How and what cleats to buy

So it's almost christmas and I am sure there are a bunch of college disc players out there looking for the best cleats for the coming season. I have had a fair amount of experience in this area and I thought I would toss out my two cents.

Now there are a lot of questions that people should be asking before they even think about buying cleats. In my experience, the more questions you ask, the better idea you will have of what you are looking for and the happier you will be once you find whatever it is you want. So what are these questions?

1) What kind of cleats do I want to buy? Soccer, Football, Lacrosse, ultimate?
2) What brand of cleats do I want to buy? Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Gaia?
3) Where do I want to get these cleats? My local sporting goods store? Online?
4) How much do I want to spend? $50? $100? Doesn't matter?

I can't say what is the best because I am definitely not the best, but I can tell you that I have been very happy with my cleat selections for many reasons so I am going to run down my approach to picking cleats.

Answer to question #1:
Buy football cleats. Soccer cleats are common for many reasons: they are lighter, they are cheaper (sometimes), they are easy to find, and most disc players played soccer at one point in their life so they go with soccer cleats. I will say that none of these criteria matter, as far as I am concerned. When you are looking for cleats you should look for the best pair that will give you the best performance for what you want to do. For the most part, ultimate is very similar to football. It has the same kinds of cuts, you are running as fast as you can in short-medium bursts, you need to be able to jump as well as plant and you need performance in all kinds of weather/grass lengths. Also, soccer cleats are designed for running AND kicking. The top part of the cleat is just as important as the bottom so if you are buying a $100 pair of cleats, you are paying for the development and production of both a running and a kicking tool. I dunno about you, but I don't do a lot of kicking in ultimate so I don't care what the surface of my shoe is going to look like nor do I care about its development. Maybe this isn't a consideration for folks out there, but if I want something that is going to make me a confident and effective disc player, I would rather be wearing what a solid wide reciever wears, as opposed to a striker. People sometimes buy lacrosse or ultimate cleats and that is fine. I will say that I don't trust cleats from sports I don't know how to play (ie lacrosse) and while it is good to invest in Gaia because it is an emerging ultimate company, I would rather put my money into a pair of cleats with millions of dollars and years of development behind it. Gaia's stuff is expensive and I don't trust it.

Answer to question #2:
I like Nike. I never played soccer so I can't really speak for Adidas. Eveyone knows my Beef with Gaia. I feel like Nike has spent a lot of time and money developing varying sports and most importantly, they have their hands in most major football contracts. If you look at the cleats of Terrell Owens and Randy Moss or on the defensive side of the ball, Brain Dawkins and Champ Bailey they all wear Nike. Now I am not an advertising retard, I am not gonna buy Sony because Peyton advertises for it, but if i want to cut well, wearing what Andre Johnson wears might be a good idea. This isn't fool proof but if you are unsure of what to buy, this might be a good way to start. In addition, if you look at elite ultimate players like Jimmy Chu and Ron Kubalanza they are all wearing Nike. Actually almost everyone in the finals of 2006 was wearing Nike.

Answer to Question #3:
Buy your cleats on line. Do not buy your cleats at a sporting good store. Sporting good stores are good for rookie cleat runs or for people who don't know what they are looking for. Buying your cleats on line ensures that you will not only get EXACTLY what you want, but you can also compare prices, are not subject to availability and if you buy Nike, you can customize your cleats with colors and characters. There are a ton websites that are potentially useful for this. The vendors (Nike, Adidas, etc...) and ebay are automatic but people also use East Bay for great cleats at good prices. The only draw back to this is sizing. I will say from experience that Nike runs their cleats small and they are usually very narrow, especially their soccer cleats. If you have wide feet it would be a good idea to figure out what size you need for your cleats at a sporting goods store, but DO NOT buy them there.

