With two perennials and a newcomer, we knew that this years awards would be interesting.  We didn't think they would be controversial.  We were wrong.

The adidas predator is the strongest line of boots in recent history.  In fact, the Predator X won the best boot at the NSCAA Conference.  There is no question that adidas improved the predators.  It just wasn't enough to get the attention of our testers or readers.  In truth, the predators have becoming the Honda Accord of soccer cleats.  They have won every award imaginable; they are consistantly top performers and top quality.  Sometimes perfection can be boring.  There is also no question to the loyalty of predator owners [editor included]; however, the general consensus left them in third place here.  adidas needs to do something spectacular and surprise us.

In second, we have the Puma v1.10.  This is the newest in the v family that includes (from least to most expensive) the v3.10, 2.10 and 1.10.  Worn by Hotspur's Peter Crouch, these are some of the most comfortable boots we have tested.  They balance the objectives between light/flexible and sturdy/power.  About half of our testers selected the Puma as top boot.

Finally, the boot of the year goes to the Concave PT+.  The Concave design is the must unique here and nominated for Innovative Product of the Year.  One of our tester fell in love with the Concave striking panel.  Our readers agreed (albeit with some help from the group marketing Concave).

Your 2009 Boot of the Year: The Concave PT+