Laced Up: adidas X 16+ PURECHAOS Review : Football Boots : Soccer Bible

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.” The newest marvel from adidas is a wild creation packed with all the chaos that they can possibly muster. It may be chaos… but, is it pure? We laced it up (then, covered it up) to find out.

The PURE line from adidas now has been completed. Where the PURECONTROL once sat alone as the foundation and unequivocal star of the adidas world, two new silos have emerged. The non-Messi addition to this lineage is the PURECHAOS, also known as the elite level continuation of the X silo (X16+). Despite first inspection having us think that laceless tech was about to be extremely bountiful within the world of adidas, the X16+ does have some laces hidden underneath that extremely bright cover. Still, just adding laces isn’t going to win the world over to the new wave of adidas technology. Is the touch going to be what we expect from the X silo? Will it differentiate itself far away from the other boots under the company’s umbrella? It all comes down to how this boot performs on the pitch.

The future of adidas Football will be determined by whether their continued persistence on moving forward with brash, bold new boots is successful, or chaotic for other reasons. The German giants aren’t messing around with the X16+. The PURECONTROL bossed, but can the PURECHAOS reign?

 
Bold, isn’t it?

While we are certain that there will be more conservative options on the horizon, the “Mercury Pack” that we get for the summer months is the polar opposite of “conservative.”  The silver upper is going to reflect the tiniest speck of light and won’t let you hide no matter where you are located during play. The adidas logo in black stands in a stark contrast to the upper, making sure that everyone sees the proud brand behind this creation. When you get a little closer, you see that the boot has been made to look as if the upper has rips and tears in the synthetic, but all of that is merely cosmetic (and meant to aid the CHAOS label). The “X” callout is on the instep, but isn’t extremely visible until you get up close with the boot. It’s bright, it’s bold, and it’s certainly chaos.

The orange TechFit material that looks like a raised sock actually has a little bit of a pattern to it, and provides a nice contrast to the silver upper. The heel does have that same silhouette that we’ve seen adidas use a few times since the PrimeKnit 2.0, and, despite having an odd look when the boots are sitting by themselves, is a nice addition for pulling the boots on and getting your heel situated. Small silver dots line the heel, but we’ll cover their function a bit later on. The only real negative aspect, in terms of appearance, is the part where the lace cover connects to the boot would look a million times better if it was a solid colour instead of clear (you can see the stitching underneath)… it’s merely cosmetic, but it’s something that would really help the boot look as elite as adidas are touting it to be.

Opening the box will see you greeted with quite a few extras (alway a bonus for a boot at this price point). A string bag for the PURECHAOS and a set of comfort insoles (the boots come with lightweight insoles already inside the boot). Although we thought a shoehorn would have been a bonus it’s not as essential as with the ACE (getting the PURECONTROL on without the shoehorn was a struggle to witness).



Is there comfort within the Chaos, or will it take more than laces to bring this creation together?

“Comfort,” might not be the first word that would spring to mind whenever discussing any type of “chaos,” but adidas hopes to certainly make the two synonymous. There isn’t any of the famed PrimeKnit here to depend on, but adidas still makes a case for this boot being one of the most comfortable currently on the market. It might have a set of laces, but the comfort is present before you even start to lace up this three-striped marvel.

Although we usually wait to talk about sizing until the end, it is a big factor in the elite-level adidas boots that are currently on the market. If you get the wrong size on anything associated with the adidas PURE range, then you’re not going to have the boot perform the way that it is intended. While we were able to stay true to size on this boot, we strongly suggest trying the boot on before you make the plunge on PURECHAOS in order to ensure perfect sizing. If you can’t find your way into a pair of these boots, then true to size is going to be your best bet.



While the PURECONTROL had us laughing at ourselves the first few times we tried to put the boots on, the PURECHAOS involves a much easier process. There is some slight stretch around where you slip your foot in, and the elongated heel lets you slip your foot in after a little bit of movement.  Once you find yourself within the confines of the X16+, then your ride begins.

The first thing that you notice once you have your foot inside the boot is an immediate 1-to-1 fit encompassing your entire foot. The upper is very soft and the area circling where the lace cover is attached flexes nicely, which gives you a nice fit before you even begin to work with the laces. While some might have hoped that this was a stripped down, lightweight machine, adidas didn’t want to sacrifice a high level of comfort, using padding all the right spots to make this a very smooth ride.



