Avoid buying from Times Square, too many imitations around.

don't be confused with the word replica and fake..
fake is fake..it's not replica...
replica boot is original, but not as good as the 1st grade player version..
like aw13 said...it's different in materials

nike and boutique sells replica boots if the price is like rm150-rm300... and it's original

Yeah, i think there's confusion around the terms used. "Replica boots" are the ones sold in most sports shop and even as we speak replica boots, there are 2 range. First is the higher range ones that normally cost RM400 to RM1000 depending on brand. The second lower range ones normally is significantly cheaper, in the range of RM150 to RM250. The lower range ones are normally made of normal leather and probably won't have better cushioning and other extra gizmos in the boots as compared to the higher range ones. However, Nike/Adidas are known to produce up to 3 type of replica to suit the budget of different users. In short, the higher range replica boots uses better materials and is probably closest to the "player boots".

Players boots on the other hand are custom fiited according to their legs size, dimension and etc. They normally have better heel protection and possibly even lighter than replica ones. Keyword here is customization and thats why its called players boots.

On the other hand, you have fake boots whereby these are the ones made in China or wherever. This ones are purely called immitation and the manufacturer of such boots can be sued for infringement of rights. These fake boots normally won't offer any kind of protection to the user and they' commonly have flaws in stitching, glues and made of much inferior material even compared to the lower range of replica boots. They are common sold in Petaling Street or any night market.

My advise to you guys who want to buy boots, avoid buying fake/immitation boots coz they offer absolutely no protection and they definitely won't last. If you're on a budget, get the lower range replica boots coz at least you know your feet is in good care. Footwear is a very important part of the game. Don't wear something that would hurt your foot.

I still can't see why some ppl think that stores like Nike/Adidas/Al-Ikhsan, etc are selling 'fake' goods as some of their products are somewhat cheaper. It's like saying all other shops sell fake goods as well as long as there's something cheap there!

Common sense dictates that there will always be lower priced goods for the low income group, even for brands like Adidas, Nike, etc. They want to capture the whole market mah, so may have diff products catered for diff income groups lor.

but it is still difficult to differentiate between ori and fake boots if you don't tompare them side by side...
so better buy at adidas/nike boutique...

for other brand, hmm.. i have never seen an umbro/diadora fake boot because people are not buying them kot...

dont define replica boots as immitation boots. immitation boot sould be known as copy or fake. replica are produced by the authorised manufaturer. but fake boots are just a knock offs copy. and like aw13 and giotto said. player boots are different from replica boots. both aer original in away are made by authorized manufacturer.

anyone buy boots at langkaw? is it cheaper than kl?

Wow, reviving a super old thread.

Anyways, you may find boots at Langkawi probably slightly cheaper but thats due to the fact that Langkawi is a tax free island, therefore the boots will be slightly cheaper, maybe around 5 to 10%. Its safe to buy boots from Langkawi IF you buy them from proper sports store.

an old thread?but i didnt read someone post about this tip:

if you throw the boot in the air,the boot will bounce back and land on it's stud.

this is a tip that i got from my seniors.huhu

sickx,
Thats definitely a myth. I remember hearing that during my primary school days and i actually took my school shoes and other sports shoes and threw them in the air to see where it lands. Haha, the silly young days.

Having grown up now, the only reason i can think when the shoes supposedly land on the studs is the fact that the studs are heavier and tend to pull down faster compared to the top part of the shoes, when you flick it in the air.

I hope this clears matters...

First and foremost.. the misuse of the term replica.... Replica means a replica of the actually worn item (jersey, shorts, socks or boots) by the players on the pitch with ones being sold to public. Do not use the term replica for representing something that is fake. To clear matters:

Fake boots/jerseys = An unauthorized product that is produced not by the authorized company that mimics what the players actually wear on pitch
Replica boots/jerseys = An authorized product produced by the original company that replicates what the players actually wear on pitch

Replica boots (we used this term again to represent the original ones) are made for the reason to be affordable and reasonable for fans to buy at authorized retail shops. How do they make it affordable since the ones actually worn by the players are super expensive? They make it in different ranges la!

Take a look at these two boots:


Both look the same but actually they are different. On the left is the adidas Predator PowerSwerve Soft Ground Rome, while on the right is the adidas Absolado PowerSwerve TRX Soft Ground. Question is, why did adidas make 2 different brands (one is predator and another is absolado) using the similar same design? Answer, to make them affordable for fans like u and me.. in case you want to wear the same boots as worn by the player.. well.. almost.. it's marketing psychology. Predator boots (the ones that is totally the same as worn by players) are £129.99 while the drop down versions of absolado boots are just £39.99.

Another good comparison for the multiple ranges of boots for the same design.. is the Nike Vapor boot:


Take a look at all 4 boots above... See how each are almost the same in terms of colour usage and design (slightly same) but each are ranged at different prices... So to conclude easier.. the boots worn by players who opt for vapor boots (C. Ronaldo, Drogba and Bendtner) are the high end vapor boots.. while the affordable ones sold to public meant to be the closest as worn by the players are the talaria, steam and veloci.

When the price drops.. means the specs also differs... Example, the vapor boots now have the superfly technology:



While the drop down version of Talaria, instead doesn't have the superfly technology but just lines on the surface that mimics how the superfly looks like:



At the end... the players actually wear the high end versions of the boots.. For adidas, the players wear the high end predator, F50 and adipure while for nike, the payers wear the high end vapor, T90 and tiempo.... We meanwhile as fans have the option to buy the mid range and low end boots that mimics the high end ones (for budget reasons)..

So now you should understand why there are many ranges of boots sold to mimic the design worn by the players..

