Puma Ignite Review

Puma released their new running shoes, the Puma Ignite. With this shoe, Puma promised a blend of cushioning, flexibility and responsiveness. Puma claims it as the ‘most responsive’ shoe ever. Is it?

Only problem is that, nowadays the word responsive is used almost everywhere in the running shoe market. It is used to describe a shoe which is soft, firm, and reactive or nothing at all. The ride quality is responsive but no way it’s the ‘most responsive’ shoe ever.

Specifications:

Heel height: 31.5mm

Toe height: 19.7mm

Heel-to-toe drop: 11.8mm

Puma Ignite follows the same old procedure of pouring liquid Polyurethane into a mold to shape the midsole. The midsole has a simple structure, a smoother texture and is very light compared to other shoes having the same Polyurethane sole. The transitions feel very smooth, thanks to the midsole material and design. The firmness of the midsole improves the gait cycle. A ‘transition line’ is seen on the outsole (very similar to the ‘guidance line’ of Asics). It is grooved in a convex manner which helps to smoothen the load from heel to toe.

‘Traction line’ on the outsole

The outsole offers excellent durability as the whole outsole is covered in rubber (unlike the traditional concept of using blown rubber in the forefoot area and hard rubber for the heel area). Puma brands this as ‘Evertack’.

The heel of the Ignite doesn’t curve up, foot strike positions for most the rear foot strikers will be near the edge. There’s a small area of low density foam in the heel area, this is the only soft area in the entire midsole. Puma calls it as ‘Forever foam’. It provides extra durability. Heel also contains a molded counter to aid movement. Ignite is flexible, it easily bends in the forefoot area and the rest of the midsole is completely rigid. This makes the Ignite very stable. The back strip on the heel area is reflective for low light use.

Regarding the upper, the fit is spacious in the front. It feels very stiff though. The Ignite is almost half a size larger. The lacing starts very late. It leaves a large part of the forefoot free form top-down pressure, gives a spacious feel. There are no internal seams as all synthetic leather overlays are of no-sew variety. Tongue is made of a soft synthetic suede. A generous foam padding is also seen along ¾ of the length of the shoe. Tongue slide is very prominent.

Puma Ignite Upper

It takes a little bit of time to get used to the Puma Ignite and it certainly doesn’t have the best out of the box feeling. The foam takes time to adapt to your foot. At the start it feels like the shoe is not moving in unison with the foot. Give it some time and everything should feel good.

Overall the Puma Ignite has minor shortcomings but it all can be forgiven by looking at all the good stuff Puma is offering for a price of 8,999 INR. It is available for sale at Puma retail outlets and few major online retailers.

Bottom-line: Puma Ignite is not as responsive as it’s advertised but it surely ‘springs like a cat’.

Images and specifications via SoleReview

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