The King has had a facelift, with PUMA revealing the slightly tweaked King Ultimate ‘Launch Edition’, which sees some minor upgrades from its predecessor, presented in a “Puma Black/Rosso Corsa” colourway.

Back in March of last year we were introduced to the all-new PUMA King Ultimate, which arrived on the scene as a revolutionary take on the iconic silo thanks mainly to the use of K-Better in place of the traditional K-leather material. In its fifty-odd year lifespan, the King has always been made from K-leather, so to move away from that material was kind of a big deal. Now, just over a year later, the King Ultimate gets a refresh, with the brand making some minor tweaks to its design.

First up, lets be clear that the K-Better material is still a key component in the boot’s construction. It still offers the same signature touch, comfort, and durability that the King is renowned for, only its non-animal based, meaning its a environmentally conscious upper material. Aside from the aesthetics, which we’ll get to, probably the most notable change is in the embossed grooves in the forefoot area to improve feel and control on the ball. That’s joined by a new softer mesh material through the heel and in the tongue area to improve the already outstanding levels of comfort on offer.

And that’s pretty much it from a tech perspective. On to the look of the boot, and the base colour is a classic black, while the red or “Rosso Corsa” accents complete a striking look. There’s no mistaking that this is a King, with name appearing on the heel and repeatedly through the formstripe branding down the lateral side. And as if that wasn’t enough, the red graphic that runs down the medial side of each boot is also a stylised version of the name, “King”.

All round, the changes are minimal, although its enough to keep the boot feeling fresh and different enough from the Future and Ultra in the PUMA roster.

Shop the PUMA King Ultimate at prodirectsport.com/soccer