If you’ve followed us for some time, you’d know by now that Japan has got quite an interesting range of boots. Thanks to a unique arrangement that some of these Japanese manufacturers have with international brands such as Umbro, Hummel and Puma, these brands are able to make football boot models exclusively for Japan.
Interestingly though, Puma was one of the few international brands that had their own line of boots within Japan, that were literally made in Japan. While this line seems to have been phased out, the Made in Japan Puma One J1 HG was an impressive looking modern leather boot.
Today’s sneak preview features another Puma leather boot, which we previously thought was potentially a new Puma King Platinum at first.
However, after closer inspection, our money is on this being the successor to the Puma One J1 HG, albeit with a likely rebrand to the Puma King name instead. The biggest clue to this is the tooling, which looks more reminiscent to a HG stud layout, with a 10×4 layout. The upper also looks significantly more padded than the thin and lightweight Puma King Platinum with what looks like “cushioning pods” to help enhance control.
What I liked is that the new tongue looks to be made out of a fairly premium knit material. As someone who’s consistently rated Puma’s knit collars and tongue as one of the best in the industry, I see this as a good thing for the boot, and likely will add to the overall comfort level.
Having said all that, there is the possibility that this could be the new Puma King Platinum, and we’re looking at the the HG (hard ground) variant here.
Would you be wear this pair of boots if it came in the Puma King Platinum tooling? Let us know in the comment section below.
Photos provided by Tokyo Football.
