PUMA Cleats: 2015 evoPOWER vs. 2025 Ultra – The Decade Duel for Speed and Power
PUMA, the perennial underdog and the brand that knows how to make a statement, has had one of the most fascinating evolutions in the football boot game. They don't just follow trends; sometimes they set them—and sometimes they throw the entire blueprint out the window.
We're tracing PUMA's journey from a focus on barefoot power in 2015 to a quest for gravity-defying lightness in 2025. It’s a comparison of boots designed for a strong, singular motion versus a boot built for pure, unrestricted chaos on the pitch.
The 2015 Icon: The Unconventional Power of the PUMA evoPOWER 1.2
Back in 2015, if you were a midfielder who loved striking a ball from distance, or a big striker who simply wanted to hit it harder, you wore the evoPOWER. This cleat was PUMA's wonderfully quirky answer to the "Power" silo, and it was inspired by something truly strange: kicking a ball barefoot.
The Vibe: The evoPOWER was a beefy, unique power boot worn by legends like Cesc Fàbregas and Mario Balotelli. It was a handsome shoe, often released in PUMA's bold "Tricks" dual-color designs, ensuring you looked like you'd grabbed the wrong boots out of your bag (in the best way possible).
The Tech Story: The entire philosophy was built around flexibility. The upper used AdapLite synthetic material that only stretched longitudinally (from toe to heel), but not laterally, allowing your foot to bend back almost like you were barefoot. This was supposed to maximize the force transferred into your shot. To help you hit that ball cleanly, PUMA added AccuFoam pads under the hood, which were strategic foam inserts designed to create a clean, flat striking surface. The Gradual Stability Frame (GSF) outsole acted like a spine, allowing the soleplate to flex dramatically—a design choice completely opposite to the rigid plates favored by other brands at the time. It was an anomaly among professional football boots.
The Punchline: The evoPOWER was the boot that dared to ask, "What if your cleat was as bendy as a rubber chicken, but hit the ball like a sledgehammer?" It was a gloriously over-engineered experiment that celebrated the art of the thump.
The 2025 Icon: The Weightless Warrior, the PUMA Ultra Ultimate
Skip forward ten years. Power is now a side effect of speed and efficiency. The focus isn't on maximizing the foot's flex; it's on minimizing everything else. Enter the PUMA Ultra Ultimate (or the Ultra 6), the lightest, quickest cleat PUMA has ever put on the pitch.
The Vibe: This boot is a blur. It’s all about a close-to-the-ball feel and giving the wearer zero distractions. While the evoPOWER was robust, the Ultra is almost spectral. You see Christian Pulisic or Antoine Griezmann in these, and it makes perfect sense—they need a boot that’s barely there. This is the definition of a modern speed cleat.
The Tech Story: The Ultra’s defining feature is the ULTRAWEAVE upper. Born from PUMA's apparel technology, this material is impossibly thin and lightweight, designed to reduce drag and weight to an absolute minimum. To ensure the shoe doesn’t tear apart or lose support during those match-winning sprints, PUMA layers a PWRTAPE support system under the upper. This tape provides targeted, internal reinforcement that locks your foot down without adding bulk. The final piece of the puzzle is the SPEEDSYSTEM outsole, an ultra-reactive plate that is explosive and inspired by running spike geometry.
The Punchline: In 2025, PUMA’s cleat philosophy is simple: Less boot equals more speed. The Ultra is so light that if you drop it on your foot, you won't even notice. It’s the evolution of speed from a lightweight frame to a genuine, woven textile feat of engineering.
The Verdict: Barefoot Power vs. Weightless Speed
The contrast between these two PUMA icons perfectly captures the journey of the boot industry:
The evoPOWER (2015) was an anomaly. It was a power boot that prioritized comfort, a large strike zone, and unconventional flex. It was built for the player who loved a clean, powerful connection.
The Ultra (2025) is peak modern performance. It prioritizes pure, instantaneous speed, aerodynamic design, and incredible lockdown. It's built for the player who needs to leave their marker in the dust before the ball even gets there.
PUMA ditched the AccuFoam for the seamless feel of ULTRAWEAVE and swapped the bendy GSF for the explosive SPEEDSYSTEM. What remains is the brand's commitment to making a boot that truly feels different.
Did you play in the evoPOWER back in the day? Which era of PUMA tech do you think was more influential for the modern footballer?
