The best lightweight soccer cleats are an essential piece of kit for any player's arsenal, though specifically those who rely on speed and agility during games.
Having the right cleats can make a huge difference to a player's game, with certain ranges specifically designed to assist defenders, midfielder, strikers, wingers, speed merchants, and even those with wide feet and those whose feet are flat.
FFT has been dedicating itself to categorising designs to make boot shopping easier for you. If you're simply looking for the best soccer cleats out right now, be sure to check out our other reviews.
But here you'll find the best lightweight soccer cleats on the market right now...
The quick list
Adidas welcomed back the F50 with a bang - and it hasn't disappointed. They're still as light as ever, though additional texturing on the upper provides slightly more grip on the ball.
An extremely thin upper, minimal construction on the soleplate and an Air Zoom unit implemented, the Nike Mercurial Superfly 9 Elites are barely noticeable while on feet.
A cleat that took four years for Puma to create, these are technologically advanced - especially underfoot. With a carbon fibre outsole and aggressive stud pattern, these provide great traction.
As well as being thin and lightweight, the upper is extremely soft, while the natural shape of the cleat works with my foot rather than against it. The soleplate feels excellent, too.
Predators often aren't associated with being lightweight, but the feel of the latest version is certainly a welcome surprise. The synthetic upper is thin, while the construction of the soleplate truly helps with weight.
Japanese brand Mizuno takes a lot of pride and effort in constructing high-quality cleats from high-quality materials - though that's unfortunately reflected in the price as well.
Best for dribbling
Bringing back the F50 is a masterstroke from Adidas, with the fan-favourite model more technologically advanced than it ever was, and still extremely light even considering the brand's decision to create something slightly sturdier than before. That's not to say they've even remotely moved away from being lightweight. In fact, they're lighter than the Nike Mercurial Superfly 9 Elite - no mean feat considering that cleat is often regarded as the kings when it comes to weightlessness.
The soleplate isn't as responsive as other cleats on this list, though, largely due to Adidas' decision to remove the carbon insert from the plate. This improves comfort, but takes the aggression away from the cleat somewhat.
What truly stands out for me is Adidas' Fibretouch upper material coupled with Sprintweb 3D texturing to offer a rough, gritty grip on the ball - perfect for wingers and strikers looking to dribble at opponents during games. Don't mistake this for extra weight, either, they're still extremely thin and light.
- Read our full Adidas F50 Elite review
Best barefoot feel
A cleat that has long been the most popular in the speed category, the Mercurial Superfly 9 Elite is often at the very cutting edge of technology. In implementing an Air Zoom unit in the soleplate, Nike has once again pushed the boundaries to provide an even more responsive feeling during the acceleration phase.
A super-thin upper, formed of Nike's Vaporposite+ material, makes these super light - though that doesn't detract from the quality of touch on the ball when dribbling, passing and shooting.
With a weight of less than 200 grams, I honestly forgot at times that I had a pair of cleats on my feet. Only when I pushed off from a standing start did I notice, though, with the aggressive soleplate helping me get up to top speed a lot quicker. The cleats being lighter than virtually every other single pair on the market certainly helped with this, too.
- Read our full Nike Mercurial Superfly 9 review
Best for traction
Puma took four years to create this cleat, using academic research and traction studies in order to determine the ultimate configuration and design for a lightweight, speed option. It doesn't disappoint.
I'm a huge fan of the Speedsystm outsole, which is comprised entirely of carbon fibre. For some, this may prove too stiff, but I loved how responsive it felt when sprinting, twisting and turning. This is further helped by the FastTrax studs, which are super aggressive.
Carbon fibre is, of course, what helps make the Ultra 5s especially lightweight, but the thin upper also provides a barefoot feel on the ball that rivals the best cleats on the market.
- Read our full Puma Ultra 5 Carbon review
Best for comfort
Lightweight cleats aren't always comfortable, trust me. But that's not the case with the New Balance Furon V7+ Pro. The heel area is curved, which is more anatomical than what other cleats offer, while the Hypoknit material is great straight out of the box and gets even better - and more comfortable - with time.
Indeed, it's soft, flexible and completely faithful to all of the movements of your feet. Touches on the ball also feel completely at one, with the upper still thin enough to be compared to the best speed cleats around. The off-centred lacing system is also excellent at leaving a clean striking zone for midfielders and strikers to hit long passes or take shots at goal, too.
Underfoot, I enjoyed the angled chevron studs, which provide a good level of traction that still feels safe when twisting and pivotting. There's a good response from the soleplate as well, but not as much as I noticed on other lightweight cleats.
- Read our full New Balance Furon V7+ Pro review
Best of both worlds
Lightweight soccer cleats can sometimes fail to focus on areas that actually improve performance, such as comfort, construction quality and enough protection to ensure even the slightest stud isn't met with agonising pain. Fortunately, the Adidas Predator Elite is great at focusing on those areas as well as, perhaps surprisingly, being super light.
Weighing just over 200 grams, wearing the Predator Elite barely feels like you have anything on your feet - that is, until you control the ball and notice those rubber fins synonymous with the Predator range. Midfielders love the extra grip and control they offer when passing, while strikers gain an extra edge when shooting.
Fortunately, both are placated through the lightweight design. The synthetic upper shaves off excess material plus the soleplate isn't too aggressive, meaning those wanting something more understated but still lightweight can't go too far wrong with the Predators.
- Read our full Adidas Predator Elite review
Best quality
Mizuno constructed the Alpha model with clear focus and intricacy, taking its time to create something truly brilliant on feet. Lightweight, thanks to the quality materials being ultra-thin, they provide a true one-to-one feeling between foot and ball.
The thinness and lightness of the cleat does not come at the expense of any structure or comfort as the quality of the materials used can be felt from the moment you put these on. The soleplate features triangular studs in a configuration that provides a good level of bite when pushing off.
In utilising the brand's Enerzy foam, seen on Mizuno's running shoes to aid energy return to add to the responsiveness of the Alpha outsole, they're also successful in combining the lightweight feel with an explosive boost on the field.
How we test soccer cleats
Our expert reviewers have an abundance of experience in each and every cleat available on the market, taking them all through their paces during training sessions and games to learn as much as they need to know about them.
When it comes to lightweight cleats, they didn't just pick them up and see how they felt in hand - they put them on their feet and truly learned as much as they could about the performance levels.
How to choose the best soccer cleats
There are so many soccer cleats available nowadays, that it's a minefield attempting to navigate all of the options. Each brand will always champion the latest tech, but that doesn't necessarily mean any of it will work as well as intended.
Therefore, it's best to consider what suits your game the best, though ultimately it's down to personal preference. There are a few key things to consider when looking to purchase your next cleats, though...
Getting the right fit
Before worrying about anything else, whether that be aesthetics, models or stud configuration, the main thing to focus on and concern yourself with is finding a pair of cleats that fit your feet perfectly.
For that, we'd recommend heading into a local soccer cleat store and physically trying on as many models from as many different brands as possible, helping you to ascertain what is the most comfortable cleat for your feet. Because it's no use having the lightest cleats available when they give you blisters and cause you agony for every 90 minutes you put them on.
