Asics Gel Lethal Ultimate 12 & Asics Gel Lethal 18 Football Boot Review

Josh talks about two great Asics football boots for the 2017 season. The Asics Gel Lethal Ultimate IGS 12 and Asics Gel Lethal 18.

As Josh explains, sprig configuration is critical when choosing the right football boot for you to ensure you get the shock protection and grip you need on the pitch. With the feel and comfort of a running shoe, either of these options would make an unbeatable weapon to add to your arsenal.

Check out the full review with transcript below.

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude here to talk about two football boots in the Asics range, the Gel Lethal Ultimate 12 and Gel Lethal 18. 

They’re very similar boots. You might look at them and say “Hey, they’re the same boot but different colours”. No, you’re wrong. 

The Gel Lethal Ultimate 12 is Asics premium version. This little cracker has a kangaroo leather forefoot and synthetic lining on the side. The kangaroo leather gives that forefoot a little bit of extra customisation for comfort when kicking but on the medial and lateral side of this boot that synthetic lining provides more security. 

Now looking at the Gel Lethal Ultimate 12, I’ve done reviews in the past and we've talked about how many sprigs there is on the bottom of the foot. I’m not going to count because we don’t have the time. There’s a lot of sprigs underneath the actual boot which if you picture it, when you’re running on a firmer ground having more sprig configuration under your forefoot helps disperse the shock underneath your foot.  

If you’ve got four sprigs through the forefoot, picture your pressure points underneath your foot. You’re going to feel every one of those sprigs when you’re running on a firmer pitch. Now with the amount of sprigs we got through there it’s going to give that foot a little bit of comfort and guidance. 

When we sell this boot in the shop it’s to a lot of stronger players, your Thor’s of the game. Your ruckmen and forwards that put a lot of pressure and a lot of force through their foot and they need a little bit of assistance. 

These shoes have such a beautiful plush base, it almost feels like a running shoe when you put it on your foot. It’s fantastic for the bigger, heavier players that need a little bit of assistance underneath their foot. I need to talk about that because the amount of sprig patterns and the shorter sprigs we’ve got on this little guy on a softer ground probably won’t give you the traction you require.  

You might need to have another boot in your kitty just to give you some extra traction on those softer pitches when you need them. Now that’s the Lethal Ultimate 12. As I said, synthetic leather upper side, kangaroo leather forefoot, a great boot! 

Now I’m going to grab its little cousin, the Gel Lethal 18. I need to say Gel because both boots have Gel in them. There’s Gel cushioning through the heel on this little guy. It’s almost exactly the same base as the Gel Lethal Ultimate 12. Through the forefoot the only difference is on your first metatarsal joint, the Gel Lethal 18 has five sprigs where the Gel Lethal Ultimate 12 only has three right on that first met joint. 

So which one’s better? It’s tricky to say, but in terms of the actual configuration they’re almost identical. You’ve got a leather forefoot in the Gel Lethal 18’s configuration. It’s not kangaroo leather, my understanding is it’s potentially cow or buffalo. It’s still a soft feel of the forefoot but not quite as plush as a kangaroo leather forefoot. 

I want to touch on the heel counter of both these boots. It’s an internal heel counter. What that means is you can come up a little bit higher to give your ankle more support. Around the back it’s quite rigid and tough so your foot is going to sit nice and plush inside this boot, giving you plenty of traction at play and plenty of ankle support when you do turn and twist. It’s nice, solid support at the back. 

Both boots have what Asics call IGS. IGS is a fancy way of saying Impact Guidance System, so when your foot comes down and hits the deck you’re getting that Impact Guidance System through the back half of the boot. 

Gel Lethal 18 and Gel Lethal Ultimate 12 are available now on Sportitude.