A Solid Package

Lotto has solid history when it comes to football boots and even celebrated their 50th anniversary a few years ago, however in terms of new boots the brand has been treading water for the past several years. It is surprising then to not only see Lotto release a new version of their Stadio, but especially as a Japan only model. What has happened here is that a Japanese company is paying Lotto to use their logo, image, etc. In spite of this situation, from a styling perspective, the new Lotto Stadio Japan is very obviously a Lotto boot. It does seem that with the help of this Japanese firm, the new Stadio Japan is a solid boot overall, with some nicely designed aspects.

Fit and Feel

Initial impressions of the Stadio Japan are not positive as while the boot has a kangaroo leather upper, one would expect the leather to feel softer and more supple out of the box. This is sadly not the case here as the leather is stiffer out of the box than a lot of other leather boots. It is not the stiffest kangaroo leather that I have ever come across, but I was expecting it to be much nicer.

On the flip side, however, is the fact that the boot overall does feel good in terms of quality. There is a nice, brushed suede lining on the heel and the heel itself is softer than I expected. One of the other positives is the nicely cushioned insole. An insole is such an easy thing to do correctly that it is a shock how much nicer it is than say the insole from the Tiempo Ligera, a boot I would consider to be in the same class as these Stadio.

Something I consider to be a positive, though less for me and more for everyone else, is how wide the soleplate is. A lot of brands will make wide boots but often it is only the upper that is wider, and the soleplates themselves tend to be the same ones used for the medium widths. This is not the case with the Stadio Japan. This means that for people out there with wider feet, they are less likely to feel their foot rolling over the soleplate.

But, as regular readers of this blog will know, my feet are medium to narrow but surprisingly the overall fit on the Stadio Japan is really good. The central lacing system is deep and allows for a ton of adjustability. It probably does help that I went half a size down, but still, I have been impressed with the overall fit of the boots.

Back to the issue with the leather, I can understand why they did not want to use a higher grade of kangaroo leather, as I am sure the Japanese company were trying to keep the price down, but considering there are a lot of softer calf leathers available, even on one of the Stadio’s direct competitors, the Icon II, which also retails for the same price as the Stadio, it is disappointing.

In spite of this disappointment, the leather does break in fairly easily. While it is not as quick to break in as something like a Mizuno Morelia II Japan, for obvious reasons, it is still a kangaroo leather and after about forty-five minutes of play, the Stadio feels mostly broken in. Obviously, the fact that the boots fit as well as they do is a big factor in making sure that the breaking in experience is on the pleasant side.

The synthetic midfoot also breaks in fairly well, and I would say it is softer overall than the midfoot material on the Icon II but the Lotto is still stiffer than the Nike Tiempo Ligera Pro midfoot. The flipside of this is that the midfoot feels more stable than the Ligera and there is good sturdiness when going to make hard cuts or turns.

As far as lockdown goes, it’s fine. Nothing particularly different to note, and I do not feel my foot sliding around when wearing them. Like other boots of this style on the market, the Lotto Stadio Japan are not and should not be expected to have super strong lockdown, and again the overall fit and wrap around my foot is good enough, which means I do not think it needs to have stronger lockdown.

Of course, I need to talk about the heel, which is great. Surprisingly, the heel only has extra cushioning around the top part of the heel area and there is no cushioning towards the bottom of the heel. In spite of this, the heel is comfortable. Part of this comes down to the fact that the heel shape is nice and also the heel cup is softer than most boots of this style. This means that there is some flexibility to how the heelcup forms around the erm, heel.

Another aspect of this heel comfort does also come back to the nicely cushioned insole and during play, even on the harder AG surface I have been playing on recently, there has been no stud pressure to speak of. In fact, the outsole is the best designed part of the boot for me. I will talk more about the grip further below, but the studs do a nice job of absorbing pressure from the ground.

For sizing, I went half size down from my normal size, just I do for most Lotto boots and they fit me well. However, I do like my boots to fit tightly, and especially if you have a wider foot, I encourage you to go true to size, especially the Stadio Japan do fit shorter than other Lotto boots.

On the Ball

Perhaps surprisingly, the Lotto Stadio Japan’s leather upper is slightly thinner than I expected. I thought that it would be similar to the more classic Stadio Italy model that is readily available outside of Japan, but the Stadio Japan upper is thinner than that and does feel more like a modern leather boot is terms of the balance between thinness and plushness.

What this means is that when moving or controlling the ball with the forefoot, the foot does feel closer to the ball when compared to more classic leather boots. So, while the overall look of the leather seems classic, as the boot does as a whole, the leather does not feel bulky like an old school leather boot. It is something I really appreciate.

Of course, after the leather is broken in the touch on the ball is good, and dribbling, crossing, shooting all feel natural. No surprises here. And while the leather is thinner than expected, the feedback when striking the ball with power is not as direct as other boots. Again, it is nice overall, but certainly less explicit than some other leather boots on the market.

Grip

While I do have a lot of praise for the soleplate’s overall design, the grip is nothing too surprising. It is fairly basic overall. Though, I will say that I am pleasantly surprised that the studs are smaller in terms of width than I thought they would be based on the store photos. This means that the grip is better than expected, but again, nothing radical.

What I also appreciate about the soleplate is the fact that there is good flexibility in the forefoot, while at the same time it has stable and stiffer midfoot. This allows the forefoot to bend more naturally while stopping the midfoot from having too much torsion.

The soleplate also differs from “normal” Stadios in that these boots do not have Lotto’s Punto Flex tech. I actually prefer the Stadio Japan soleplate’s design more as it allows for more multidirectional flexibility versus the Punto Flex’s two-way flex. It is obvious that the soleplate design is something that the Japanese licensee came up with, rather than Lotto themselves.

There is also a surprising benefit to the wider shape of the soleplate, aside from the fact that it allows the boot to fit people with wider feet better. That is, there is some added stability in terms of how your feet feel planted in the ground. Maybe the best way to describe it is that there is no rocking motion with the feet flat on the ground and because of this, the boots are more supportive in a way.

I feel that a lot of brands try to do too much in terms of soleplate tech when it comes to grip and stud shape. The Stadio Japan soleplate feels like it is more designed for comfort and stability first and foremost. And it is my favourite part of the boot because of this.

Conclusion

In some ways it feels like Lotto globally has stopped moving forward, which is a shame, because I have a lot of love for the brand. However, it is reassuring to see boots like the Lotto Stadio Japan release as it shows that there are still fresh ideas with older-looking designs, even of the changes are more subtle. The boots themselves are comfortable, have a nice fit, good heel, and a very well-designed soleplate. I still do wish that the kangaroo leather quality was higher, but this does not take away from the fact that the heel, insole and soleplate are well-designed. Personally, I would love for Lotto Global to push this boot out elsewhere, as the boot does have potential, especially with how nice the soleplate is. A good boot that exceeded my initial impressions.

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