Gaijin Boot Blog

ASICS Grip Socks Review

Performance and Support ASICS is a brand that has built a solid reputation on the fit and support offered on its products. This extends to football as well, where boots like the Ultrezza are known for the solid support provided. Often this comes through heel raises, or some sort of extra cushioning. And support is […]

Tokyo Football Grip Sock Review

Bargain price, great performance There is no doubting that there has been a massive increase in the companies that make grip socks these days. A lot of these brands seem to take one of two paths: decent, but inexpensive or higher, performance and higher price. But not too many socks seem to marry decent price […]

Mizuno Morelia Wave Review

Vying for my affection The Mizuno Morelia Wave was a boot that never really caught my attention when it was available as a regular retail model. There were many people who praised the boot and would only wear the Morelia Wave. Even pros who did not wear the Morelia Wave often used a mixed version […]

Boots are too expensive, actually

Economics always includes psychology Main Image Credit: SoccerBible So, I was going to a write a whole thing about New Balance’s interesting approach to a limited edition release, but then someone complained about people (rightly) taking issue with the high prices in the market right now. Now, I need to preface this by saying that […]

GrpStar Grip Socks Review

Comfort at the expense of fit GrpStar first really made a name for themselves with their unique SG studs that were designed to provide more grip. Moving into the competitive grip sock market seems like a natural progression for the brand and to their credit, they seem to be doing quite well for themselves. There […]

ASICS Ultrezza 2 AI Tech Breakdown

ASICS’ most tech heavy boot gets an update The original Ultrezza was first released back in 2019 (time has been weird in the past few years) with some solid fanfare. A great boot packed with a lot of tech that received a lot of praise for how that tech was used and how good the […]

Tabio Sports Five Finger Grip Socks Review

Top of the class. Like Mizuno and ASICS boots, something that is also quite common among players in Japan is Tabio Sports’ Five Finger Grip socks. Several members of my team wear them, I have noticed a lot of people in my league wear them and every sports store in Japan carries stock of them. […]

Allure Calcio Nero FG Review

A fantastic example of a made in Italy boot. One of the last things I would have expected this year is the launch of the new brand. This is because of circumstances around the world and because of the difficulty of entering the market in the best of times. So, it was a surprise to […]

Grip Socks aren’t the end-all

They can’t cover for everything In the past year there has seemingly been an explosion of new grip sock companies on the market and its virtually impossible to miss them. This isn’t a bad thing though, since the more competition there is, the more everyone has to step up their game. The flip side of […]

Mizuno Morelia Wave Tech Breakdown

The Rebuild Project produces excellence once again The original Mizuno Morelia was released all the way back in 2003 to offer something to players who wanted a soft kangaroo leather upper but with more support and a grippier soleplate. Mizuno took its popular Wave technology and squeezed it into a football boot which as a […]