It’s that time of the year now when pitches soften up and require boots that have traction on them. Buying Soft Ground boots is always a consideration, but converting your current FG pair to an SG one, for a variety of reasons, can actually be your best option. Read on to continue learning about how this transformation takes place…
But First, Why Stud Conversion?
Again, buying football boots dedicated for soft and muddy pitches is the easy thing to do. Obviously not all can afford or even willing to do so and thus have resorted to conversion. It’s always economical to extract the most value and lifespan from your football boots, and leave the buying of a new pair for the beginning of next season.
Another good reason for changing the studs is the uniqueness, the personality and the character it gives to your boots. Getting that customised feel simply makes you appreciate them even more, and there is a sense of, more or less, having a truly distinct pair of football boots even if you share the same brand or silos with your mates.
Another advantage of converting your FG to SG is that you get to keep the soleplate structure and, most importantly, tech intact. Especially with the likes of the Zoom Air technology of the Nike Mercurials and the Carbitex Speedframe of the adidas X boots, you’ll certainly choose to experience those features even on soft grounds rather than buy the manufacturer’s SG model which, more often than not, deals away with the FG soleplate entirely…
How Does Stud Conversion Happen?
Make sure your heart is already set in the process before anything else because first things first, you have to say goodbye to those moulded FG studs as they are cut away permanently. How short or tall the cut is depends on how much height you like to give to your new metal studs. Most would likely cut their studs at that point where they start to protrude away from the outsole. Which ones to cut and where to place the new ones is also your call, though the usual choice is the front four and the back two.
It’s drilling time after the selected studs have been removed. It’ll get messy for sure, but everything’s going to be tidied up in a bit. Drilling continues until holes are pierced onto the sole board…
…after which everything’s cleaned up through the sanding of the affected parts.
The next part is where the conversion proper happens. Threaded inserts are installed inside the boot on top of the holes on the sole board. With the inserts in place, the metal studs can simply be screwed-in with an aid of a stud wrench.
And there you have it, your former firm ground (FG) boot is now a softground (SG) pair!
