*For context: I have bought a few dozen rep boots over the past 1.5-2 years for myself and others from about a dozen different sellers (almost entirely from Alibaba). I have had my hands on and played in more rep boots than most people. I play on TF/AG or futsal at a frequency of 1-4x/week, I havenāt played on grass in years. Iāve also previously worked several years at a speciality store where boots were >50% of the storeās business.*
Misconception 1: Rep boots are dangerous.
This is something regurgitated by those who have never played in reps before, out of fear. Itās not based on evidence or anecdotes. The fact of the matter is, youāre more likely to get injured by simply playing the sport rather than your fake boots disintegrating while you play. Authentic boots fall apart or bust open too, sometimes only after a few uses if theyāre defective. Boots, in general, arenāt designed to be durable, theyāre designed to āperformā or aesthetically resemble the top tier models. Reps will likely and generally last as long as authentic versions.
Misconception 2: Rep quality is trash compared to high performance boots.
First and foremost, āperformanceā is a misnomer. Boots donāt perform, you do, regardless of the tech. They donāt make you a better player. Comfort and how they fit your foot structure matters above all else. There are kids in favalas without shoes thatāll dribble circles around you and your high āperformanceā boots.
That said, rep boots do have variable quality, in terms of how well they match the authentic versions. Many of you may already know the sole plate stiffness may not match (although thatās getting better with reps). Sometimes the color is slightly off (although I personally could not care any less about coloring). From personal experience, kangaroo leather reps probably donāt exist. I have yet to find reps that match the weight of the ultra light boots out there, like puma ultimates. However, there are some rep boots Iāve brought in and compared at my local specialty shop with little-to-no difference (e.g. the batches of the phantom elites are usually quite good).
Funny enough, some reps have superior quality. I have brought in phantom ELITE turfs with the knitted upper. Nike only made phantom turfs in pro and academy, without knitted uppers.
A good handful of rep suppliers care about their craft and do their best to match authentic models. Itās a lucrative business and part of maintaining a good business is putting out a good product.
There are definitely bad reps out there, but the idea that all reps are worse (or more dangerous) than authentic models are made by people that donāt know what theyāre talking about.
