Natural Leather and Cleats

Let us first make the statement that natural leather is the choice material for the shoe industry and also the sports shoe industry. All other materials... microfiber, synthetic leather, mesh, etc... are comparing themselves to leather. Its the industry standard and the best material to use for shoe uppers and insoles.

So why aren't all cleats made from "natural leather" uppers?

There are several factors that must be considered and we will not have time to go into all the details, but here are some pros and cons:

1) Firstly, cost is prohibitive, it is much more expensive than synthetic leather and mesh. Please note that high quality microfiber can be just as expensive, if not more, than "natural leather."

2)Conversely, the stuff just feels better against our feet. There is no other way to explain this. Nothing compares to the feel of natural leather. This is widely accepted within the sport of soccer as players "feel" the difference when wearing cleats made from sythetic leather versus cleats made from natural leather. In fact, soccer players are so concerned about feel... that Kangaroo Leather is preferred because the "feel" is even better than a cow-hide leather (even though the durability is less).

3) the "breathability" of natural leather is thus far unmatched. Cow-hide allows air to move from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside keeping your feet dryer and more comfortable than synthetic leather.

And... our last plus for natural leather...

4) The material "breaks down" and forms individually to each foot. No pair of feet are the same, and there is no material (that is able to "sense" your foot and make creases and bends at natural places) like leather. With synthetic material (microfiber included), the manufacturers are only able to guess where your foot will bend etc... and engineer the shoe accordingly.

Now... with all of the above being said... there are some disadvantages of natural leather:

1) It will absorb moisture on a wet playing field. Soccer players will often change into high-end microfiber cleats when playing in rain etc... The natural leather absorbs moisture and makes the cleats very heavy and over an entire match this will slow an athlete down and can increase the risk of blisters.

2)It is less durable than most synthetic materials. Therefore, you can expect your synthetic leather uppers to last longer than genuine uppers.

3) It is much heavier than most synthetic materials. The use of sythetic materials can make the shoe much lighter and might create a very small endurance advantage towards the end of a match or game.

4) Finally, it takes time to "break down" and "break in". You can not (and should not) take a pair of natural leather cleats off the shelf and wear them to your next match / game. You must slowly "break-in" your shoes. With microfiber you can probably take the shoes off of the shelf and wear them to your next match (anyhow the "break in" period is much less).

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