Gear Bag: Canterbury Stampede Club Review

Canterbury are the Volkswagen of the rugby boot world. Durable, affordable, and dependable, Canterbury provide a good product that will last a long time for a relatively low price.

The difference between the Stampede Club and the more expensive Stampede Elite is that the Elite uses Kangaroo Leather while the Club uses synthetic, so if you are an animal rights activist, or member of Greenpeace, then the Club is definitely the way to go.

I am not a big fan of the looks of Canterbury boots, the massive logo across the side is really the only design element to the boot, and it is not an entirely good looking one. You can tell that aesthetics were not the biggest concern for Canterbury when designing the boot, and the color schemes reflect that as well. The base will always be black, and then you get a choice of red, yellow, white, or blue on the logos.

That said, these are primarily forwards boots, and I don’t think the type of people that are buying these boots are overly concerned with the looks.

The boots feature a traditional central lacing system (none of those new-fangled kicking oriented sideways laces) and a fitted tongue, which serves to keep your feet feeling snug and secure inside the boot. The strong, textured synthetic leather makes sure that your ankle is supported, which is a very good thing for forwards. There are two varieties, one is a low cut, which starts below the ankle, and one is more of a mid-cut, offering more support and comfort. It is very easy to roll or twist an ankle in a ruck, scrum, or maul, and these boots are well designed to avoid that.

A mate of mine bought a pair of Canterbury Stampedes at the start of this season, he came to training 5 days a week, wore them every day, and played in every single match, and when the season ended they looked virtually the same as when he had first taken them out of the box. There was very little wear and tear, and his only complaint was that some of the black pellets

from the pitch (we play on artificial turf) had gotten under the sole, but that was really no issue because he simply lifted one end of the sole, and they all came out.

The sheer simplicity of the boot means that Canterbury have been able to focus on the quality of the product and the durability. If you are in the market for a, simple, effective, and long lasting pair of boots these are a good option, and if you are not willing to spend a lot of money, then these boots are very nearly unparalleled.

Scores: 

Looks: 6/10 

Comfort: 8/10 

Weight: 7/10 

Overall: 8/10