overpaying for anything sucks especially socks so why pay 45 for a single pair of grip socks when you can spend less than half your grip socks Pro feature our best materials for optimal fit moisture wicking and performance at a fair price just 16.99 a pair at puregripsocks.com I've been saying it ever since he made the switch from Nike to Puma but why doesn't Neymar wear the Brand's speed boots given that that's the most popular category of football boots these days and what I have here are his new boots for 2023 that still aren't speed boots but technically kind of are or at least they're more speed bootlike than they used to be ladies and gentlemen say hello to the brand new Puma future ultimate the replacement for the future Z 1.4 and while it might look very similar to the previous model the sole plate and stud pattern is all new the upper is all new the lacing system is all new pretty much everything has been changed in one way or another and despite the similarities in looks they do end up fitting and feeling quite a bit different For Better or For Worse mainly depending on personal preference with the price tag going up twenty dollars now retailing for 220 rather than 200 like the previous model with the main question that I want to answer being are they better or worse and in what ways we're going to talk about all of that as we break down what has been changed with the new future ultimate we'll take a look at how they fit and feel on feet and ultimately conclude where these stand in today's current football boot Market against knitted and textile uppers and if they're worth the upgrade over past future Z models if that's currently what you're rocking so if you're interested in learning more please stick around and if you are interested in a pair for yourself you can pick them up below their normal retail price by way of some exclusive sr4u coupon codes by checking out the first link down below and really quickly if you guys enjoy these brutally honest reviews drop a like on the video and make sure you're subscribed to the channel if you haven't already so you don't miss out on my reviews of all the latest football boots of 2023. now as we see with pretty much all modern football boots Puma is really pushing the new technology angle when it comes to the Future ultimate particularly the one element of this football boot that visually stands out and that is this Band-Aid looking zigzag that's scattered across both the lateral and medial side of the upper this technology being power tape something that we also see on the heel of the ultra ultimate their speed boot line it does nothing on those football boots and I am I mean I guess I'm not pleased to announce it but I can tell you that power tape on the future ultimate also does absolutely nothing the idea of the power tape is going to be similar to something like a bracing tape that you might see a professional athlete use on a knee or a hamstring or something like that but in a football boot application being that it is just a really thin layer of plastic fused to the surface of several layers of plastic and mesh and a thick microfiber liner that's actually providing all of the structure you cannot feel any bit of this zigzag on either side of the foot I don't think it's adding any true structure and honestly it's nothing more than a visual element in my eyes on the bright side however it's not hurting or affecting the feel of this football boot in any negative way whatsoever but it does go down as being currently I would argue the most useless football boot technology on the market with that said everything around the power tape is downright excellent and honestly it caught me a little off guard because I looked at these football boots and really expected them to feel very similar to the Z 1.4 that they replaced but that's not actually the case you're now going to find what they're calling a fusion fit 360 dual mesh upper where you look closely and it's no longer a knitted material in the forefoot instead it's this really thin textile based synthetic with a super soft liner with a little bit of additional padding through the forefoot internally that pretty much runs the entirety of the upper the only part that isn't going to be made from this material is across the top of the foot where you will find that elasticated knit material that we've come to expect on the Puma future series they have ditched the lay racing system going for something that's a lot more standard as far as one piece upper constructions go where it's now a dual lace hole setup rather than having kind of those knitted in lace Loops that a lot of people just didn't like which does mean that this does lose out on its very unique type of fit that I think was present with all the future Z models where it kind of had this ability to stretch in the mid foot so it didn't necessarily have that squeezing your foot sensation however the shaping's been changed up arguably because of the new sole plate tooling and you end up with a pair of football boots that feels more structured consistently across the entire foot feels more stable across the entire foot more speed boot-like in terms of its stability and responsiveness and the touch on the ball because it's pretty much the same material all the way through rather than two different types of knits scattered through the midfoot and forefoot it just feels more consistent from a feel perspective which is something that I personally really prefer the boot still maintain great comfort if Comfort is a priority for you the Puma future lie time should definitely be on your list of considerations but as far as kind of upper Fields go this material actually reminds me a lot of the vapor posit found on the previous generation Nike Mercurial whether it's the vapor 14 or the superfly 8 Elite but with just a little bit more padding through the forefoot there's also a mention of this targeted 3D texturing that you'll find on certain points of the upper mainly in the forefoot and toe box area and while it is noticeable to the touch when you run your fingers along the upper in terms of additional grip and feel on the ball you really don't notice it whatsoever it's just a little bit of extra texturing that ultimately ends up feeling pretty insignificant something that also remains true with the way that these lace up compared to Future Z models that it replaces is that Puma is saying that you can remove the laces entirely and wear them as laceless football boots where basically all you'd have as a laceless system is this elasticated knit material across the top of the foot which does provide some tension but in general and just like like I said with past future Z's I don't think this is a football boot that was realistically designed to be worn laceless it's just something that they say you can do but you probably shouldn't if you have a pair totally free to try but I firmly believe that the fit lockdown and general performance characteristics of the football boots are significantly better with the laces not even necessarily tied super tight but tied snug to help hold your foot in place moving to the rear not much has changed you're going to find that this is actually now the mid-cut version of the future ultimate where there is also a low-cut model which appears to be identical they just