The heel and forefoot have a nice, thin layer of soft padding to aid with the comfort, and it’s immediately noticeable. It’s nice from out of the box, but only improves as it shifts to the shape of your foot. The padding also helps keep your foot secure in a boot that is built to function where the laces are more of an aid than the main item keeping your foot locked in.  The laces are a welcome addition, as it helps ensure that the fit is exactly how the user would prefer the boot to feel.  Although you could easily use the PURECHAOS without the laces tied at all, it adds another level to the comfort that helps make the “elite” marketing of this boot feel justified. It all blends together nicely with the soft synthetic to have us totally forgetting that these were new boots after only a short amount of time.

Despite being mostly positive, the area that is stitched for the lace cover does start out a bit tighter than we’d like. The best way to remedy this is to break the boots in a bit at a time instead of throwing them immediately into the fray. Once this becomes a non-issue, you simply need to break in a slightly stiff soleplate to get your PURECHAOS to its highest level of comfort.  Not a negative, but an interesting thing to note, is that the TechFit (orange) material is not a neoprene style/smooth material and has some texture to it. This might feel odd under your fingers and have you worried about hotspots or there being some spots that rubs blisters, but we actually found that it wasn’t a factor once you’re laced up and playing.



Does the PURECHAOS hit the high notes once you chuck in a ball?

It might market itself as PURECHAOS, but we were very pleased to see the boot’s performance lean towards the extremely un-chaotic. Although the comfort was impressive, there have been plenty of boots to come through SB HQ that showcase top-notch comfort, but then falter once you start addressing a ball and playing the game. The X silo is all about creating chaos on the pitch that other players simply cannot deal with, so we were extremely hopeful that the X16+ would be the perfect vessel for us to deliver carnage on the opposition.

One of the first things we noticed on the X16+, and something we touched upon a bit in the comfort portion, is that the boot is a bit thicker than we might have anticipated. It might look like an old F50 silhouette, but this boot is certainly not stripped down. With that, the boot provides a nice soft touch on the ball without over-padding. Anybody that has ever worn a host of boots knows when an upper has too much padding and starts to negatively impact your play, and the X16+ doesn’t even come close to toeing that line. Having the ball either passed into you or simply dribbling into space, you always get a nice, dare we say “pure,” touch on the ball. It also felt nice bringing the ball out of the air, which eased our worry that the lace-cover might dampen our touch.



Passing and shooting really shone with the X16+, and it showed the thought that had been put into the boot’s construction. Despite having a plethora of tech and ideas on show, we still felt a nice ping from driven shots and a high-calibre feel whenever we wanted to cross the ball or launch a long-pass. While adidas has graced this boot with their NSG technology, we have yet to truly feel like these extremely tiny bumps are any actual help. We will never turn a tech that has zero negative impact away (just in case), but it’s still interesting to see the Three Stripes still trying to sell this aspect on all their releases (except for the MESSI). We had a few worries about the lace cover hurting how the boot performs, but we didn’t notice it once we had a ball at our feet.

It’s always a true testament to a quality boot that you find yourself able to focus solely on your game. The X16+ might have all the bells and whistles, but we found ourselves focused more on how fun the boot was to play in than having to nitpick on negative issues that we typically harp on while testing. We realise that the price-tag is a bit much for simply “fun,” but there’s a lot more on offer from the latest and brightest from adidas. There’s a perfect spot that a boot has to find in order to still give the wearer a lightweight feel, confidence, and comfort, but still provide a great touch and an unimpeded (yet satisfying) shooting surface… the X16+ delivers right in the sweet spot.



The boot also does a great job of making you feel locked in during quick cuts and whenever you’re making snap movements. The dots in the heel help prevent any type of heel-slippage, the area where the lace cover is stitched actually performs a second, perhaps unintended, function of preventing rollover, and the soleplate lets you dig in quickly, but move quickly and efficiently. It all rolls together to make sure that you can keep your mind focused firmly on the task at hand as the X16+ will definitely not be letting you down any time soon. A “dancing star,” and a massive step for the revolution.  The future feels as bright as the Mercury Pack looks for adidas.

Adidas is not messing around with their continued assault on the football equipment world.  While the PURE boots have entered our hands with a host of questions riding every little detail, the PURECHAOS has answered the bell and emerged as a heavyweight favourite in 2016. With an elite level price-tag, consumers demand an elite level boot. We demand elite comfort, elite performance, and a look to let others know exactly what our boot game is all about and adidas has provided that with the X16+, and more.



A massive risk, but a major return for the Three Stripes will help them continue their attack on 2016. Adidas are putting out products that have a sense of adidas originality that we thought was long gone. If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the revolution bandwagon, the time is certainly now and the boot is definitely the X16+. The only question left is whether adidas can keep up with this breakneck pace that they’ve set since their epic turnover in 2015?  

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.” - Mary Shelley

"These boots are decent" - SoccerBible