"Breathability" and Cleats

"Breathability" is a loose term applied to the ability of a pair of shoes to stay comfortable in temperature and humidity over time. In other words, a pair of "non-breathable" shoes would feel very uncomfortable, hot and sweaty!

There are two components of the shoe which contribute the most to the shoe's "breathability" or lack thereof...

1) the material of the upper, and

2) the design and material of the sockliner.

We can go into a lot of detail concerning the "breathability" of various materials, but at this point we will keep it simple...

1) natural leather has been and probably continues to be the standard by which all other materials are judged...

2) synthetic leather is relatively bad... and

3) new expensive microfibers are lighter than natural leather, and possibly "breathe" just as well and do not retain water.

4) We also see a lot of manufacturers using mesh material in combination of synthetic leather strips. The mesh will hopefully allow for added breathability, while the synthetic leather strips provide support and structure.

Scientifically, "breathability" can actually be measured.

We found an ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). ASTM E96 A/B/BW will test for the amount of water vapor that penetrates through a film, fabric or structure.

So... if we know the material (e.g. Kangaroo Leather, Nubuck, microfiber, synthetic leather, etc...) it is possible to test for "breathability". We do not know yet if a good value for the test will equal a more comfortable and "breathable" pair of cleats, but we do consider it a start! In the future we will collect this data and compare these results to the actual player reviews.

Custom Search