PUMA Men's King Platinum 21 Fg/Ag Soccer Shoe

Product Information

We’d have liked to see Puma be braver with the King refresh – if it’s a Control boot, give it a pass pad, control zones – something for people to associate the new King with and carves a special place for itself in today’s boot world. However, the Puma King Ultimate does not feel like a revolutionary enough update to the boot – we could repeat what we wrote for the King Platinum and the review would still be true, sans changing k-leather to k-better.

PUMA Launch The King Platinum 21 In Two Classic Colourways

Fit is streamlined, just like the King Platinum; no dead space in the midfoot and pointy toe box has enough volume A super lightweight soleplate is built around a stability spine to provide optimal traction and support without the use of any animal-based adhesives, with all prints on the boot utilizing onlyveganpigments.We recommend going true to size if you’ve got a narrow or medium width foot. Definitely go half a size up if you have a wide foot, and even then we recommend taking it slow to break it in due to how narrow it is. Unlike the old school Puma King that had a more accommodating fit, the King Ultimate is slim fitting, and I’d even go as far as to suggest that it’s the most narrow boot in the Puma link-up today, even more so than the Puma Ultra Ultimate. If Puma’s choice of upper didn’t hint that the Puma King Ultimate wasn’t your grandfather’s King, the fit will. Synthetics have come a long way, and to be quite honest, after a short break in session, the upper softened up to such an extent that I could barely tell the difference between this and the Puma King Platinum.

Puma | King Platinum 21 Turbo FG/AG Football Boots Adults

Especially in today’s line up where both the Puma Future and the Puma Ultra have shifted towards thinner uppers – with the Future Ultimate losing the padding that the Future 1.4 had – the King struggles to carve a niche among their line up. K-BETTER surprisingly good; could be fooled into thinking that it is actual leather once broken-in in 20 to 30 mins., softness, pliability and moulding around the foot is still impressive even if it won’t reach the heights of the finest K-leather boots out there

The short answer is a resounding 'no'. Upon the Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan's launch, the brand promised "All the key benefits and performance properties of the King" and, to be fair, they've absolutely delivered. The Vegan Kings feel durable and robust, yet light on the feet, just like the classic Kings did. The animal-free "leather" upper is supple, comfortable and slightly spongey, while the knitted tongue and laces are smart, too. Called Konscious Leather, it is essentially Puma’s idea of a synthetic leather upper – but better. Puma claims that it’s 30 percent thinner, twice as stretchy to provide a better fit and 10 times more durable. All while giving you that same familiar leather touch on the ball. Touch on the ball is extremely barefoot, in part thanks to Puma’s decision to not add in any padding as is typical of modern leather boot constructions. I’d say the barefoot sensation makes it feel closer to the Puma Ultra than the Future. Not your Grandfather’s Puma King The Puma King Ultimate is objectively a good boot and one we would recommend, especially to speed boot fans with a narrower foot who play on AG, especially with all the speed boots on the market today trending towards a wider fit.

Puma King Platinum 21 FG/AG - Puma Black/Puma White - Mens Puma King Platinum 21 FG/AG - Puma Black/Puma White - Mens

Let’s get the elephant out of the room. Despite having been associated with classy, luxurious leather, Puma have completely dropped it for something they’ve called K-Better. You may have heard other reviewers reference a well-loved speed boot launched in 2012 by another brand, and in all honesty, we’d agree with the comparison. In fact, we’d say this feels even better, thanks to Puma’s excellent knit tongue giving you a good amount of compression for an even closer fit, without feeling overly restrictive. Overall this is a solid boot, which were just as enjoyable while playing as they were while unboxing.The Puma King Ultimate also welcomes a new tooling. The short of it is that the studs are conical and functions… like conical studs do. You get good enough traction when running but nice manoeuvrability when pivoting, twisting and turning. It’s also made of from recycled industrial waste and a more sustainable product – something Puma have really grown into as a leader in the sports equipment industry. K-Better also allows Puma to do more with the upper. Where a leather upper would have required the Formstripe logo to have been stitched on, K-Better allows it to be moulded directly on to the boot. We ascend the Puma throne eager to discover if this new King is a pretender or the rightful ruler. Not Leather, but Better (for the environment, and your feet) The world is changing, with experts advising us all to take greater care over our meat consumption, so why should football be exempt. The Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan is a great way to do your bit, without sacrificing style and comfort.

Puma King Ultimate 2023 Boots Review - Football Boots Puma King Ultimate 2023 Boots Review - Football Boots

The boot also sees a fairly significant weight drop – coming in at 205g in our US9 – making it the lightest King ever. Much of this is down to the new tooling that’s made of a new material and features a mid-foot spine, external heel counter and classic conical studs. The Puma King Ultimate feels like a leather speed boot The old-school stud pattern, which mirror the iconic range, means the Vegan Kings don't offer the supreme traction of a New Balance Furon or a Nike Mercurial but that doesn't really matter. Kings were always built for defenders and midfielders rather than speedy wingers and these feel on-brand in that regard. Time will tell if they're just as robust – and beloved – as the undisputed kings of Sunday League football, but the Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan football boots made an excellent first impression on us.Dribbling is sharp, thanks to the thin upper that allows you to feel more of the ball. The low pointy toe box and tighter fit also gives you the confidence to manipulate the ball thanks to the boot wrapping your foot extremely well. It gets the BOOTHYPE stamp of approval for AG surfaces, and feels like the only true FG/AG tooling in the Puma line-up. The Puma King Ultimate is a Prince in waiting