lower the height of this collar which again is just kind of flimsy elasticated knit it's not changing anything whatsoever the choice I think should be more of a preference when it comes to look if you have an internal plastic heel counter the exact same microfiber liner super soft a decent amount of padding back there I think the Comfort through the heel is excellent on the future ultimate and then the insole fully removable it also hasn't changed it features their excellent Nano grip liner which kind of has this soft silicone grippiness to it that does a nice job of stopping your foot from sliding that little bit inside of the football boot and you'll also find that the insole is made from two different types of foam you have a black base layer that's relatively thin and then yellow perforated inserts that pretty much run through the entire insole giving you that Z shape that kind of matches the sole plate overall decent insoles the liner though is definitely the Highlight which brings us to the base of the future ultimate which is a completely new sole plate tooling something that I think the future Z did need not that it was bad but I think there was definite room for improvement and honestly all the changes that they've made I would say are pretty close to perfect it's what I would have wanted in a next generation of that sole plate that they had previously the plastic they've used feels a little bit thinner but at the same time ends up feeling more solid underfoot I think it has a much more kind of natural Flex Point through the forefoot and does have a little bit more of a springy sensation again making these more speed boot-like than perhaps the future Z used to be and then the stud pattern is just significantly more aggressive they ditch the idea of kind of the half conical studs with the bladed Edge and just went for straight blades all the way through you have four studs in the heel it's the same layout in the forefoot but you'll notice that these four main studs are now blades angled in such a way where pushing off in a straight line provides tons and tons of bite this is super aggressive I would argue it's the best stud pattern currently on offer from the Puma brand even more aggressive than what you're going to find from the ultimates and honestly very reminiscent of the 2014 F50 Adi Zero where anytime your football boot is similar to those that being one of the greatest speed boots ever in my opinion it can only be a good thing which brings us to the weight where I wouldn't say there's really a noticeable difference even though they've changed almost everything but nonetheless in a size 9.5 us I figured we'd compare the new one to the old one starting with the outgoing features the 1.4 they weigh in at 8.05 ounces the equivalent of 228 grams which is kind of on the higher end of modern day top-end football boots but certainly not heavy and we'll throw on the future ultimate they weigh in at 8.1 ounces the equivalent of 230 grams which is a weight difference of 2 grams in total in favor of the outgoing future Z 1.4 so technically the new one is 2 grams heavier does that really mean all that much no do we typically want to see weight go down rather than up when it comes to a new model yeah I suppose so but in general I don't think weight was ever a selling point and if anything I feel like the future line in general has always felt lighter than it actually is so here they are on feet where again despite looking very similar to the Z 1.4 they replace they do end up feeling quite a bit different and I would say the difference is more so that they feel like other football boots so they have lost a little bit of those unique fit characteristics that you had happening in the midfoot with the Z 1.4 in particular but again that's not necessarily a bad thing I think this is one of those football boots that more people will prefer the fit and feel of and in general I think the new shape is just going to work well for a lot of foot types they've actually increased the width through the toe box slightly they've made it a little bit wider and a little bit rounder which I much prefer over what they had before where it almost felt like the forefoot and the midfoot were almost disconnected from each other they just had such a different shaping to them which again not necessarily a bad thing I thought the Z 1.4 was an excellent football boot in terms of overall Comfort but these like I said just feel more consistent across the entire foot the lockdown is excellent they feel really secure without squeezing your feet uncomfortably and I guess like I said with the Z 1.4 even though they do it in a very different way these are some of the more comfortable football boots currently on the market especially actually if you're looking for something that has that thinner sock-like sensation to it the padding through the forefoot and toe box area feels really nice against the foot and the lock down with the laces tie tight is better than what it was before they just feel really secure on your feet from a width perspective they have plenty of width to them to the point where I think these are going to work well for just about any foot type even if you do have slightly wider feet and as far as sizing is concerned even though the shape has changed the sizing has not these still run about a quarter size lung so I have a little bit of extra space that I normally wouldn't have even wearing these in my usual size 9.5 us but the difference isn't enough to justify going down in size so if you're currently wearing your football boots true to size and you find that there's a little bit too much space half a size down might not be a bad idea in these but for most people true to size is definitely the way to go for the future ultimate so in conclusion I really like the future ultimate I think ultimately it boils down to this being a more simple tape take on a pair of textile based football boots than what we've seen Puma do in the past with the future it's the least complex of the bunch but the end result is something that feels great is super comfortable and ultimately performs the part it Trends more towards the speed boot category in terms of feel despite maybe not being as light as some of the other speed boot options out there but still even at 220 dollars with that price increase it's significantly more affordable than what you're going to find from some of the more popular Alternatives from Nike and Adidas compared to the Z 1.4 that it replaces it's thinner Tighter and arguably a little bit more refined certainly with more aggressive traction as well and if those things sound like something that you want then I would definitely consider it to be an upgrade however if you like the slightly more padded feel and just unique fit through the midfoot that the Z 1.4 or 1.3 for that matter provided you don't necessarily get that anymore with the latest all in all the future ultimate is an excellent pair of football boots easily the best currently on offer from puma in my opinion and if you're talking about other football boots with textile or knit based uppers it is pretty easily top three you can't go wrong with these and again it's not necessarily an upgrade over what they were doing before but I do like the direction that they've done [Music] foreign [Music]