#SB Meets#Pascal Van Essen——PUMA evoPOWER 1

"A completely new boot utilising a complete new concept, a concept which is unique in the industry and is going to change how people conceive power boots in general." These are the words of Pascal Van Essen, PUMA's global head of team sport, talking to us about the new PUMA evoPOWER football boots, launched yesterday.
 

For the evoPOWER, PUMA researched extensively into the best way of kicking and as a result the whole idea behind the new boot is barefoot kicking. "With normal construction on normal football products you can not get the swing you need to get the maximum power out of your boot. We've had to completely re-engineer everything the boot is."

One of the new technologies to feature on the evoPOWER is AccuFoam which Pascal tells us "This is a special foam, it's very lightweight and it adapts to the foot. The foot, like the hand has very uneven surfaces and what the foam does is it balances out the uneven surfaces which could change the trajectory of the ball.





Pascal goes on to demonstrate the flexibility of the Gradual Stability Frame and explains how the outsole bends like a human spine. PUMA research every aspect that can contribute to power from the traction on the standing foot right up to the point of contact and Pascal feels PUMA have developed something revolutionary in power football and it's hard to disagree, it's certainly impressive stuff.

Speaking of the input PUMA get from their professionals, Pascal praises the feedback of Barcelona star Cesc Fabregas who was clearly impressed by the new boots "Cesc was brilliant, first time he tried them on he loved the shoe, the concept and the materials, he didn't want to give them back. If a players asks why do I have to give them back, that's always a sign you're doing something right." 



What do you think of the new PUMA evoPOWER? Let us know. View the full evoPOWER gallery here. Join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.