Revamping an icon of the game for the elite performers of today, PUMA launch the all-new King Ultimate, which sees the previously integral K-leather construction substituted for a revolutionary new material known as K-Better.
The PUMA King has been a fixture in football for 55 years now, featuring on the feet of some of the best players the game has ever seen, including the likes of Pelé, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Eusebio, and Lothar Matthäus. Despite its regal stature though, it has slipped out of the spotlight at the elite level of the game over the last decade. Now though it’s being brought back, revamped and revitalised and ready to take its place alongside the Future and Ultra in PUMA’s roster of elite level boots.
To take its place at the top tier it has had to undergo some fundamental changes, the most notable of which is the departure from K-leather – an element that has been integral to the DNA of the boot for its five and a half decade existence. But K-leather has been replaced by something even better… K-Better in fact.
In looking to replace K-leather, PUMA set about creating a new material that would be able to everything that its predecessor could…but with further advantages. And so they created Konscious Leather, also known as K-Better: an innovative, environmentally conscious upper material that looks like leather, feels like leather and plays like leather.
Recycled from industrial waste, The K-Better material is a synthetic, non-animal base that boasts the same softness as K-leather, whilst being 30 percent thinner, twice as stretchy, providing a better fit for longer, and 10 times more durable. All in all, it’s quite the revolution.
Despite this revolutionary new step, the King retains the same crucial DNA that is inherently part of what makes a King a King. To show this off, a subtle graphic has been placed on the medial side of the boot, in a nod to that heritage, looking like a strand of DNA. And that builds up as it reached the forefoot to become a hexagonal embossed pattern that further aids touch and control on the ball.
The stitchless upper is joined by a knitted collar and an external heel cup, all combining to ensure a locked down fit. On the underside, an all-new soleplate has been created, featuring a torsion spine and classic conical studs.
Aesthetics-wise, the King Ultimate debuts as part of the ‘Supercharge Pack’, lining up alongside the already released Future and Ultra. It takes on a “Puma White/Puma Black/Blue Glimmer/Puma Ultra Orange” colourway that sees a clean white base with flashes of blue through the formstripe and soleplate and orange in the collar tying it to them two aforementioned boots.
Unlike recent iterations of the King, such as the King Platinum, the King Ultimate will be picked up from the off by elite players, with Grant Xhaka, Nabil Fekir and Ritsu Doan set to be the first athletes to officially make the switch, with more likely to follow in the near future.
“The PUMA KING is PUMA’s most iconic franchise in football and has always stood for using the best materials and the latest in innovation. Over the years we have seen the boot evolve and become ingrained in on pitch and off pitch football culture, from the pitches to the terraces.” said Peter Stappen, Lead Product Line Manager Teamsport Footwear. “The new KING takes the franchise to the next-level and offers a super-soft upper with optimal stretch resistance for ultimate touch and control benefits.”
Shop the PUMA King Ultimate at prodirectsport.com/soccer
