Intriguing

Thanks to Prevolve for making and sending the boots to me

Many brands are out on the market, and many have their own proprietary technology. Over the past few years, we’ve started seeing more brands working on 3D-printed boots. While some of the bigger brands in the space are making noise about incorporating 3D printing tech in future releases, this tech is in its most advanced form with brands like Prevolve. While they aren’t the only brand going for the whole barefoot-feeling type fit, Prevolve is headed up by people who still play the game. It is because of this that I was thrilled when they offered me a chance to get a custom pair of Prevolve Soccer Cleats. It is one of the most intriguing boots I have reviewed.

The Process

For this review, I figured I would start by talking about the ordering process. It is surprisingly easy to do. You take a picture of your feet next to some paper and follow that up by taking a picture on a sizing sheet that you download and print out. It’s a simple process that only took me around five minutes or so to get done. The last part of this process is that the brand asks about your experience with barefoot footwear in order to tailor the stiffness of the midsole so that your feet get enough midfoot support.

After submitting everything, Prevolve sends you a 3D-printed sock to try on to make sure the measurements and fit are spot on. I did find that the system slightly overestimates the length of the foot, but aside from that, everything else was spot on.

Having made the adjustments, Prevolve sent me a second sock to make sure the new measurements worked. I have to say that none of this is cheap to do, but I appreciate the fact that the brand made sure the fit worked perfectly before making the boots.

Following this, Prevolve made the boots, the toe spacers, and the metatarsal supports and got them shipped out to me. The whole process took around three weeks, which was a bit quicker than I expected, to be fair.

Fit and Feel

Out of the box, the Prevolve Soccer Cleats are surprisingly more malleable than I expected. Maybe it’s because many 3D-printed things tend to be stiff. But the upper feels similar in stiffness to what the ASICS Jetray did out of the box. The upper also has a nice amount of rubbery grip across the forefoot and midfoot, yet it doesn’t feel over the top.

Happily, the upper also breaks in pretty quickly, and within around forty minutes the boots felt ready for match action. I have not had the chance to use them in a match situation as of yet, but I will have the chance soon. And I feel confident enough in the boots to do so.

Unsurprisingly, the fit is pretty much spot on. There is a little bit of volume across the top of the foot, but given that I also ordered the toe spacers, it makes sense. This is because the extra volume allows the use of the toe spacers without the boot feeling overly tight.

Toe spacers have become a thing among a lot of runners and some athletes in other sports. The idea behind them is to help the toes splay out more so that they can build strength and be used to help grip into the ground, with the help of the boots, of course. If you have ever grabbed something with only your fingers and not your whole hand, it is a similar idea. It is also an expansion of the thinking behind five-finger grip socks, like Mizuno or Tabio, which are extremely popular in Japan.

Without diving into data and the like to back this up, I can’t say for sure that it has helped my performance, but it does at least feel like it helps my performance. Many shoes have an overly tight fit, which can impede the foot from using its full strength. The idea of a boot like the Prevolve boots is to train the foot to work more naturally again and build up its strength.

I do have experience with products used to build up foot strength, as I have a five-finger foot trainer that I use to help build foot strength and to help stretch out my calves and improve my overall balance.

Another piece that I want to highlight is the insoles and metatarsal supports. The insoles are fairly standard in terms of thickness, but they are denser, so the insoles feel more supportive than insoles from a lot of other brands.

The metatarsal supports came in this nicely 3D-printed box that has my name in Japanese on it. A lovely touch. There are five different levels (heights) of metatarsal supports, and I personally chose the middle option. While it takes a little bit of getting used to, it did help the boots feel more comfortable and supportive.

I feel that the insoles and metatarsal supports are such a nice extra that I will probably use them in other boots as well. From a product standpoint, I think it is something that Prevolve should offer as individual products, as I feel that a lot of people could greatly benefit from the support offered by both.

As par for the course for this blog, I do have to talk about the heel. Of course, as these boots are custom fit, the heel fit is spot on. Interestingly, the heel does not have much cushioning on the back, but rather on the sides, which ends up working really well in terms of comfort. It is slightly stiffer than some other heels on the market, like the X Fly Pro 3, yet there is still nice flexibility. It is soft enough to break in easily and offers some nice pliability without sacrificing support.

Along with the overall heel fit, Prevolve deserves plaudits for the actual design of the heel. It has these nice bands of the forefoot material that connect to the heel section. What this does is help the heel and the rest of the boot feel connected. It also helps with the overall fit and stability around the ankle area. It feels like the materials all work well together to help increase the lockdown and stability in this area as well.

And the lockdown itself is really good. The lacing system is really deep and has a lot of adjustability to the overall fit. Also, I really appreciate that Prevolve added an extra lacehole for a runner’s loop without me asking them to. It’s that sort of attention to detail that elevates my feeling about the brand.

