Review: PUMA ONE 17.1 Soccer Boot

PUMA’s last new soccer boot launch of 2017 is the ONE 17.1. The versatile shoe sees the global sportswear firm move to a single boot silo that is catered to need the needs of players in every position on the soccer pitch. The firm’s popular evoPOWER Vigor 1 control boot is expected to see a final colorway before its retirement while the lightweight evoSPEED is out to pasture. We’ve been trialing the PUMA ONE 17.1 for the last month. Here is our World Exclusive review of the boot!

Where to Buy It

The entire PUMA ONE boot range is now on sale at World Soccer Shop, Lovell Soccer, Pro:Direct Soccer and Kitbag. The collection includes the professional grade 17.1 along with second (17.2), third tier (17.3) and artificial turf (17.4 TT) versions of the shoe.

Who’s Wearing the PUMA evoPOWER Vigor 1?

Barring the odd holdout still donning the evoPOWER or evoSPEED, just about every PUMA-sponsored professional footballer is currently wearing the ONE 17.1. This includes the likes of Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid and France), Oliver Giroud (Arsenal FC and France), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC and USA), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus and Italy), Sergio Agüero (Manchester City and Argentina), Hector Bellerín (Arsenal FC and Spain) and Petr Čech (Arsenal FC).

Design

The tenets that PUMA used in designing the ONE 17.1 were FIT, FAST and FEEL. According to a release from the firm FIT comes from the engineered evoKNIT sock, FAST is provided by their ultra-lightweight Pebax outsole, whilst FEEL is enhanced by the super soft leather that adorns the upper.

While the ONE 17.1 carries elements of the evoPOWER and evoSPEED via its technical features, its look is more reminiscent of the one iteration evoTOUCH that enjoyed a run from last Autumn to this past Spring. Like the evoTOUCH the ONE 17.1 is collared with a form-fitting evoKNIT soccer. It also has a soft premium leather upper that we suspect to be calf grain based on its feel.

The focus on feel sees the PUMA ONE 17.1 having just two thin rows of stitching on its forefoot. The entire back third of the upper has a cage pattern beneath it that may incorporate some of the fit benefits of PUMA’s new NetFit technology.

The PUMA ONE 17.1’s stud configuration is a brand new mix of bladed and conical studs that includes a unique two blade v-shape on its mid forefoot area. The feature reminds us of the circular blade pattern of the 2011 Umbro Geometra Pro used to support turning moves.

The launch colorway of the PUMA ONE 17.1 is a stunning white / black / fiery coral arrangement that focuses of all of the key elements of the shoe (its leather upper, sock and soleplate). It also stresses the combination of classic soccer boot leather with the latest in footie footwear innovation.

Fit

The fit on the PUMA ONE 17.1 lives up the its billing and is out of this world. We can unequivocally say that this boot does indeed have the absolute best fit that we’ve ever experienced in a soccer shoe.

There is no need to adjust or loosen up the factory lacing of the PUMA ONE. Just grab the small leather pull tab at the back of the boot’s upper and easily slide your feet into it like a knife going through warm butter. This is the same from the first wear of the PUMA ONE 17.1 to our latest.

The lacing system on the PUMA ONE has a good factory preset and required no adjustment from any of our testers. It can be altered if need for a bit of customization if the wearer likes however.

The PUMA evoKNIT sock of the ONE runs along the inside rear two thirds of the boot. It provides a stellar, distractionless, comfortable lock of the foot into the boot and eliminates the slippage that can occur with most soccer boots until you properly break them in. There are no hotspots to talk about nor are there any areas of concern coming from discomfort or blisters.

The front of the PUMA ONE’s inside upper is its lightweight, natural leather. As expected, it is a little looser fitting that the evoKNIT section of the upper. It has the natural fit that you’d expect from high grade leather. This become better with within a couple of wears as the leather molds to the shape of your feet. The wide lacing of the PUMA ONE 17.1 improves the fit of the front section since it allows you get a nice tight lock of your feet with the upper.

Ride

The PUMA ONE 17.1 has a relatively light weight of 7.8 oz. This is on par with PUMA’s excellent evoPOWER Vigor 1. This is combined with the boot’s flexible Pebax outsole and new stud configuration to produce a ride that is conducive to speed. Of note is that the studs are thinner than those of most boots currently on the market. We think this is a contributing factor to the agility of the boot that we’ll talk further about.

