As I’m sure you can already tell it’s been a busy couple of days here at soccerprose. To keep that trend going, let’s talk about the new Puma Powercat 1.10 boots in the skydiver and dandelion colorway. If you’re familiar with the Puma Powercat line, then you won’t be surprised too much by these boots as they’re basically just a color update. However, for those of you unfamiliar with the line, let’s get you up to speed, shall we?
The boots are made with synthetic leather and microfiber, which is certainly not my bag. Future synthetics may win me over, but as it is now, I prefer leather all day, every day. Side lacing, a prominent feature of the C1.10 line, makes another appearance with this colorway, and, again it just isn’t my personal taste. Some people absolutely prefer the side lacing because of the increased contact area to strike the ball. There’s nothing wrong with that; I just grew up on normal lacing, so I’ve stuck with it. As for the striking area, there’s plenty of it. Puma has kept the same structural design of the instep with the small ridges, whose intent is to cause a more pinpointed strike on the ball for more power and swerve. The heel has also stayed largely the same with a thick, protective TPU cup covering the majority of the heel. Perhaps my favorite part of these boots is the cleats. The narrow, incisive bladed structure of the front cleats allows for better grip and somewhat quicker, balanced acceleration. The back cleats are at a horizontal angle, which offers stability without causing too much friction with the playing surface.
These boots are initially stiffer than previous renditions, but I think they’ll break in about as well as the previous shoes. They’re also a bit snug in terms of width—in a size 9, which is what I normally wear, I couldn’t move my toes at all. The boot length seems true to size, though, as I still had room at the front of the toes despite the constriction in the width. This seems to be the trend with pretty much all Puma soccer cleats My main concern with the structure is at the tension points where the boots will crease after wear. I’m just not positive that the stitching around the tension points is sufficient enough to stave off tearing across the top of the foot, especially given cutting and turning on a consistent basis. I’m also not quite sold on the divots on the instep. I’m sure they add some level of friction, but are they worth making them such a prominent feature? Surely Puma can devise another way to achieve the same goal without sacrificing structural integrity.
With all that said, I do like the new look of the boots, aside from the inclusion of a head scratching electric circuit design. On the outside of the boot, we have swooping blue and yellow lines extending from the head of a pouncing gray puma. Circles of increasing size and increasing saturation radiate from behind the head while the outermost circle curves back up and eventually terminates at the little toe. This same design is repeated on the inside of the shoe, though this time it’s a yellow line that swoops and terminates at about the ball of the big toe. Like I said, aside from the electric circuit design, it’s a sweet looking shoe that is sure to get you noticed on the field. Like I said, if you’re already in the Powercat camp, then you’ll most likely find the new boots appealing, but I doubt they’ll win over any new believers. These puppies fetch the sum of $161.99 over at soccerpro.com with a retail price of $179.99, so I’d make absolutely sure these are the boots for your feet before handing over the cash.
Written by: Kris Dyer, co-editor, soccerprose.com
