Review: Umbro STII Soccer Boots

The Umbro Stealth soccer boots were launched in early 2010 and quickly found favor amongst serious players worldwide. At Football Fashion we thought that they were among the best boots of last year. Even now you will see Arsenal and France leftback Gael Clichy still using them on a weekly basis.

Now the UK-based company has launched the second shoe in the Stealth line with the Umbro STII Pro (also known as the Umbro Stealth II Pro and Umbro Stealth 2 Pro). Look on the feet of highly-rated England and Everton defenders Gary Cahill, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka and you will see them in action at the top level of world soccer. They are now available at World Soccer Shop and other soccer retailers.

Over the past two weeks the Umbro STII Pro Soft Ground boots have been the subjects of a Football Fashion soccer boot review in league and practice games by a former NCAA Division 1 player Here is what he thought of them.

The Test

Given that I was testing soft ground boots, I waited for rainy springtime weather during which I used the Umbro STII for:

– One break-in session at a local soccer field

– One very competitive pick-up match that included a couple of former Russian second division and an ex-MLS reserve league player

– One local league match

Design

I tested the Black/White/Lotus Orange STIIs which was worn by Everton’s Tony Hibbert during Saturday’s meeting with Manchester United. The boot also comes in a White/Bronze/ Speed Blue colorway with many more sure to follow from Umbro. Regardless of the color, this is one of the best boot designs on the market in my opinion. The STII successfully combines a modern look with a classic style via an ultrasleek rare synthetic leather area reminiscent of the Umbro GT Pro and a heritage-feeling front complete with Specialiesque padding, stitching and Kangaroo leather.

One nice touch is the oversized Umbro logo on the outer front of the STII that reminds me of the use of the large Swoosh on the Superfly series of parent company Nike. I also like the use of orange on the heel counter for this particular colorway. It is In Your Face bright and could work well for demoralizing an opposing player when you get past him.

Fit

Love at first fit! The Umbro STII fit my size 10 feet perfectly. I will note that I like my soccer shoes a little snug so I wore a size 9.5. However, I would say that they run true to size. No unexpected gaps or looseness around with heel area to worry about with these.

The Ride

The Umbro STII feels as comfortable as a good running shoe once on the feet. I was very much impressed by the padding surrounding the foot on the inside of the shoe despite its light weight (at 10.2 oz). Once I put these on they took very little time to get attuned to and, frankly, I couldn’t get enough of them during my break in session with them. Even though I wore soft ground boots on a slightly wet field for the session, I could not tell the difference between them and your standard firm ground soccer cleats. Factor in the excellent stability that the STII offers and you’ve got a soccer shoe that is a pleasure to move with during any match.

Touch

The touch on the Umbro STII Pro is absolutely stunning! If I had to categorize the STII, I would say that it is a “Power” boot similar to the Concave PT+, adidas Predator, PUMA PowerCat 1.10 and, of course, the Umbro Stealth (version 1).

Firstly, the Umbro STII works remarkably well for long distance, lofted shots and passes. This includes curved crosses made with the inside front of the foot (think David Beckham pinpoint crosses) and more powerful shots at goal made with the instep. In all such cases, accuracy and getting the right weight on the ball are readily achieved by the experienced soccer player using the STII. I attribute this to the fact that the boots have the aforementioned classic-styled, padded front area.

The second impressive touch factor with the Umbro STII comes into play when making low, inside of the foot passes (the basic component of short-passing masters like FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC). Perhaps due to the boot’s design in this area, smooth and perforated leather with padding underneath), the STII allows the wearer to quickly master fast-moving, accurate, well-weighted on the ground passes more ease than any other boot that I have used.

Lastly, the same inside of the foot area that allows those lovely on the ground balls is excellent for trapping both on the ground and low aerial balls. It is definitely a momentum-killer than that gives you that extra half of a second with the ball under control that you need to make a defence-splitting pass or to elude a sticky defender.

Protection

After wearing a couple of less than 6 oz. in weight ultrathin “speed boots” over the last season and experiencing the extremely pain on the foot when you are inevitably stepped or stomped on, the protection offered by the Umbro STII is undoubtedly welcome.

While the STIIs do not attest to be and are not “speed boots”, they are light enough to keep you swift footed yet padded enough to shield your metatarsals from the blows that they are subjected to when you are the victim of or are dishing out tackles. I believe this provides some psychological advantage as you are less likely to think twice in either case out of worry for injuries and expensive physician bills.

Durability

I’ve used Umbro boots for years dating back to the early 2000s and have never seen one not last for at least two years even when used four up to four training and league matches per week. The Umbro STII is no exception and seems to be a robust boot from my experience with them thus far. Following my trial with them, they are still structurally sound and show no signs of ripping or any other quality issues. I think that they should be good for at least three games a week for the next couple years or so.

Conclusion

Umbro doesn’t launch many new boots per year but when they do, their products tend to quickly become favorites among soccer players at all levels. I believe that the Umbro STII is the next to fall into the soccer player “favorites” category. It certainly gets my vote and will now be my shoe of choice in soft ground conditions. With an MSRP of only $139.99 in this time of $200+ boots, the STII is among the best buys on the market right now.

Thanks to Pieter for making this review possible!

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