Thierry Henry's return to the Premier League has caused quite a storm, and not least because he's wearing the brand new Puma King SL football boots! The prospect of combining craftsmanship with super-light performance is quite an exciting one for the boots community, but it may surprise many to find out it's not the first time Puma have innovated on their King series, so let's take a look at the original Puma King SL...
Not for the first time, we've delved into our Boot Vault to find a classic Puma boot that was ahead of it's time. Previously we've looked at the Puma 1960 Grip Toe Vamp boots, an innovator ahead of both the Predator and T90 Laser, and now we find these early nineties King SL's launched well in advance of the adiPure SL's or the Tiempo Elites.
With the moniker 'King Super-Light', the first thing to do was get these original boots on the scales. The boots we have in our possession are size UK8, and a singular boot tips the scales at 270 grams. Which may not compare in terms of F50 adizero or Morelia Neo, but when you consider the current leather v1.11's weigh 255g and the Tiempo IV Elites 265g, 270 grams is quite competitive for a boot that's twenty years old!
Now Puma have decided to resurrect the King SL, let's take a look at the elements that made the original King SL an impressive boot launch, which might give us an insight into what to expect from the new Puma King SL football boots. A mix of tradition and innovation, the King SL featured a kangaroo leather upper which is still to this day soft to touch. The front toe area is stitched to retain the leather's shape, and replaced is the traditional fold-over tongue with one that sits flush with the foot.
The outsole is constructed from a Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a composite which is non-ageing and has a high resistance to tearing. This material is also known for being lightweight, and it's flexibility at low temperatures. Puma used their DuoFlex sole, with special slots that increased the foot's flexibility, and traction came from traditional conical shaped studs.
In terms of design and aesthetics, like most boots at the time the look was a traditional black and white combination, we don't think the early nineties boot industry had heard of the colours 'High Energy' or 'Orange Peel'! The King SL logo was classic for the 'King' range, with the gold text and logo having appeared on boots worn by the likes of Diego Maradona and Didier Deschamps.
The original King SL was ahead of it's time and ran for a number of years, but whether the game wasn't fast enough or there wasn't the desire for lightweight footwear, the boots were phased out. That is until now, with lightweight leather performance more prominent than ever, thanks to the leather adizero, Morelia Neo and Tiempo Elite's. We're certainly looking forward to the launch of the new Puma King SL, and being the boot geeks we are, we now have the original to compare them with.
Let us know what you think of the classic Puma King SL football boots, share your opinions with the SoccerBible community online, on Twitter and on Facebook And stay tuned to SoccerBible as we will soon be bringing you the full launch of the new Puma King SL, with exclusive up-close photography and all the tech info.
