Turf and Indoor soccer shoes can be very different from normal soccer cleats. Usually, it is hard to find great quality shoes with these type of outsoles. I managed to find some of the best turf and indoor shoes out there for a decent price that offers great performance, and I put it all together on this page.
Most of Indoor and Turf soccer shoes are from low quality and made from cheap materials. If you don’t know what you are doing you can end up buying a show that might look nice but that will be extremely uncomfortable and gives you blisters.
After some research, I found what I believe are the best shoes for each of these playing surfaces. They are unique in their category and I think brands might not sell them for too long, so don’t delay your decision and buy them before they stop existing.
Best Indoor Soccer Shoes
When I recommend a product I usually take my time to research and make sure that it is really the best of the best. This time it was a very easy choice because I believe there is no doubt the best Indoor Soccer Shoe is the Nike React Gato.
Nike has done it differently and has created a unique indoor soccer shoe that has technical elements that any other shoe from the brand and the market have. They are not easy to get, however, I found them conveniently available at soccer.com for a fair price.
I personally have never seen a brand, apart from Joma, that did what Nike did with the React Gato. Usually what brands do is that they take the same Soccer Cleats players use for grass, they take off the soleplate, and they put an indoor outsole to it. Now they’ve created a shoe that best adapts to the circumstances of indoor soccer.
One of the most loved uppers Nike has made was that of the Hypervenom I. These shoes have almost the exact same upper which guarantees an incredible close-to-feet fit. The upper combined with an awesome outsoles ends up giving one of the most complete indoor shoes ever.
Another loved shoe by soccer fans were the Nike Lunar Gato. The new Nike React is the direct successor of these shoes and has seen a considerable improvement in comparison to its oldest version. As the Lunar Gato, I see a lot of potential in these shoes to play soccer in the streets too.
Best turf Shoes
I know what you’re thinking. They’re ugly. However, if you keep reading, I’ll tell you why the Adidas Mundial Team has been the best option among turf shoes for a long time.
There are plenty of reasons why I chose this shoe. First, mainly because they are made of super soft kangaroo leather that you only find in super-expensive high-end cleats for at least 200 dollars. Considering that the same leather can be bought in these shoes for less than 100 dollars is just crazy.
They are currently available at soccer.com for the lowest price I’ve ever seen them. In this store you can personalize your shoes, maybe it’ll make them look less ugly too. Nonetheless, I’m faithful your the type of player that prefers the performance over the looks, right?
Most of the synthetics in turf shoes are cheaper than usual, which is why it’s better to have a tendency for leather uppers when buying turf and indoor shoes in order to make sure we receive the best quality possible.
Another reason I like these shoes is because of the outsole. This outsole has the biggest studs I’ve ever seen in a pair of turf shoes. Thanks to this, they’ll offer the most aggressive traction from all the turf shoes in the market. If you like your aggressiveness in your outsole, this will be the best suit for you on turf.
What to look for in turf and indoor shoes
Here is a list of things you should watch for before buying a pair of turf or indoor shoes:
- Make sure the shoe is not exactly the same as a pair of regular soccer cleats. Artificial Turf is a considerably more abrasive surface, if the turf shoes don’t have resistance elements that help prolong the durability of the shoe, they won’t last long because of the friction with the surface. This is not a problem, most brands include this durability details in their models.
- Buy a pair that has a tight fit. In indoor or 5 a side turf soccer you will need the most amount of lockdown in your shoes as possible. Make sure you choose a pair of shoes that has the fewest foot slippage. Movement inside the shoe can result in an injury (own experience). Stay away from laceless shoes.
- Pick a shoe that has great heel support. One of the most common problems I have with indoor and turf shoes is the very bad support the heel cap offers. Every time you change directions, make a pass or shoot you will need the ultimate heel lockdown. Otherwise, your heel will move around, and this hurts a lot. You can get injured without anyone touching you.
- Make sure they are made of quality materials and not cheap synthetics. You can tell how good an upper is just by touching it and feeling how soft it is. This will tell how well the upper will adapt to the shape of your foot.
- Shoes with cushioned outsoles work best. Indoor and turf surfaces are hard, rough surfaces. Every time you walk or run the surface will not feel as cushioned as grass, which is why you need to pick a pair of shoes that has an outsole that can cushion the interaction between shoe and surface.
Can you wear one pair for both surfaces?
