Cleat Showdown | Teen Ink

Cleat Showdown

April 20, 2011
By senordude187 BRONZE, Morristown, New Jersey
senordude187 BRONZE, Morristown, New Jersey
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Baseball is America’s national pastime, and is played by millions worldwide. In this sort, equipment plays a critical role in how you preform. One of the most important pieces of equipment are cleats. With all the brand names and types of cleats, it can be hard to compare them all. But when you really look at them you can easily see that two stand out from the rest. Those are the Adidas Adizero Diamond King and the Nike Huarache. When you look at the facts the Huarache clearly stands out for three reasons. It has superior spikes and traction, cost and marketing, and fit and materials.

When buying new cleats, the first thing you want to check out is spike style and traction. Too many spikes can lead to the cleat being heavy while too few spikes can lead to a loss of traction. Traction impacts how fast you run which is a vitally important part of the game. The Diamond King features eight spikes strategically placed to maximize traction. Even though it only features eight cleats, which is one less than the traditional nine, it still has a good amount of traction. It also adds to the lightness of the cleat. The Huarache features the traditional nine cleats but with a different placement that helps maximize traction. Also, three spikes are shortened which helps considerably reduce the weight. In this category the Huarache edges in front of the Diamond King with superior spikes and traction.

Furthermore, cost and marketing are another factor when it comes to buying cleats. They both cost about $90.00 but the Huarache consists of a lot more technology than Diamond King. With the Huarache you get a lot more for your money. Next is marketing, both shoes have websites and appear in all major sporting good stores. They also both have displays devoted to the shoe. While they may seem the same, the website for the Huarache is much more informative and helpful than the Diamond King’s website. It also compares the Huarache to other cleats. It always shows how the Huarache’s strong points match up with the other cleats. By doing this, it manages to stay away from its weak points which can be an effective marketing technique. In this category the Huarache gains a larger lead with clearly superior marketing.

Additionally, fit and material are the final criteria that come into play when shopping for cleats. The Adizero Diamond King has a nice fit lengthwise, but can be slightly narrow. This cleat has a light weight synthetic upper which is perforated to increase breath ability. It has a mesh tongue and EVA midsole to increase breath ability and comfort. The Huarache can be a little long and a little narrow. It is equipped with a full length airsole unit to cushion the foot. The synthetic leather is durable yet stylish and the phylon foam midsole provides cleat pressure dispersion. Ankle stability is provided by the Velcro strap which also provides a customized fit. With this win the Nike Huarache shows that it is clearly the superior cleat. This shows how a cleat can be comfortable and durable yet stylish at the same time.

The Nike Huarache is a much better cleat than the Adizero Diamond King. It is better because of its superior traction and spikes, cost and marketing, and fit and material. Next time you go to buy cleats, remember to compare them side by side and don’t buy the ones that look cool, because most of the time they are not the best.


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