Puma unveils Ultra Nitro 7 boot at 180g after two years of athlete consultation

Puma has launched the Ultra Nitro 7, a 180g speed boot the German manufacturer is calling its most complete football shoe to date, developed over a two-to-two-and-a-half-year process that drew feedback from professional players, local communities and parents across three countries.

The boot combines Puma’s Nitro foam — first introduced in its track and field range around five years ago — in the sockliner and footbed, an Ultraweave upper for lightweight precision, and a Speedsystem 2.0 outsole engineered for explosive propulsion.

Romain Girard, Puma’s Vice President of Innovation, said the consultation process stretched well beyond the elite game. “We spend a tremendous amount of time speaking to athletes,” Girard told FourFourTwo. “But not only with the top athletes, but also with a lot of local communities in Germany, France and the USA. We want to understand what are they looking for, what do they need, what are they missing, what do they like, what do they dislike — and not just on Puma products but in general.”

Puma’s current football roster includes AC Milan and United States winger Christian Pulisic and Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, but Girard was clear that grassroots voices carry equal weight in shaping the final product. “The kids and the parents are the ones who are buying the boots and they are the ones who give you the reality check,” he said.

The durability testing reflected that broad user base. Girard explained that Puma’s engineers stress-tested the Nitro foam under conditions that mirror everyday use — boots left on radiators, baked in hot cars and plunged into cold baths — to ensure performance holds for recreational players and children as much as for elite athletes.

“We are becoming like chemists,” Girard said of the Nitro development process. “It’s a lot of chemistry — understanding which raw material you use, the temperature you use, the types of additives, the timing. We wanted to make sure that Nitro is really fitting the way people are using football boots, whether it be children or people who just play football for fun, but also top athletes.”

Puma has been producing football boots for more than 80 years, with landmarks including the Super Atom — the first boot with screw-in studs — and the Puma King, famously worn by Pelé. The Ultra Nitro 7 represents the brand’s latest attempt to set the pace in a market where boot weight and energy return have become the primary battlegrounds.