Following our recent review of the Adidas Predator LZ, we’ve decided to compare our two highest rated Power boots on the market and see which one comes out on top! With the new season just around the corner, and the Power boot category being one of the most popular silos, we felt this article would help provide you guys with a more accurate impression of which boot is for you.
Full reviews of both products: Adidas Predator LZ and Puma Powercat 1.12
Comfort/fit
An extremely tough category to call, the comfort and fit of both of these boots is superb. The Adidas Predator LZ follows the trend of recent Adidas releases in terms of fit, with a narrow heel and wide toe area. It’s definitely a strange fit, and it’s not for everybody. But the comfort of the LZ is really rather simple, they require no break-in time and will most definitely not give you blisters. One slight negative was the insole, which was prone to a little slipping during use. This however, can be easily solved by swapping insoles.
In comparison, the Puma Powercat 1.12 fits slightly differently. The heel and midfoot area is slightly wider than the LZ, with the toe area fitting pretty similar. When I first received the Powercat 1.12s, the leather was quite tough and hard which I found to be frustrating. This was, in typical Puma fashion, solved once worn for a short period of time. The leather softened delightfully, with the Powercat 1.12 being one of the only remaining boots on the market to employ Kangaroo leather on the upper of the boot.
Winner – Adidas Predator LZ (just)
Durability
In my Predator LZ review, I highlighted a slight problem on the instep of the boot. The upper basically tore from the soleplate after around 2 hours of use. I’d imagine this is more likely to be a one off fault than a problem that’s widespread in the LZ range, but it’s something to consider. Unfortunately, through extended wear, the tear has only deepened and now they’re pretty much unusable.
In comparison, with my Powercat 1.12s I encountered one or two cases of the upper tearing away from the soleplate, but it won’t affect performance so it’s not a big problem really. Jordon also had the opportunity to test the boots and claimed that he had no problems in terms of durability, so again it may be something that’s not a widespread problem.
Winner – Puma Powercat 1.12
Performance
Before I start this section – there is something to point out. The Adidas Predator LZ is a synthetic boot, while the Powercat 1.12 is a leather boot. Therefore, you’d expect a bit of variation in touch. In your hands, the two boots feel worlds apart.. With the LZs lightweight nature making it hard to call it a true Power boot. It’s touch and go which one you prefer, but for the LZ.. I felt that Adidas’ new synthetic was the closest synthetic to leather that I’ve had the pleasure to wear.
Touch:
For me there’s a clear winner here, and that’s the LZ. I personally found the leather on the Powercat 1.12s to be thick, and I found that to hamper touch slightly. With the ball at my feet, I felt more comfortable wearing the LZ than I did the Powercat. The synthetic upper of the LZ is super soft and the rubber provides that extra grip when controlling the ball making the LZ the out right winner.
Shooting:
The key area of a Power boot is shooting. Once again, I found there to be a clear winner. With the Powercats, I thought the technology on the boot did help me strike the ball more cleanly, even if it is slightly awkwardly placed on your foot. The LZ meanwhile never struck me as a Power boot. The Strike zone on the upper is just too thin to provide any extra ‘oomph’. The LZ left me feeling slightly disappointed, meaning I definitely preferred the Powercat 1.12s.
Traction:
Two completely different stud patterns. It’s a tough one to call this, with both patterns offering different positives and negatives. With turf becoming a more prominent feature in today’s game, the Powercat stud pattern provided the optimal traction on this type of surface. It didn’t catch in the ground, and it is definitely the safest stud pattern of the two for turf. With the LZ, there is that tried and tested SprintFrame soleplate, and I absolutely love it. However, I find it results in a bit of stud pressure on turf, meaning the LZ is almost entirely reserved for natural ground. With the Powercat being usable on both types of surface, the winner has to be the Powercat 1.12s.
Protection:
The LZs were surprisingly protective for such a lightweight boot, partly down to the Lethal Zones. However, the Puma Powercat 1.12s reasonably thick leather provides an awesome amount of protection. While they aren’t going to completely protect you, I felt they did a decent job of absorbing some of the impact from heavy tackles.
Winner – Close one, but the Puma Powercat 1.12
Positives and negatives of Adidas Predator LZ
Positives:
- Great touch on the ball
- Very lightweight
- Really nice, ‘wrap-around’ fit
- Poor durability
- Shooting was uninspiring
- Stud pattern not really ideal for turf
- Really good shooting element
- Stud pattern is usable on both grass and turf
- Very protective
- Not the greatest touch
- Questionable durability in certain areas
About Jon Nicholson
great comparison guys, I love both theese shoes!
I have a question about the LZ (and sorry if my english is not really good!): I read on a review that the various lethal zones are just marketing, I mean, they don’t serve for different things like they’re advertised (for example, drive for long passing or sweet spot for swerve), but all they really help controlling the ball offering much grip on the ball..is that true?? thank you
Hey ale,
Great question. My personal experience is as follows:
The sweet spot doesn’t work and it serves no purpose.
