Buying the best studs for your pitch surface is possibly the most important football boot buying decision you will make. It’s more important than choosing your favourite colour or brand and has a massive impact on your game. Now, we’ve been in the game a while and seen studs evolve from plain old plastic stubs into blades, diamonds, triangles and all sorts of other made-up shapes. What even is a chevron?!
So in this ultimate guide we’re going to cover everything you need to know about football studs. We talk you through the ins and outs of different types of studs, how often you should replace them, why you need the correct studs, and most importantly what studs you should buy.
Football boot studs explained: Everything you need to know about studs
Studs are the metal or plastic mounds that cover the bottom of a football boot. Studs help with traction on pitch surfaces, enhance stability and prevent players from sliding. It’s important to wear the right kind of stud for the surface you’re playing on. This not only helps your gameplay but also helps to prevent injuries.
Different types of studs
Firm Ground Studs (FG)
We recommend buying the Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII Elite FG football boots
For natural firm ground surfaces like a dry grass pitch. Firm ground studs are usually plastic.
We recommend buying the Nike Mercurial Vapor 13 Elites FG boots. Read our Mercurial review or check the current low price on Amazon.
Artificial Ground Studs (AG)
We recommend buying the Adidas X19.1 AG football boots
For artificial surfaces like Astroturf pitches. Artificial ground studs are usually plastic and cover more area than FG studs.
We recommend buying the Adidas X19.1 AG boots. Read our X19.1 review or check the current low price on Amazon.
Soft Ground Studs (SG)
We recommend buying the Adidas Nemeziz 19.1 SG football boots
For soft surfaces like muddy football pitches. Soft ground studs are usually metal and can vary in length.
We recommend buying the Adidas Nemeziz 19.1 SG boots. Check out the current low price on Amazon.
Firm Ground Studs (FG)
Firm Ground studs (FG) shown on the Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII football boots
It may seem as obvious as Donald Trump’s fake tan that firm ground stud patterns (FG) are used for firm ground surfaces. What’s not quite as obvious though is that they’re usually made specifically for natural firm ground surfaces. They’re for when you’re playing on a grass pitch that’s either seen so little rain you could start a fire or for the grass pitch that’s had just enough rain for your 30 yard scuff towards the goal to skid through the keeper’s arms and in (think Scott Carson vs Croatia).
The studs in the heel area all tend to be a bit boring and samey in design – a bit like League 1 football teams. The business end of a FG stud pattern is the forefoot, where studs vary in shape and size. They all aim to get the best traction and therefore increase speed and agility.
Some football boots can have more aggressive patterns like the Nike Mercurials Vapor Elites which are focussed on speed. Whilst some stereotypical midfielder boots like the Adidas Copa 19.1 have a less aggressive pattern which can improve comfort.
Artificial Ground Studs (AG)
Artificial Ground studs (AG) shown on the Adidas X19.1 AG football boots
This is where the line starts to get blurred. AG, FG? Aren’t they the same thing? Whilst they’re similar, artificial ground studs are specifically designed for use on plastic Astroturf 3G or 4G surfaces. They’re the pitches where you get home with a million little pieces of rubber in your boot.
What’s the difference between FG and AG? An artificial ground stud plate has more plastic studs, they’re usually rounded with a hole in the middle, and they’re designed to give less traction than an FG plate. This is important because too much traction on artificial grass can cause injuries. With some players sometimes confusing football for rugby and becoming human bulldozers, we don’t need to risk adding another injury to the list!
Can you wear FG studs on AG turf? Yes! Most players will make do with their firm ground studs on artificial ground surfaces, we certainly do as we aren’t made of money! But if your budget allows then it’s always best to pick wear AG studs on artificial ground if you can to minimise the chance of stud-related injuries.
We’ve also recently seen some turf or indoor shoes popping up like these Nike Lunar Gatos. These football shoes are really useful for younger kids who may switch between indoor, sand-based Astroturf and firm grass pitches.
Nike has their own AG stud pattern and whilst Adidas used to combine the two, they split them out and started making more AG specific boots like these gorgeous Adidas X19.1s.
Soft ground studs (SG)
Soft Ground studs (SG) show on the Adidas Nemeziz 19.1 SG football boots
Playing football in the UK makes us the most qualified people in the world to write about SG stud patterns since our football matches are pretty much mud baths from September to April. Use these bad boys on soft natural mud… sorry grass. They’ll help keep you upright rather than looking like Bambi on ice.
The main soft ground studs are metal and their length can change depending on the brand. Nike provides two lengths of studs that can be swapped out depending on just how wet the pitch is. If only we could get a bit of that extra length. It’s a cock joke guys it’s funny!
We’re often asked can you wear rugby studs for football and whilst you can we don’t recommend it. Think orange juice and coffee. Sure, you can technically add orange juice to coffee but it’s not going to end well. Or the UK leaving the EU. Sure we can wave goodbye to the EU but don’t come running to us when the future isn’t bright. Check out our guide on rugby boots vs football boots to find out more about this (the boots not Brexit).
If you’re looking for a pair of good SG boots we would definitely recommend buying these Anti-Clog Nike football boots. We love ours as Nike’s Anti Clog technology stops mud from sticking to the bottom of your boot meaning you have the best traction possible at all times.
How often should you replace football studs?
We recommend these Precision Alloy Football Studs Sets
There’s probably some exact science on the perfect timing to swap out your football studs. But the reality is to just change your studs when they’re starting to look a bit short and stubby. A top tip of ours is to put a little bit of Vaseline on each new screw as you change them – we also do it to ours when they are brand new. Don’t worry the studs won’t fall out but it will make them easier to unscrew when you come to change them again. We recommend wearing these studs if you didn’t get any extra studs with your footy boots.
When it comes to firm or artificial ground boots you can replace them any time you feel like they’re starting to look a bit worse for wear. This should really be after about a year but anyone who knows me will tell you that I seem to change mine much more often. Hi everyone, my name is Mitchell and I am addicted to football boots. Acceptance is the first step to overcoming addiction.
What studs should I buy?
We recommend buying the Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII Elite FG football boots
Ideally, you’d buy one of each stud type and swap them out depending on the surface you’re playing on. But if you can only buy one pair then we recommend buying firm ground studs. They won’t be perfect for every surface but can be worn on all surfaces.
As we mentioned, we have FG and SG. So if you can get two types of studs then this is our combo of choice. It does come with injury risks but we’re yet to come across many issues other than our questionable choice of colours. Our favourite firm ground boots are the Mercurial Vapor 13 Elites and we’re currently rocking the Nemeziz 19.1 on soft ground.
