“Are you a soccer player and a cleats user?”
“Do you want your cleats to be softened?”
“Are your Cleats too hard?”
Let’s find the solution to these problems with me.
The essential thing a soccer player will ever buy is a pair of cleats. A soccer player will always look for cleats with excellent grip and support.
This post will explain how soccer players can soften their cleats in more detail.
Six main parts make up a cleat. The shoe has a top, an outsole, an insole, a midsole, a stud or cleat, and a heel.
Why should soccer cleats be softened?
The main reasons soccer players soften their cleats are: to improve their performance, lower the chance of getting hurt, and feel more comfortable.
Stiffness and flexibility are two things that are often disregarded about soccer cleats, but they can have a significant effect on how comfortable they are.
Flexible cleats help the players to perform better.
The more flexible the cleats are, the more comfortable they will be. A player will always feel comfortable in soft cleats, which will automatically enhance the player’s performance.
How to make soccer cleats soft?
As you have read earlier about why soccer cleats should be softened, the next question is how to make soccer cleats soften.
You can use different methods to make your cleats softer and more comfortable.
However, it’s essential to know that sometimes the way to soften a soccer cleat depends on the materials used to make it.
Different kinds of materials are used in the manufacturing of soccer cleats: Kangaroo Leather, Natural Leather, and Synthetic leather.
Here are some methods to make your soccer cleats softer and more comfortable.
Read | How to clean Leather Cleats?
5 Easy and Useful Steps To Make Soccer Cleats Soft
1. Heat the Cleats:
Soccer cleats are not an exception because most objects melt in the heat. The material can be made softer by heating soccer cleats to a temperature that prevents melting but is not too low.
There are some elements you can use in the heating of the soccer cleats:
Use the Oven:
You can use the oven to heat the cleats. The average range for heating the cleats varies between 5-10 minutes.
To prevent melting into the oven rack or pan, ensure the soles are facing up during heating.
Avoid overheating, as it will degrade the rubber.
Use Dryer:
To heat the cleats, you can use the hair dryer. Heat the cleats at a high level for 7-15 minutes.
Avoid putting the dryer in one spot, and check the soccer cleats periodically for signs of melting or other deterioration.
After heating for 7-15 minutes, let the cleats become cool. It is hoped that the object will continue to be softer and more flexible even after cooling.
Use Clothes Dryer Machine:
Another way by which you can heat your soccer cleats is to put them in the clothes drying machines for 10 minutes maximum. The temperature range sought is around 200-220°F (93-104°C).
2. Use the Steaming process:
The easiest and most effective way to soften soccer boots so they can conform to any soccer player’s foot is to steam them.
Steaming is heating an object utilizing the water vapor from hot water. In addition, the heat emitted by the vapor softens the soccer cleat-like heating.
To perform this procedure, set up a hot bath.
After setting up the hot bath, place your cleats in a container or bucket and then put that bucket in hot water.
Give the cleats 15-30 minutes there.
After that, remove them from the water and put your feet in cleats because as they cool down, they will automatically conform to the shape of your feet and produce a personalized fit for you.
This is a proven most efficient technique.
3. The soaking technique:
Soaking the cleats in the water can make them softer. Water is a natural solvent, so it will cause softness in the material of the cleats and will take away the stiffness.
For this, hold the cleats under the hot water. Remember, Do not put them under super-hot water because it may cause damage to the shoe.
You can also shower the water over the cleats.
Also, you can put them in a container filled with hot water for a few hours.
4. The airtight technique:
To make your soccer cleats soft, use the airtight technique.
Store your soccer cleats in an airtight container.
This approach is practical because of the rubber substance used in synthetic soccer cleats.
Remove as much air (and consequently oxygen) from the container as possible before sealing it for this procedure to function.
Keep soccer cleats in a cool, dry, and dark place. The best temperature to store soccer cleats is between 68 and 77°F (20 and 25°C).
This method’s advantage is that it’s simple and doesn’t demand much from the user. On the other hand, the disadvantage of this procedure is that it takes a lot of time and requires close attention to the temperature to avoid damaging the cleats.
5. Use Plasticizers:
It occasionally hardens when your soccer cleats get older. This happens when “plasticizers,” or softening chemicals, slip out. It may take some time for the extreme stiffness to stop, but it can be done before the soccer cleats become too fragile and break.
The soccer cleats’ utility is increased by plasticizers, which maintain the rubber sole’s malleability. The plasticizers that return hardened rubber to its original suppleness are in silicone spray.
Using this strategy is so straightforward it doesn’t take much. However, this technique only works well with synthetic material soccer cleats. Its use is therefore constrained as a result.
Conclusion:
The choice of your cleats is a result of your preference. Whether hard or soft, you all have your usefulness. But for softening your soccer cleats, you should go for these steps because they are self-proven.
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