Despite being in the market for only 2 years, Pele Sports is actually a quite well-known brand. Pele Sports has been kind enough to send us a few pairs of shoes to review, and the Pele Trinity 3E is one of them.

The Trinity was one of the first cleats released along with the 1970 line, but Pele has continued to innovate and follow up these releases with the Galileo, Trinity 3E K (Kangaroo Leather), and the brand new 1962 Redeemer. Given that the Trinity was one of Pele’s first attempts at creating a cleat, you would expect the cleat to be so-so and only a mediocre shoe. But after testing, I have found these expectations to be far from what the shoe actually offers.

Comfort and Fit

The Trinity 3E is Pele’s first attempt at creating a speed boot and taking that into consideration, I found these to be very comfortable. Even though the boot isn’t too padded, I found no problems with support or cushioning. One thing that I appreciate Pele Sports for including is extra padding in the tongue. A soft foam insert runs through the tongue, covering a good amount of area (runs from the first to fifth lace hole).

Also, the insole has a nice cushiony feeling that combines with the sturdy outsole to allow no stud pressure. Even though heel padding is pretty minimal, I had no problems with hurting ankles or heels. A synthetic leather liner keeps your heel in place without being too tacky, which can cause blisters. One area where you usually find speed boots to falter is comfort, but the new brand has done well producing a boot where I had no complaints.

The Trinity does fit long, so make sure you order down a half size if you are ordering a pair. Other than that, I did not have any other problems with the fit of the boots. The upper has a sleek fit with a low toe-box, which is something that is always good to see with a thin synthetic. Also, even though that the upper has a sleek fit, the central lacing allows for a better fit on either wide or narrow feet.

For those who have very narrow feet, you may want to check out the Trinity 3E SL (Slim Fit).

Breaking In

Breaking in the Trinity 3E was a breeze. Right when I laced them up and started running around, the soleplate felt nice and flexible. A big plus to the Trinity is the soft Symbioskin upper, which lead to a quick break-in process. The upper did take a few wears to form to my feet, but it softened up right away, after only a few minutes.

Also, the soleplate seems to be a little thinner in the forefoot, meaning that the sole will flex with your foot a lot easier. This made the break-in period much more enjoyable.

Technology

As a speed boot, no really added technologies like you would see on a power or control boot are on the upper. But like a lot of speed boots such as the Mercurial Vapor and F50 adiZero, the technology is shown in the soleplate.

At first glance, you will see that there is something very unique about the soleplate; the stud configuration used can only be seen on the Trinity, and there are really no other designs like it. To start off with, the heel only has three studs, and in the forefoot, there are only five studs. This unique stud design in the heel is meant for quicker ground contact and also for speedy release. For better traction and explosive acceleration, the forefoot studs are strategically positioned.

Along with the earlier claims, Pele Sports also says that the tripod heel stud design triggers early muscle movement for more speed and agility. While this may seem like a lot to take in, Pele Sports is basically just trying to say that this is a boot crafted around speed. To find out how I found this technology to work, read the Performance section below.

Performance

One big high point of the Trinity is that they weigh in at 5.6 oz. to offer lightweight performance. Because they are so lightweight, a thin upper is included. The Symbioskin upper seems soft when you are not wearing them, but right as you put them on, they seem to have almost a leather like feel. If it was not for the new Vapor 8, I would say that these are the softest ultrathin synthetic on the market. Symbioskin molds to your foot well, so when you touch the ball it feels very natural. You still do not get the exact feel of leather, but for synthetic material, I would definitely recommend the Trinity.

Shooting with the Trinity 3E was certainly not my favorite aspect of the boot but it was not a bad experience at all. To give more lateral support, Pele Sports has made the synthetic in the mid-foot more stiff than in the forefoot. Although it does give a more stable feel which is a big plus, I did not feel like the mid-foot molded to my foot as quickly. For my first sessions shooting with the Trinity, I felt like there was a little too much room between my foot and the upper, so I did not get a solid connection. Make sure you pull the laces quite tight, so that the upper conforms to your foot shape. After it molds to your foot, they will feel nice and snug for striking a ball.

In the last section, I explained the technology in the soleplate of the shoe. The unique stud mapping system is sure interesting, but how does it actually play out? I was a little worried at first that I would feel unstable due to the minimal amount of studs used. But once I played in them, they felt perfectly fine. I had no problems with stability, and they got decent traction on both natural and artificial surfaces. While I cannot verify that the stud positioning will increase speed and agility, the studs do grip pretty well, and I have not slipped once in them.

Durability

Now, this is really where the Trinity has issues. After just one wear on artificial grass, I could see separation between the upper and soleplate. But luckily, this splitting of the sole and upper will only occur on turf. After this incident happened, I only wore these on grass, and there were no problems after that. So my suggestion for you is to NEVER wear them on artificial surfaces. The turf will just rip up the Trinity 3E. If you just play on grass, you should be fine.

All in All:

Pele Sports has produced a fantastic speed boot, especially considering that the Trinity is their first attempt at designing one. The lightweight nature and soft upper makes the Trinity one of the higher performing synthetic speed boots on the market, even if it is not as well-known as the Mercurial, evoSPEED, or F50 lines. Durability is an issue with these, but if you do not wear them on turf, there should be no problems. I am very impressed by Pele Sports, and I cannot wait to see what other footwear they are going to release in the future.

Performance: 7/10

Comfort: 8/10

Durability: 5/10

Technology: 7/10

Value: 8/10

Breaking In Period: Short

Feet Width It Can Fit: Narrow-Slightly Wide (You can buy the SL version if your feet are very narrow)

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