While the weight of the PUMA ONE 17.1 is not in the sub-7.0 oz. speed boot zone its feel while running reminds so of that of cleats designed for the fleet footed. In other words, the PUMA ON feels lighter when worn than it actually is. We attribute this fact to the aforementioned world class fit. The boot does come with two insoles – a standard one and an SL one. The latter is lighter and can reduce the weight of the boot even further.

Moving, cutting and sprinting in the PUMA ONE 17.1 is near effortless for a fit player. They’re the type of boots that you can run in for an entire match without ever thinking about them at all. They’re almost like running spike for the soccer pitch.

The PUMA ONE 17.1 provides great push off for acceleration and explosive moves. Pivoting and turns are improved by the pair of studs at the center of the forefoot. The longer studs at the back of the boot’s soleplate work well with the ONE’s meshed heel counter and rear upper for very good stability on both natural and artificial grass surfaces.

We did experience some stiffness at the bottom of the feet during our first wear of the PUMA ONE 17.1. The soleplate is not a flexible as that of the evoPOWER or evoSPEED (which can be bent back almost 90 degrees at the front). Therefore, a bit of break-in is required before wearing the ONE in a match situation. Our testers found 30 minutes of running and ball work (passing, trapping and shooting with a partner or rebounder to do the trick).

Touch

Leather is back with the PUMA ONE 17.1! While synthetic uppers have been the mainstay for soccer boots over the past few years PUMA brought the original soccer shoe material back in late 2016 with the one edition evoTOUCH (their first collared boot). They’ve continued the leather comeback in a massive way (to the surprise of many boot watchers) with the ONE.

The fit and ride of the PUMA ONE that we’ve mentioned already provide great supporting features for the boot’s ultrasoft, premium leather upper (we think that it is calf grain based on its light weight). The result is a stellar touch that results in excellent contact with the ball for just about every situation on the pitch.

The best touch characteristics of the PUMA ONE 17.1 that we found are for trapping and passing the ball with the instep of the foot. The lightly padded upper in this area works well with the rest of the ONE to allow for a fantastic momentum-dampening on the ball. At the same time you remain very responsive and can quickly make your next move with it.

Passing with the instep in the PUMA ONE 17.1 is a creative player’s dream. The level of accuracy that you can get with them is unheralded. A reasonably skilled player can readily “thread the needle” in these shoes with the perfect amount of weight. Doing so with the ONE requires very little practice. It is the type of boot that you can make killer passes with after an hour of ball work with a partner of rebounder.

The front of the PUMA ONE is a bit more padded than the rest of the boot. It is also relatively wide compared with the evoTOUCH, evoPOWER and evoSPEED silos. We found that this made for a nice surface for dribbling and making one touch, low passes with the front of the foot. One of our testers lauded them for the latter after passing to a fellow forward from just outside the foot an assist.

The one area that requires a bit of repetition to master in the PUMA ONE 17.1 is making long distance passes and shots with the front of the foot. The groundbreaking design of the shoe takes some getting used to for achieving accuracy with these moves. It’s a matter of banging out repetitions with the ONE in order to get the touch perfect however.

Protection

The PUMA ONE 17.1’s leather upper is padded enough to provide a good level of protection for the foot. This is on par with a good synthetic upper such as that of the evoPOWER Vigor. There is quite a bit of exposure under the laces though. This is where the only material between an opposing player’s studs and your foot is the evoKNIT sock. Needless to say, being stepped on in this area can be quite painful. The best measure to take for added protection is wearing protective socks.

Durability

PUMA’s boots are known for their quality craftsmanship and longevity. The ONE 17.1 continues this tradition and has held up as well as we expected over the past month of match play. We’ve even noticed that the leather upper remarkably shows less creasing than some of the synthetics that we’ve recently work.

Final Thoughts

Boot of the Year thus far in our opinion, the PUMA ONE 17.1 is essentially a combination of the evoTOUCH ONE and evoPOWER Vigor. The ONE takes the best elements of both boots to produce a remarkable soccer shoe that can be worn on by players in any position on the field (as is evident from the many professionals wearing it). If you’ve got a question about which boot to get for the Fall season then we highly suggest checking these out!

Ratings

Design  – 10/10

Fit  – 10/10

Ride – 9.5/10

Touch – 10/10

Protection – 8.5/10

Overall Rating – 9.6/10