Answer to Question #4:
A lot of players, rookies especially, will buy whatever is cheap. They will go for the hideous lime green soccer cleats for $35 at Dick's or whatever. This is only a good idea for 1 reason, if you are not sure you want to play the sport. if you are just considering ultimate (and no one reading this is) you can go for the cheap stuff, but if you are really thinking about playing ultimate seriously, buying cheap cleats is a bad idea. I can think of so many players who love to say they "just bought what was cheap cuz it doesn't matter" and they are DEAD WRONG. Do you see any elite players wearing crap cleats? No, I am sure they are extremely particular about what they wear and rightfully so. If you are going to be in your cleats 2-4 times a week you better like them. They better be comfortable, they better hold up and you better enjoy playing in them. Now, if your price range is limited look for cleats via second hand resources such as ebay or east bay. I have a friend who buys cleats all the time because he gets them cheap and there are always posts on RSD about cheap cleats on ebay, especially Super Speed TDs from 3 years ago. I dunno how Mike Grant does it, but he still plays in a fresh pair of these. If you ever get the chance to buy a pair, DO NOT HESITATE, THEY ARE THE BEST CLEATS EVER!!!!

Ok, now that some questions have been asked/answered, what sorts of models should players be looking at? I was a big fan of the super speed TDs but they don't make them anymore. If you can find variations over the last few years such as the 2005 model or the latest you should be fine. The latest version are the ones that the entire Florida team had this past year. Here are some models that I have experience with:

Air Zoom Blade Pro

These are the cleats I currently have and I am very happy with them. For me, they are as close to the old speed TDs as it gets and they are extremely comfortable. I can play in these things all day and my feet don't hurt. They are a bit heavy at 14 ounces, but I love them. Unlike a lot of other Nike cleats, they will work as well with wide feet as they do with narrow ones. They have significant ankle support which will come in handy if you are a bigger guy like me. Most performance low cleats will result in many rolled ankles but if you wear them long enough, you will develop the ankle strength and the calices to handle it.

Nike Mercurial


Now these are extremely popular at the elite level in ultimate. Most high level players have these cleats or some that are closely related including Sammy CK, Jolian Dahl, Chase, and Beau. I tried these out and I hated them. They are extremely narrow, they put a lot of weight on a small region of your foot and I developed plantar faciitis from them. I chose these because I thought lighter cleats would work well for me and I thought I would try soccer cleats. One of the reasons why I think football are better.

New Balance


These are a cleat type that I am only somewhat familar with. i throw them in here to mix it up and also because a friend of mine has them and he loves them. Like my Air Zooms these are a little big but they are very comfortable. A lot of people talk about how long a pair of cleats will last or their weight, but I think the #1 reason for buying a pair of cleats is if they are comfortable. Playing 4 games in a day on a pair of spikes that point up, not down, is no fun and I am sure we have all been there. Comfort should be up there for determining factors and I have played a little bit in these and they are like little pillows for your feet.

Reebok

Reebok makes decent cleats and they have professional athletes like Steve Smith and Chad Johnson that wear them. I don't know of any elite level players that wear Reebok but my cousin Alex loves them. They are cheaper than Nike's and I am sure they are comparable. If you want performance at a better price, Reebok might be the way to go.

Gaia G4

I complain about GAIA a lot but their cleats are getting better. My main problem was that they fell apart which is not the case anymore. They are engineered for ultimate which is nice, the design is getting better and I hear they are very comfortable. Gaia also has a great warranty system for these cleats so if they do fall apart, rest assured you will get a new pair. They also can't be that bad if our Championship Director wears them. I will say that these are the one pair of cleats I would not but online. Gaia usually drops the price if you buy them at a tourney and they are usually really cool about letting you demo cleats before you buy them. Plus, you are supporting an emerging ultimate organization.

I just want to emphasize that cleats are the only expensive thing an ultimate player needs to buy and players should take extreme care in their cleat purchases. This is not a piece of equipment that is insignificant or interchangeable. Anyone who has ever worn Speed TDs will tell you about that first practice where they strapped them on, it is a feeling you can't describe. A good pair of cleats will give you confidence on the field as well as the performance and comfort you need. When in doubt, just buy whatever a mentor or someone you look up to in the sport wears. Odds are they are wearing a particular cleat for a reason and they could work for you too. Just don't buy crap, they won't last, they will give you blisters, and you will look ridiculous.

Just my thoughts

match diesel