The boots feel really well built as well, and it does feel like they will last a few seasons without many issues.

On the ball

One of my biggest worries about a lot of these barefoot-type boots is that it feels like a lot of these brands focus on the barefoot aspect alone and use whatever is available for the upper. This is what I appreciate about Prevolve, and the fact that their founder still plays is part of the reason the upper feels like a proper boot upper.

There is a nice grippiness to the upper that I like, and while it’s not as grippy as something like the Gripknit on the Phantom 6, there is still enough there to be more grippy than something like the current Predator 26.

Even in wet weather, the upper has lots of raised areas on it so that the upper does not get slick in the wet. This also helps the upper feel more aggressive when it comes to curling the ball or striking it with power. In fact, while I wouldn’t say there is a pingy sensation, there is still nice feedback when hitting the ball with power.

The touch is nice and is much thinner than you might expect when looking at the boot. The upper feels as thin as a lot of the control boots on the market. I would probably consider them a control boot overall because of the grippy upper.

I also like the fact that while there are indentations and slight rises in the upper, they are evenly distributed across the upper so that touch is consistent across the entire boot.

Grip

Because I am a madman, I went with the FG outsole option, and it is really aggressive. There is a lot of bite, and this is partially because of the increased number of studs versus a standard FG outsole. It is so aggressive that even on a softer pitch, it feels like there is a lot of traction available.

At the same time, the soleplate still feels agile enough to allow for quick turns, and I don’t feel like I get stuck in the ground at all. Obviously, because the outsole is so aggressive, the FG outsole is not suitable for AG pitches. Fortunately, Prevolve does offer an AG option that looks excellent.

The outsole is also on the flexible side, but this is done purposefully to not only build up foot strength, but also to allow the foot to work more naturally. Again, it is worth remembering that Prevolve will adjust the stiffness of the outsole based on your own individual foot strength and history with barefoot-type footwear.

My only real complaint is that the soleplate runs up the front of the toe, which I understand helps with keeping the soleplate attached to the upper, as well as helping with durability, but I personally prefer a softer end of the toe. That, and the soleplate looks pretty prototype-ish, but I’m sure they are limited by the tech.

The price

The Prevolve Soccer Cleats are not cheap. The entire package (fit assessment, toe spacers, metatarsal supports) in my size (around 26.5cm) runs about $925 USD. This is very expensive. So, it is understandable to wonder if they are worth the price.

I think we should first look at the negatives. Aside from the price being about the same as around three pairs of Elite boots, in general, there is a boot for just about everyone out there. There is also the fact that, especially for kids, their feet are still growing, and that could potentially be a large investment for parents to continue to get custom-fit boots for their kids.

If we look at the positives, though, there are still some people who are underserved by the boot market. A custom boot fit might be their best bet, especially if they need the additional support and struggle to find a boot that fits right. On top of this, even a custom insole can run into hundreds of dollars. In addition, there is also the fact that people still might spend hundreds of dollars without luck finding a boot that fits. And in the US at least, thanks to the horrible cost of healthcare, it’s cheaper to buy a custom-fit boot to prevent issues down the road rather than the expensive treatment to fix long-term problems.

Whether the price is worth it or not comes down to the individual. And I personally do think that custom-fitted boots should be the way forward in general. I do hope the tech gets cheaper and the costs come down. Unfortunately, currently neither the cost of materials nor the labour involved in the creation of custom-fit boots allows them to be priced competitively with Elite models. Yet.

And to be fair to Prevolve, another brand does offer a similar service at a certain store in Manchester, and costs £1,300 ($1762 USD). While that does involve directly working with people from the company creating the boots, the scope of what kind of customisation can be done is more limited.

Fascinating

While a lot of brands are still seemingly focusing on performance tech over most other things, Prevolve shows us a different way, one where the fit and foot health come first and foremost. And unlike other brands in the barefoot boot space, Prevolve seems to understand that the boots still need to be able to perform. It is because of this that the Prevolve Soccer Cleats have a great upper that makes the boots enjoyable to play in. Additionally, the custom fit is great, and the addition of the toe spacers and especially the insoles and the metatarsal supports are nice extras that give the boots that little bit more. While the technology and creation time make the boots expensive, Prevolve gives us a good look at what the future of football boots could look like.

What do you think of the Prevolve Soccer Cleats? Please share this with your friends and make sure to follow me on Instagram!

Also, check out the Football Boot Hour Podcast I co-host with Boot Wizard!

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I split my time between wearing HAVO Grip Socks and PureGrip Socks for training and matches.

Use code LOCKHART15 to get 15% off your HAVO Grip Sock order or click the link here: https://havosports.com/LOCKHART.

Use code lockhart for 10% off your entire PureGrip Socks order here: https://puregripsocks.com. Along with the socks, I also recommend the Pure laces and Pure Carbon 2.0 shin guards.

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