A lot of indoor soccer shoes promise a great deal and deliver little, and that under deliverance by brand names has been one of the reasons why I’ve predominantly stuck with the adidas Samba as my go to indoor soccer shoe. It’s not that I dont want to find an indoor cleat I can rely on, I’ve just found that I’ve had a much better experience when sticking with the tried and true. When I lived in England the Samba was pretty much all you’d see, both playing indoor soccer and out on the streets – many people had two pairs, one for playing and one for wearing casually.
With that being said, I’m always open to trying new indoor shoes to see if I’ll find competition to the Samba, and I was no different when the kind folks at Puma sent me the Puma Speed Stars. For this review I wore a size 10.5 in the Black/Palace Blue/White/Lime Punch colorway (pictured).
Comfort:
Let me just start by saying I’ve almost worn these shoes out. I’ve worn them then playing on dry firm ground natural grass, playing on concrete, playing on artificial indoor soccer turf, and they feel awesome. The tongue on the Speed Stars has a very similar design to the tongue on the Puma Powercat 1.12 in that the top juts out a little further than the rest of the tongue. When I first noticed this I was concerned that they would rub into my ankle and cause discomfort, but this didn’t happen at all. The material is very soft and has a lot of give to it, so my concerns were unfounded really.
The insole is very soft and even though my legs felt otherwise, I felt like I could play on for hours in these. Indoor soccer requires sharper turns and quicker movements than you might experience playing soccer outside, but the Speed Stars held up great.
Touch:
As mentioned above, the indoor game moves a lot quicker than playing soccer outside, so the touch needs to be slightly crisper. I did find that there was a little give in these shoes and the touch wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but once I got used to the give I could compensate for it. Even though these are made for indoor usage, I also use these when training on dry firm surfaces outside, and they held up well. I’ve gotten so used to the touch on the Speed Stars that I wear them when coaching, and they don’t let me down when demonstrating different passing techniques and helping players working on their first touch (one of the most important touches in soccer!).
Reliability:
I’ve been wearing the Speed Stars for months now and they still perform as good now as they did when I first started trying them out, so there’s definitely no question about their reliability for performance. However, I have noticed them started to crease quite a lot right along the striking surface on the front of the shoe, and it’s an almost identical crease on both shoes for my left and right foot (I’m not that two-footed!). There are no other wear and tear issues that I’ve noticed, and they’ve held up well considering all that I’ve put them through.
I didn’t think they’d last too long when striking balls coaching and playing outside, but they’ve done great. If you want to make sure you get your money’s worth out of these then I’d suggest you clean them after every couple of uses. I have noticed the color starting to fade ever so slightly, but it’s not something that’s too noticeable unless you’re really looking at them up close.
Value:
The Puma Speed Star indoor soccer shoes are available from Soccer.com priced at $64.99 – if you’re a GoalClub member you can get them at just $58.49 (that’s a steal for these shoes). I’ve put them through the proverbial ringer and I haven’t had any wear and tear at all. They should last you a solid indoor soccer season and even then some.
Additonally, these are definitely stylish enough for you to wear as street shoes, and I’ve done so on plenty of occasions drawing quite a few comments from soccer people and non-soccer people alike.
Function:
The Speed Stars function as good as any indoor soccer shoe and I would even go so far as to compare them favorably to the adidas Sambas. Weighing in at just 8.6oz, they are definitely one of the lightest shoes on the market. Don’t let this lightweight fool you though, because they can take a beating too. Since they are so light, they function very well, even when you become heavy legged like I do when playing indoor! The concern for some players who play outdoor using shoes that are light is that they won’t offer much protection – not something you have to worry about since most of the time the opposing teams players will be wearing indoor soccer cleats too.
The support offered by the Speed Star shoes is very adequate. My concern with them when looking at them out of the box was that they’d be too rigid and not offer enough support to my heels and ankles (they are flat shoes after all). Fortunately they did better than expected and you could definitely wear these for hours on end.
Stats:
- Puma Indoor Soccer Shoes
- Weight: 8.6oz
- Technology: Microfiber Tech Suede
- Stud Shape: N/A
- Surface Most Suitable for: Indoor
Final Thoughts:
These shoes have really grown on my the past few months and they’ve pretty much replaced my pair of adidas sambas when playing indoor soccer. When I find something that I really like I have a tendency to keep wearing them, so for the Puma Power Star shoes to make me change my mind is really quite something. There’s way more upside to these than meets the eye – they’re comfortable, perform well, look great, are durable and double as a fashion shoe, so for under $70 they’re great value for money. If you’re in the market for a pair of indoor soccer shoes, then I’d definitely suggest you check these out.
Despite the Nike and adidas shoes getting all the attention, Puma have stealthily released one of the best pairs of indoor shoes available on the market right now. They’re definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something new.
