Pele Sports Trinity 3E Review

The Pele Sports Trinity 3E made a huge splash when they were released at the tail end of 2011. Prior to their release, Pele Sports had produced three other no nonsense boots that weren’t packed with technology or new innovations. However, with the Trinity, Pele Sports packed in a whole host of interesting features such as the Symbioskin upper as well as a never before seen stud configuration. All of this combined with a seriously light weight of 170 grams meant that conceptually, the Pele Sports Trinity was a giant killer, a boot that could compete with the staples of the speed boot market, the adiZero. Mercurial and the V1.11 series. Thanks to Paul Cattin and the team over at Pele Sports we had the chance to test out the Trinity and see if they were as impressive on the pitch as they are on paper. This is the Pele Sports Trinity 3E review. 

Design 3/5 (A design that looks good and trendy and will have people comment positively about it)
The Pele Sports Trinity boasts a sleek design and while it won’t turn any heads, does make for a pretty good looking boot. Personally, I’ve had comments ranging from ‘they look incredible’ to less positive ones about the overall look of the boot. One thing I really do like about the overall design of the Trinity is the yellow studs. While I’m not a huge fan of flashy boots, I can’t help but love how the Trinity almost jump out at you in the sunshine simply because the black and the bright yellow go really well together and create a great contrast. The grooves on the Symbioskin upper may look a little bit out of the ordinary at first, but after a while you definitely get used to them. They certainly aren’t the most normal looking boots on the market, but in this case that may not be a bad thing.

Comfort (4/5) (Great out of the box comfort, you can wear them straight into a match and be happy with the comfort)
Breaking in is next to non-existent when it comes to the Pele Sports Trinity. While it may take a tiny bit of time to get used to the unique stud configuration, you don’t experience any pain when you first put on the boot. The overall fit of the boot is brilliant and the Symbioskin is the main factor behind it. If you’re not too familiar with the Symbioskin upper it’s essentially three elements that have been combined to create a symbiotic (hence the name) upper. The three systems within the upper, allow your foot to be enveloped and effectively molds to the shape of your foot. The upper is pretty thin and while it may help you in terms of controlling the ball, you really do feel any hard challenges or being stepped on. A low tow box further improves the fit of the boot, and in comparison to boots such as the Superfly, which have a high toe box, it’s a lot more secure and comfortable. Pele Sports have also taken into consideration people who have unusually wide or narrow feet as there are two widths available for purchase.
Sizing wise, I highly recommend going half a size down. However, as I discovered just wearing football socks (which are thicker than your normal ankle socks) does decrease the amount of space towards the front of the boot, and makes it less of an issue.

Performance (4/5) You become a noticeably better player due to the performance enhancement offered by the product
The Trinity are packed with technology meaning that performance is the one section where they excel. While there are no features on the upper such as a pass pad or adaptive shield, both the upper and the stud configuration really do help you out on pitch.
Touch: As aforementioned, the Symbioskin upper is really soft and envelops your foot. This helps a lot when you’re trying to control the ball. As the upper is soft and almost spongy, when controlling the ball, the Symbioskin almost cushions it for you. This enables you to get the ball under control and then look up and pass, or shoot, faster than one normally would.

Shooting: Nothing special to report here. There aren’t any shooting aids on the upper, but nonetheless the Symbioskin does provide a really clean striking surface, not to mention the memory foam right under the tongue cushions the ball.

The Stud Configuration: While the stud configuration on the Trinity is unorthodox, to say the least, it really does help your acceleration and your ability to turn quickly. With three studs at the back of the boot, and five studs towards the front, at first glance one may think that you’d be less balanced. However, the stud configuration actually makes you feel more balanced, and this in turn helps you react faster. Definitely a plus and easily the best stud configuration  out there right now!

Protection and Moisture: Expect to feel the full force of any challenges while wearing the Trinity as the relatively thin upper doesn’t protect you much at all. However, one plus on the protection side is yet again the stud configuration. Pele Sports claim that the ordering of the studs should prevent you from rolling your ankle, something that didn’t happen to me while testing them out.

Moisture wise, as any synthetic upper does, the Trinity are really good at keeping your foot dry in the rain. While testing the boots one weekend I was in the rain for about eight hours and by the end of it all the inside of the boot was still pretty dry.
All in all, the Trinity perform really well. Most notably in terms of the stud configuration, and the great touch you get thanks to the upper.

Value (2.5/5) Value that won’t kill you, but isn’t going to help your wallet at all because the boots aren’t very durable.

Easily the biggest negative of the Trinity is their lack of any real durability which in turn affects their value. I did a majority of my testing on a turf surface and the boots suffered. A number of scuffs on the Symbioskin upper after it was touted as hard to scuff left me pretty disappointed. While the scuffs weren’t serious, I just felt that for a $200 boot they shouldn’t be appearing after every single training session. The front of the boot also took a bit of a beating as the upper has started to split from the soleplate, probably because of the rubber bits commonly used on turf surfaces. While I can understand, considering the amount of technology and effort that has gone into the Trinity, the $200 price tag, the durability on turf surfaces is definitely an issue . In terms of extras, Pele Sports do throw in a shoe bag as well as two shape retention horns (that I’ve been using quite a bit) so that’s definitely a positive.

Conclusion:

Design (3/5)
Comfort (4/5)
Performance (4/5)
Value (2.5/5)

Total 13.5/20 or 67.5%

While Pele Sports have created an absolute quality boot, the one thing holding it back is the durability, or lack of it. Coming in at a 13.5/20 means that the Trinity most certainly ranks higher in our books than the ridiculously overpriced Nike Mercurial Superfly III but isn’t quite at the level of the adidas adiZero miCoach.

Positives:
The Symbioskin upper is a great feature of the Trinity. It offers a great fit as well as a great touch on the ball and is unlike any synthetic out on the market right now.

The stud configuration really has worked! While it had its fair share of skeptics the innovative stud configuration on the Trinity really shines in terms of aiding your acceleration and helping you make quick turns. Also, preventing injury is always a big plus.

An extremely light weight boot coming in at around 170 grams means that the Trinity is one of the lightest boots on the market and is most certainly designed for speed.

Negatives:

The Trinity’s durability on turf left me really disappointed. As a pretty frugal guy, seeing a $200 purchase scuff easily and begin to have its upper split from the soleplate after a month and a half of testing was definitely a negative. Although it was due to the turf, and reviews on grass surfaces have been largely positive.

Weird sizing is something to be especially cautious of if you are planning on purchasing the Trinity. Make sure to order half a size down to ensure you get a really snug fit.

All in all the Trinity is definitely a huge leap forward for Pele Sports following the release of their three heritage boots the 1958, 1962 and 1972. While in terms of performance and comfort the Trinity ranks right up there with the best speed boots on the market, questionable durability brings the whole boot down. While it certainly is a quality release, adidas can breathe a sigh of relief as the adiZero’s position at the top of the ultralight boot chart is secure. Puma and Nike on the other hand, beware. If your a speedy winger or striker and are looking for something different and unique, I would definitely recommend the Pele Sports Trinity.