The dribble and control zones add A LOT of grip when dribbling and controlling the ball. This makes the LZs fantastic in wet conditions.
I never really think the drive zone is there when I’m playing, I don’t notice it.
Hope this helps, if you have any more questions feel free to ask.
thank you! so, just 3 of the lethal zones are usefull..and are theese noticeable just in wet conditions or are usefull even in dry conditions??
No problem. At first, I found them to be a bit too grippy in dry conditions, but you just adjust to it over time. If you buy them, be patient and you’ll get the hang of it. They are definitely more useful in wet conditions though in my opinion.
the drive zone helps me with my left sorta cuz it sucks and thats like a guide
MV8 vs F50
We’ll see.
Good article and great comparisons, but isn’t the lz labelled as a control boot now rather than a power boot? The maestri 3′s v the lz’s would make for a good read
I shall indeed be doing this Dan.
Could you please do comparisons for takedown boots too? For example, the Nike Mercurial Victory 3 VS the F10′s or the Nike CTR360 Libretto 3 vs the Adidas Predator absolado?
I would love to see these two boots also be compared to the t90 lasers
Yeah, everyone seems to have dismissed the Laser IV, despite it getting such a good review
Laser IV vs Predator LZ; it simply must happen lol. As a forward who loves to shoot the ball from almost anywhere, I’m buying boots for the new season and will choose from between one of these two, but I need a direct side by side comparison to see how they perform.
I have been lucky enough to test the Laser IVs, Predator LZs and Powercat 1.12s and can tell you that I prefer the two boots I’ve compared here. However, since you guys have requested it I shall try my best to post a comprehensive comparison between the two.
can you make an article telling us what boots youre gonna be comparing over the next few weeks/months ?
how much does the powercat 112 weigh?
How about the Mizuno Morelia NEO against the Leather F50s? They are both light leather boots!
Hey guys,
We know there are a lot of questions on here asking for future comparisons. It is an avenue we’d love to explore, but we can only do it for boots that the writer has. For example, we see that Rio would like to see the Morelia Neo compared to the Leather F50s, but since two different writers own the boots, it’s hard to do an actual comparison.
And Uche, our Inside Look articles explore the lower tier boots, they would be the best place to go for that
Do the Seaweed MV8 and leather f50 adizero!
Hey Edson,
I should hopefully be receiving the Vapor VIIIs soon, and this shall be a comparison I will definitely do.
Thank you so much Jon! The first boot that i want is the LZ, I make many research that this boot are the best. But the other day the bro in the shop said the best durability is Puma 2nd is Adidas , 3rd is Umbro and the last is Nike ,because the footprint durability is too poor :/ So i just found that this comparison is really useful and i know which boot i want to take. The PowerCat, because of the durability, material , the positives and the patterns of the studs. Makes the defenders more grip! I’m speed, good at dribbling, good at tricks and great at shooting. My last boot is CTR360 Red/White. Not comfortable at all, I think I choose because it’s color and the pad. Like I din’t care the shape of my foot is wide or narrow. I realize I was wrong and now the boot is almost broken. I wear it just for 2 years. So I decide to take Adidas LZ but many of them said that some of the LZ is not helping. Last position I played is Winger/CM. Now i had to play RB/CB. I’m the free kick/corner taker. When you said that “for everybody else, the Powercat 1.12s are a great shout for your next football boot and I suggest you take a look at them” I highlighted that!! I want to feel the Puma material. Thank you so much!
No problem.
I am looking at the powercats for this upcoming season and was wondering how the sizing ran in them compared to say the adidas adipures or something like the Nike tiempos?
They fit identically.
Thanks.
Hey, I was considering between two cleats. The Adidas LZ and the new leo messi adizeros. In your opinion, what would you recommend? Mainly, I want a cleat that provides a great touch for dribbling and also comfort. Thanks in advance
Nice article, I’m trying to decide between the Adidas predator and the puma powercat, I’ve been playing with Adidas brand since I remember and they’ve always performed as I expected. Time ago I bought a pair of puma Evospeed because my friend told me they were really good, and I was surprised of how good they perform. They are quite heavier than most of the Adidas I’ve worn but my favorite thing about them is the grip and the feel you get when power shooting. I think the better grip is due to the wider stud pattern on the puma, I also don’t hurt my ankles that much when making sharp changes on directions, I got injured many times in wet or rainy conditions doing this with the Adidas. The only thing I can complain about with the puma is that they are a little too tight for their size, what do I mean with this? When I buy Adidas I buy the same size my normal shoe size are, which is 10-1/2, and they always fit, with the puma, which I ordered online, they are 10-1/2 but they feel like if they were 9-1/2, I have to almost undo the whole laces to put them on, and I feel too much pressure on my toes, I got blisters after the first time!!! After about 3 games they kind of shaped to my feet and they feel better now. My question for Jon is, can you feel any difference in size? Since I’m buying them online, do you think if I go for the puma I need to buy them 1/2 or even 1 size bigger? Please let me know what your experience or feeling is with both of them size wise. Thanks a lot…