PUMA Ultra 7 First Look and Review: Back in the Race

Some speed boots look quick. The PUMA Ultra NITRO™ 7 Ultimate looks armed.

White upper. Red forefoot. Black details. A silver Cat cutting across the front. It has the look of a boot made for the player who has already started running while the defender is still checking over their shoulder.

But PUMA needed more than another sharp colourway. This is already a stacked summer for speed boots, with Mercurial and F50 both pushing lighter builds, new plates and different ways of making fast feel faster. The last couple of Ultras had started to lose touch with that leading pack.

For the Ultra NITRO™ 7, PUMA has turned on the boosters.

NITROFOAM™ ELITE comes into football for the first time, built into the sockliner and footbed to compress under load and rebound as you push away. Add a softer ULTRAWEAVE upper, a new PEBA plate and updated FastTrack studs, and the Ultra suddenly has more to say than its weight.

After wearing it, this feels like the strongest Ultra in years.

PUMA turns on the NITRO™ boosters

The Ultra has always been PUMA's direct route to speed. Thin upper, sharp plate, close fit and as little boot as possible getting in the way.

The problem with recent generations was that lightness had started doing too much of the work. The Ultra 5 and 6 looked quick and felt thin, but they did not always give you a clear reason to choose them over the other big speed boots.

The Ultra NITRO™ 7 feels more deliberate. Instead of chasing weight alone, PUMA has worked on what happens when the foot hits the ground. The NITROFOAM™ ELITE setup sits beneath the foot, ready to compress through the plant and return that energy as you drive into the next step.

If you want to play with speed, this is the bit that matters. A football boot does not need to make a 40-yard sprint feel dramatic. Most separation comes earlier: the first step after a touch, the press from the blind side, the burst across a defender or the recovery run when possession turns over.

The Ultra NITRO™ 7 feels built for those first few yards.

How NITROFOAM™ ELITE works in a football boot

PUMA has used NITRO™ across running for years, but football asks different questions. You do not want a thick, soft slab of foam between your foot and the pitch. You need ground feel, stability and enough firmness to plant without the boot becoming vague.

That is why the NITROFOAM™ ELITE here feels restrained. It is built into the sockliner and footbed rather than stacked high beneath the sole. You feel a firm response under the forefoot, not a deep cushioned sink.

Load the boot and the foam compresses. Push away and it rebounds quickly. The PEBA plate adds stiffness through the forefoot, so the energy does not disappear into a soft platform. It is guided into the next movement.

The sensation is subtle at first. It becomes clearer when you repeat short accelerations, press aggressively or take a heavy first touch into space. The boot feels ready to finish the push with you.

Close fit, without crushing your toes

The Ultra NITRO™ 7 still fits like a proper speed boot. The midfoot is sleek, the shape sits close and there is very little loose material moving around.

The forefoot is more accommodating than the silhouette suggests, though. Standard feet should feel comfortable, while some slightly wider feet may also find enough room. Players with a high instep or a lot of volume through the front of the foot should still try before buying.

The biggest improvement is how quickly the boot settles. Recent Ultras could feel stiff across the toes and slow to follow the foot. This version starts flexing earlier and feels more natural from the first wear.

Stay true to size unless you already know you need extra space in low-profile speed boots. Going up half a size to solve width can create unwanted length and weaken the lockdown.

ULTRAWEAVE has softened up

ULTRAWEAVE is still thin and light, but it no longer feels like PUMA has removed material for the sake of the scale.

The upper bends more naturally through the forefoot and follows the shape of the foot without losing all structure. When you plant or cut, it stays supportive rather than folding or leaving the foot moving inside.

Touch is clean and very close. There is little cushioning between foot and ball, so you get clear feedback when receiving, passing or striking. If you like a padded upper that softens every contact, this is not that boot. The Ultra wants the ball to feel immediate.

The surface has a thin, tacky coating that adds grip over the ball. On 3G in the current UK heat, it gave touches and carries a little extra hold. On a very dry ball, it can occasionally feel more involved than expected, but it never turns the upper into a control-boot texture.

The silver Cat logo creates a slightly firmer section over the forefoot. You notice the change more when handling the boot than when playing, although proper boot obsessives will feel the difference as soon as they flex it.

The heel clicks into place

The new heel shape is another important change. It curves around the back of the foot more naturally, while the internal foam adds shape without turning the rear of the boot bulky.

