still feels comfortable and it is nice to have that extra stability when going to sprint or make hard cuts when playing. Hummel could probably slightly lower the height of both the midfoot and heel, but considering the boots are made for wider feet, it is understandable why they did not.

Moving on to the heel itself, the fit is really nice. The overall shape of the heel is good, and I did not feel any hotspots out of the box. It has a lovely, brushed suede lining to help grip on the back of the heel, and while it is not as cushioned as something like an ASICS boot, there is still some cushioning to offer a bit of extra comfort. The lockdown in the heel is decent, but I appreciate the extra lace hole for a runner’s knot so I can get more lockdown if I want.

The lockdown itself is above average, but given the fact that Hummel designed the Vorart to be more comfort rather than performance-oriented means that the boot is never going to have the lockdown of something like a Mizuno Alpha, or even an adidas F50. In fact, I would say it is along the lines of a Mizuno Morelia.

Previously, and even still among Hummel Japan’s indoor offerings, Hummel worked with the Japanese insole manufacturer BMZ to make sure their insoles offered both comfort and support. While the Vorart 3 Pro insole no longer has the BMZ branding, it is obvious that the insole is still designed with those ideas in mind. It is because of this that I find the insoles to be much nicer than offerings from other brands. So, it is a nice addition overall.

Like other brands such as Adler or TLSS, Hummel has equipped the Vorart 3 Pro with a KaRVO midsole. There are a couple of differences I appreciate about the way the KaRVO is used on the Vorart. First off, instead of relying on the KaRVO for all of the stiffness, the Vorart has a nice and stiff midsole shank. Secondly, and this is something that BootWizard would also appreciate if he actually reviewed leather boots, is that the outsole has been designed to have flex points so that the KaRVO flexes and bends with the foot rather than just being made to give as much springback as possible.

The biggest, and pretty much the only, issue I have with the Vorart 3 Pro however is that it is fairly wide overall. Hummel does offer the Vorart 3 Pro in regular, wide, and superwide fits, but even this regular width here fits on the wider side. I actually had to double check and make sure I ordered the regular width as even when I tighten the laces up, there is still too much volume in the forefoot for me. Obviously, it is not ideal for me as I have a medium to narrow foot. However, on the flip side this does mean that the boot is a great option for a lot of wider-footed players. Still, I do wish the regular width was narrower.

The boots are very comfortable though, and I kept wearing them at the end of the sessions after testing other boots as a reward to my feet for putting up with the abuse I put them through.

For sizing, I went with my regular true to size, which in the Hummel Vorart 3 Pro is a 26.5 JP. There is no Euro, UK, or US sizing listed on the boots but a 26.5 is roughly equivalent to a 8.5 US/7.5 UK/Eu 41.5, so go true to size if you are looking at grabbing a pair.

On the Ball

Obviously, like many other leather boots, there are not a lot of surprises when it comes to the touch on the ball. I will say that the leather feels a bit more on the padded side versus a lot of other modern leather boots, but I would not say it is so thick that the touch on the ball suffers. It would be nice if the leather was a bit thinner but at the same time, I think that if the boot fit slightly narrower, that would probably get rid of some of the issues.

As it is there is some feedback on the ball, and shooting is enjoyable as the upper has enough cushioning to take the sting off the ball. As well as any hard tackles coming your way. I also would not say dribbling in the Vorart 3 Pro is precise, but again, the touch on the ball is more luxurious rather than sharp.

For the midfoot, controlling and passing the ball feels nice enough, and I do not mind putting up with a stiffer material here as it is thin enough to feel the ball but often brands will forget that overall stability is important. So, no real issues here, either.

Also, quick shout out and appreciation for the rough texturing on the bottom of the studs since I like to control and roll the ball around with the bottom of my feet.

Grip

As mentioned earlier, there is some nice springback because of the KaRVO but it does not feel overly stiff in the forefoot and offers some nice flexibility without sacrificing too much responsiveness. I would say it feels nicely balanced overall.

Balance is probably the best word for the stud layout as well. It is much more traditional, but the stud height means that the soleplate works great on HG or AG surfaces. On softer FG surfaces the studs are not long enough, but considering the boots are designed for the hard ground pitches prevalent here in Japan, that is understandable.

On these harder or artificial surfaces however, the soleplate is well suited. It does not have a huge amount of grip, which is understandable, but at the same time I have not felt like I have been lacking grip on any surface I have played on during testing. So, no issues here, just do not go in expecting anything crazy.

Conclusion

The Hummel Vorart 3 Pro is an excellent boot that I have thoroughly enjoyed testing. It has easily become a boot that is easy to recommend, as long as your feet are on the wider side. It could have even wound up in my matchday bag if they were narrow enough to fit my feet, but sadly they are a bit too wide for me. Overall, though, the Vorart 3 Pro is a boot that offers good performance without sacrificing any comfort. I would love to see a slimmed down version, but again still an excellent boot overall.

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