The evoTOUCH and it's upper could change the game

The celebrations at the Stade de France have barely died down yet, before PUMA drop a serious innovation bomb. Under the name evoTOUCH, PUMA are now ready to make their mark on the developing world of football boots with sock. And this is an entirely new silo that will run side by side with the evoSPEED and evoPOWER. Join me here, as I explain the technology and concept behind their newest construction.

Ultra thin K-leather upper

The very first impression you get of the new evoTOUCH is the extremely soft kangaroo leather upper. It is a single layer of the finest leather available and if this isn’t the boot to give leather uppers a revival, then I don’t know what is. Normally you associate leather with very heavy weight and slightly clunky football boots, but that’s where the evoTOUCH stands out as something completely unique. The leather has been worked very thin during production, so the boot remains light and the touch sharp. A trend in football boots that I could definitely see taking over, because the combination of soft, comfortable leather and a close ball feel is very impressive.

EVOKNIT

The big eye-catching innovation is however always going to be the new sock, which PUMA have developed. It has naturally been dubbed the evoKNIT and is designed from a very soft and flexible material. Both when you sit with the boot in your hands and especially when you pull them on, you can feel how softly and comfortably it envelops the foot. In fact, the PUMA designers have even said that if you feel like it, you can even play in the boots without wearing any socks to enhance your feeling of ball contact - hence the name evoTOUCH. Whether or not you can be bothered to cut up your football socks and play in them sockless I’ll leave up to you, but I’m here to tell you that if you wanted to do it, you actually confidently could!

GRIPTEX

On the inlay sole PUMA have added their GripTex technology to ensure a safe and slip-proof fit. The concept might ring a bell, because it has previously been used on the upper to give a better grip on the ball, but now PUMA bring it inside instead. In the last couple of years Trusox and the Nike GripSock have tried to reduce slipping in the boots, but maybe PUMA have outdone them both here? Time will tell, how it stacks up.

SPEEDTRACK

The Speedtrack torsion bar is one we are also already familiar with from evoSPEED. The bar is placed lengthwise under the foot, and ensures stability when you step down and make quick changes of direction. Combined with the conical studs, the new evoTOUCH gives the perfect foundation for control in all directions.

It’s no overexaggerated sales pitch that makes my runthrough of the PUMA evoTOUCH sound so overwhelmingly positive. I wholeheartedly feel this could spark a new trend within leather football boots and by extention football boots in general. Especially the leather upper and evoKNIT sock make the new boots so impressive.