Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate review: Lightweight, snappy and responsive - these are everything you want from a speed boot

The Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate replaces the Puma Ultra Ultimate in the much loved series, looking to maintain its' reputation as one of the smartest designs on the market.

Speed is important to Puma. From the F1 circuit to the Olympic racetrack, the big cat can be seen both behind the scenes and near the forefront. This also translates onto the football pitch with the brand regularly trying to push the boundaries of many of the best football boots for speed available, helping create some of the most innovative models ever seen.

With the release of the Ultra 5 Carbon, Puma is again aiming to move the needle at the cutting edge of boot technology. Hot on the heels of the Puma Ultra 5 Carbon comes the Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate – a slightly cheaper, less extreme alternative.

I was able to take a FG pair of the Ultra 5 Ultimate to the pitch, to see how they stack up against market competition.

Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate FG review

The Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate is a vast improvement on outgoing model. The Ultra silo has gained good momentum since it was introduced in 2020 and had tended to compare favourably with the equivalent offering from Nike and adidas. The Ultra Ultimate, however, lagged a little behind the Adidas X Crazyfast+ and Nike Mercurial Superfly 10. This has been addressed in spectacular style with the Ultra 5 Ultimate.

The new model is a considerable revamp with a completely new upper, soleplate and stud pattern, following years of tireless research. It is the upper that impressed me the most with a lightweight mesh covered in Puma’s GripControl Pro skin. It is very soft out of the box, taking no break in time at all before feeling comfortable and flexible.

The benefits of the GripControl Pro skin are subtle but noticeable with the slight stickiness that can be felt to the touch also adding some grip on the ball when dribbling. The upper is also thin enough to bring you feeling closer to the ball, providing the barefoot feel that is a hallmark of the very best lightweight football boots.

As you would expect, the boots are on the narrower side, and I appreciated the more sculpted shape of them as someone with slimmer feet. There was still a little extra room so these should be accommodating for those with feet slightly wider - but there are better options for those seeking the best football boots for wide feet.

The area of the boot that most separates it from the Carbon version that comes £50 more expensive is in the outsole, with the Ultra 5 Ultimate featuring a plastic based soleplate in place of the full carbon plate on the more expensive model.

Having tried both, I do prefer the non-carbon plate on the Ultra 5 Ultimate. The Speedsystem outsole of the Ultra 5 Ultimate is snappy and responsive, providing the level of energy return needed for a solid speed boot, but with a more comfort than its carbon counterpart.

I found the soleplate on the Puma Ultra 5 Carbon just a little too stiff for my liking and so the more balanced approach taken by the Ultra 5 Ultimate was much more to my taste. This could be the case for most players in the market for the best football boots.

My pair of these was half a size smaller than my usual and I found this fit to be a lot better than when I tried my normal size. The sizing may be a little awkward for some as the boots fit long enough for there to be at least a quarter size of extra space for most but a half size down for some may be too tight – potentially leaving the choice between boots that are too long or too tight.

Thankfully for me, half a size down felt just about right. That said, even with the perfect length that came with going a half size down, I did feel a little more space around my heel than I would have preferred. This is not a major complaint, but I would have preferred to feel the boot hug around this area of my foot a bit more.

I wore the Puma Ultra 5 Ultimate FG on natural grass and it is important that this pair is kept exclusively for grass - with use on artificial surfaces to be strictly avoided. The outsole on Ultra 5 Ultimate is less snappy than the Ultra 5 Carbon on account of the different material used for the plate. But the two share the same highly aggressive stud pattern with Puma’s FastTrax stud shape.

The studs provide excellent bite on grass even when taking off at speed, cutting and breaking but it is this level of traction that makes the Ultra 5 Ultimate FG unsuitable for AG and using the FG plate on AG comes with significant injury risk.

In previous years, the Puma Ultra has been advertised as FG/AG meaning they could be worn on both surfaces, and this is something that many were critical of, but Puma has thankfully taken the step of adding a standalone AG boot alongside the FG and MG models – likely because of just how aggressive the outsole on the latest model is.

As one of the highest tech football boots ever seen, it is not surprising that the Puma Ultra 5 Carbon has dominated the headlines.

Its slightly less extreme counterpart may have received less attention, but is not to be underestimated. The soft, grippy upper that it shares with the Ultra 5 Carbon, in addition to the more balanced snappiness to its outsole, make this boot a great option for any speedsters looking for a new pair.

The fact that this pair is also quite significantly cheaper adds to my feeling that, despite how truly impressive the carbon version is, this will prove the better option of the two for the vast majority of players.