Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan soccer cleats review: An iconic cleat rejigged for the environmentally-conscious soccer player

Puma King Football Boots | Pro:Direct Soccer Puma King Football Boots | Pro:Direct Soccer

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. 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. 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 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.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 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. 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. 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. In the end, while K-BETTER is somehow advanced than leather in the sense that it is a recycled material that is formulated to emulate leather, the King Ultimate’s position to be chosen over the two is its simplicity as a football boot. It doesn’t concern itself much with tech unlike the FUZIONFIT360 of the Future and the ULTRAWEAVE of the Ultra.

Puma King Ultimate Review: Better, but not yet a true King Puma King Ultimate Review: Better, but not yet a true King

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. 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.If Puma’s choice of upper didn’t hint that the Puma King Ultimate wasn’t your grandfather’s King, the fit will.