To answer yhwong's question:

Answer is, yes they are.. Why are they cheap? Because:

1. The boots might be old stock and al-ikhsan is selling them with discount offer price. Al-ikhsan likes to do this.. old stock items are sometimes sold with clearance prices.. example, jerseys that are ending their usage in end of seasons.. even boots have season spans as well like jerseys.

2. The boots are produced in different ranges for fans.. adidas has predator boots and absolado boots that mimic predator boots, affordable for fans like you and me. Already explained rigorously above..

Another good point raised by giotto is that the player boots are actually customized based on the foot of the players (they take moulds of the player's foot using plaster) and then design the shape of the boot according to the player's foot. There is no 10, 12, 13 sized boots for the players, but drogba size, ronaldo size, van persie size boots.. They are really 100% customized!

Nike has something called NikeID where you yourself can feel having a customized boot of your own as like the players (even the high end boots as well). But it is super costly...

Watch this video so you can understand how NikeID makes customized boots for players:



You can see for yourself how the players foot moulds are in the factory and how they make them according to the player's preference (they have a sheet that lists down what the players prefer) and how customized they make these boots just to pamper the players.. hand made.. at a factory in Italy.

Amazing stuff...

Finally.... for muslims like myself, be careful with some leather boots.. They sometimes use pigskin to make certain areas at the boots.. I heard that there were also adidas copa mundial versions that used pigskin.. So be careful.

Jerseyman is also a fan of football boots..

Geez... If I were the owner of Nike/Adidas/Studio R/Al Ikhsan, I'd be damn insulted that people thought I sold fake goods... Bloody hell, ingat ni pasar malam ke??

erk.really? i really thought it was true cuz back then we compared with another boot that is confirmed pirate boot.the pirate one landed either on the side or of course,the stud.

Brilliant video Faiz!

Of coz these are players type of boots and every detail is carefully put in before producing them. Bear in mind that NikeID is not available in Malaysia but Adidas is able to do it. Its called Mi Adidas and you can customize your own shoes in Adidas Pavillion. However, they have very limited type of shoes available, namely the Adidas Predator Boots, the Basketball shoes and most of the rest are running shoes. You can choose your shoe color, material used, sizing, insole and can put your name in as well. Not surprisingly so, i actually did up a Adidas basketball shoes too. Very funky and bold colors used with my name on it. Haha. But so far havent worn it yet.

I was at the NikeID studio in Niketown London and it was fcuking brilliant!! The range they had were just amazing, not only for the boots but for the sneakers and sports shoes as well.

But damn kao expensive. A pair of boots would have cost RM600+. If I bought one, I'd probably keep it in a dome glass display on a pedestal with a single spot light shinning down on it!

But if I'm ever there again, I might be tempted to get a pair of sneakers though.

I want to ask usually the shoes we buy from local shops(bata , slippers in size 8,9,10) are they in us or uk ?

Example my school shoes from BATA is size 9. Is it US size?

I think schmeichel7 just sum things up. Good stuff mate!

That's the reason why he's an Elite in the forum.

guys..it is very easy to differentiate between fake, replica and player release version..here's are some example as i've been using Adidas, basically Predator since the Predator Rapier Touch(like sisik buaya) version..this is in my opinion..fell free to ask. Usually if you buy from al-ikhsan..from my observation..they sell the lowest version of replica boots which cost not exceed RM300..the replica version can take you up until RM 400-RM500..and still it is not same like top players used out here..i've seen dirk kuyt, zidane, beckham and lampard release version..it will cost you RM700-RM1000..depends on the characteristic like whether the studs can come out/ not(usually the back one, ) and etc.*for predator only..

the easiest way is to look at the bottom(where studs are placed)..
the higher version doesn't connect the front and back studs placement..so its easy to bend the boots..(rm250+)
Then, if the platform doesn't connected, comes the material of the plastic is also difference(both the studs and studs platform), glue type, glue+screw nail.(rm300-rm500)
plus there's more expensive replica comes with power swerve plastic inside the platform(rm400-rm500)..
then one level up..where you can get metal studs..(rm500-rm600)

then you can check the skin type..whether fully leather, leather+pvc, or pvc more..for adidas they used kangaroo skin..you can also noticed this together with the boot's manual/ book..yea..this is one more thing..you'll get so many extra pamphlet and manuals when you buy higher replica..

for adidas you can find FIFA logo at the back of the boots and many more details like Adidas.com and Predator words on the boots..(especially under boots)



this one probably the worst version..with back and front studs platform connected and the material of the plastic(can cost you upto rm200, careful)


this one is better, with back and front not joint, the studs are melt into the plastic platform and the back plastic is extend to the back of the leg's part..


metal studs which can be removed


the studs are not joint, and you can see power swerve plastic(make your foot straight when shooting hard, like lampard and ronaldo)but the plastic is too thick..material is ok than the first one..but i've seen less thicker one..and look at the predator labeled holding pad..higher quality should have this label


nearly identical to the player..

hope this would help a little bit..adive: at least buy a non-connectable stud platform(for predator only, dont know about f50 and etc.)..feels more comfortable..as predator boots are hard material, and try to find the crystal plastic(not shiny) stud area..unlike the Nike..so lite and stretchy(tried my friend nike vapor, felt like u dont wear anything)..so dont need to bother the studs placement..

This post has been edited by animed: Jun 4 2009, 08:39 AM

i have to clear one part animed, the boots with studs that can be removed is same price as the high-end boots. price is around rm600-rm700. not rm400-rm600. the price would drop if its an older colourway. as for the climacool db powerswerve, it is the rm600-rm700 range. and not all is exactly the same as what the professionals wear these days.

Ori means the shoe is fully equip. example.adipure2..its full k-leather..very soft.

replica diffrent. then the adipure2 is not full k-leather. tough2 feeling.