This is a question people ask a lot. I wrote an article called: “Can you wear indoor soccer shoes on turf?” where I answer this question. The short answer is no. Even though both shoes are made in the same models with different outsoles, indoor shoes won’t work as well on turf as turf outsoles and it is dangerous to use turf soccer shoes on indoor courts because you can easily slip.
I know these shoes are not cheap and it can sometimes be hard to buy two different shoes for both surfaces, but if you truly want to perform at the best level you can it is better to buy different shoes. However, I would say to only use indoor shoes on turf in case of an emergency. If you do it frequently, you can considerably prejudice the durability of the shoe.
What’s the difference between turf and indoor shoes with regular soccer cleats?
First of all, you need to understand what’s the difference between normal soccer cleats and turf and indoor shoes. You have to understand that shoes with turf and indoor outsoles that are sold at stores are mostly low-end models from the high-end soccer cleats pro soccer players use. This means that most of the time, we’ll find a significantly lower quality in this type of shoes than in normal soccer cleats.
With that said, during the last years big brands have started making variations of their high-end soccer cleats that have FG and SG soleplates, but with turf and indoor outsoles. Obviously this boots have some variations in comparison to the high-end models and have different names, but are made of the same materials used in regular soccer cleats.
Brands thought this would solve the problem, and that turf and indoor shoe buyers would now have quality boots. But, there has been great rejection with some of these shoes that are exactly the same as regular soccer cleats, just that with different outsoles.
The main reason is simply that it’s different playing a 5 vs 5 game in an indoor or turf pitch than playing an 11 vs 11 soccer game in a bigger field. This means that players will prefer shoes that are specifically made only for these two surfaces.
Why you should buy it at Soccer.com?
It’s totally okay to buy soccer gear at Amazon. The problem with buying on Amazon for us, the soccer gear buyers, is that we run out of options quickly. The variety Amazon has related to soccer gear is decent, but very limited in comparison to online soccer stores. Most of the time, when I want to buy specific soccer gear that I’ve seen on the web, it won’t be available on Amazon.
If I was going to buy soccer cleats at this moment, the last place I would do it is at Amazon. Online soccer stores are notably superior to amazon’s offer. In fact, I’m not even trusting Amazon anymore when buying soccer cleats because there are retailers that sell fake soccer cleats and because Amazon is only targeting to sell cheap takedown models.
Usually, what we’ll find on Amazon is not necessarily the best gear, but commercial gear that the average person is willing to buy, which is understandable considering Amazon is not an online soccer store.
That’s why most of the time I prefer to buy gear at online stores specific for soccer. The one I trust the most are soccer.com. Online soccer stores simply offer all the soccer gear that is available for us, the soccer player. They sell the soccer gear that we will usually not find physically at any store or at Amazon. Here are some advantages of buying in online soccer stores:
- You have greater variety: They will usually have all the soccer gear that is available in the market at the recommended price brands wants them to sell. You’ll have more options in colors and sizes, an area in which Amazon is insufficient.
- You can filter your searches: It is easy to look for the gear that you need because the stores will usually have everything well-organized in the site. For example, you can look for soccer cleats depending on their playing surface (FG, SG, AG), to their brand (Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc), collections, age, and many others.
- Discounts: Online soccer stores will usually have great discounts on high-end soccer gear all year long on old models or colorways. Especially on buying seasons like Christmas or thanksgiving, their discounts are gold for soccer players.
- Personalization: At online soccer stores, you are able to personalize your gear if you wish to with your name, numbers, or flags. I bought a pair of soccer cleats with my name and my date of birth on it last year. It’s a nice detail anyone would like on their gear.
- Better service overall: It’s totally different to deal with amazon when you have complains or doubts about a product, from talking to someone at an online soccer store that is an expert in soccer gear, that knows about the game as much as you do, and that truly understands the player’s needs.
What I like the most about buying at online soccer stores is that you can filter the searches of your cleats. For example, if you want cleats for artificial grass, you can search at the store for cleats only for this surface (you can do the same with FG, SG, indoor, and turf). Or you can also search for a specific brand or collection you like. The user experience is simply a lot better.
The only place where you’ll be able to have all the options of soccer cleats that are currently on the market are these online stores specific for soccer. Amazon’s offer is very bad, and I couldn’t find any good retailer that sold the boots I liked the most. Besides, you’ll probably be able to buy them discounted boots for cheaper at these stores.