Whenever you see Ultimate in a Puma football boot, it means that that particular pair is the most premium execution of that particular line. Whether it does feel premium to you or not is another story. Women’s Ultimate 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 Platinum 21 FG/AG - Puma Black/Puma White - Mens Puma King Platinum 21 FG/AG - Puma Black/Puma White - Mens

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

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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. 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. The socially-aware, futuristic new design retains much of the Puma King's traditional style, but with a refreshing new spin on the iconic range. Players who are vegetarian or vegan, or those who are merely inclined to use fewer meat products in their every day life, will be particularly interested but, given how fresh these are, plenty of carnivores will be seduced too. 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. 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

Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan football boots review: An iconic Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan football boots review: An iconic

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. 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.Fascinating feature articles, covering everything from grass-roots football to the international scene 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. Fit is streamlined, just like the King Platinum; no dead space in the midfoot and pointy toe box has enough volume

Puma King Platinum 21 FG Leather Review - Soccer Reviews For You Puma King Platinum 21 FG Leather Review - Soccer Reviews For You

K-BETTER requires minimal break-in time and does become soft, pliable and form-fitting like leather Puma King Platinum 21 Vegan soccer cleats review: An iconic cleat rejigged for the environmentally-conscious soccer player Umbro Velocita 6 soccer cleats review: An attractive cleat which just falls short of its "elite" price tag

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.