The foot stays down when accelerating and changing direction. There is no obvious empty space and no delayed movement inside the boot when you plant.

That gives the Ultra NITRO™ 7 a better base for everything happening further forward. A springy forefoot is not much use if the heel lifts every time you push away. Here, the rearfoot holds while the plate and foam do their work.

The midfoot stays light

The SPEEDBELT structure and laces give the midfoot enough support, but this is not a heavily compressed fit.

If you like your speed boots pulled tightly through the arch, you may want more squeeze. The Ultra gives you a lighter hold that lets the upper move naturally rather than clamping the foot from every angle.

That will suit players who hate feeling strapped in. It also helps the boot feel less tiring across longer sessions. Tighten the laces carefully and the lockdown is secure, but the character remains light and mobile rather than rigid.

The plate launches, then gets out of the way

The new PEBA plate gives the Ultra NITRO™ 7 its snap, but the stud layout keeps it useful once football stops being a straight-line sprint drill.

FastTrack studs provide aggressive traction through the forefoot, helping the boot bite when you plant and push away. The rearfoot feels cleaner than the previous Ultra setup, particularly when turning or resetting your feet after a challenge.

You can press, stop, cut and accelerate again without feeling trapped in the turf. That is important on firmer natural grass, where an overly aggressive speed plate can feel sharp underfoot or slow to release.

The FG version is built for firm natural grass. On short, dry 3G, the traction can feel aggressive, so the surface-specific version should still be your first choice where available. Choose the plate for the pitch before choosing the colourway, even when this one is doing its best to distract you.

Where you feel the speed

The Ultra NITRO™ 7 makes most sense when your game is built around repeated separation.

For a winger, that could be the first touch down the outside and the push to get shoulder-to-shoulder. For a forward, it is the check away, sharp turn and first two steps across the centre-back. Full-backs will feel it when stepping out to press or opening into a recovery run. Midfielders get the benefit when carrying through pressure and accelerating into the next space.

The boot does not make you fast from nothing. No boot does. What it can do is make the movement feel cleaner: less upper resistance, stronger traction and a quicker release through the forefoot.

If you already play on your toes and look for the first opening, the Ultra NITRO™ 7 fits that rhythm.

A stacked speed-boot summer

The timing makes this launch more interesting. Nike has split Mercurial into two distinct options, with Vapor focused on close ground feel and Superfly adding more cushioning and structure. adidas has stretched F50 from the 130g Hyperfast EVO through to laced and laceless Elite models.

PUMA has not tried to copy either approach. The Ultra NITRO™ 7 sits in the middle of the extremes: softer than the most minimal boots, closer to the ground than the more cushioned ones and built around a responsive forefoot rather than headline weight alone.

That gives it a clear place. Choose it if you want a direct upper and sharp traction, but still want something happening underneath the foot when you push away.

Carbon goes, Laceless arrives

The Ultra 7 range moves on from the Carbon model and introduces a Laceless version.

The Ultra Carbon was the technical showpiece, built to push weight and plate stiffness further. The new Laceless model turns that idea into something cleaner and easier to understand. No laces across the strike zone, a smoother shape and a more uninterrupted feel over the ball.

The trade-off is fit adjustment. If the laceless shape matches your foot, it should feel clean and quick. If you need to pull the midfoot tighter, there is less room to fix it.

For most players, the laced Ultra NITRO™ 7 Ultimate remains the safer starting point. You keep the NITROFOAM™ ELITE setup, ULTRAWEAVE upper and new plate, while gaining more control over lockdown.

£210 puts pressure on the pack

The PUMA Ultra NITRO™ 7 Ultimate costs £210.

The Nike Mercurial Vapor 17 Elite is £245, while the Superfly 11 Elite sits at £275. The adidas F50 Hyperfast Elite Laced is £230, the Laceless is £240 and the EVO reaches £250.

That makes the Ultra at least £20 cheaper than every direct rival and £65 below the Superfly.

This is still an elite football boot at an elite price, but PUMA has left a proper gap. You get NITROFOAM™ ELITE, a PEBA plate, ULTRAWEAVE and an improved heel shape without paying the highest price in the category.

It does not feel like the cheaper boot. It feels like PUMA has priced itself into the conversation rather than waiting for players to arrive there on brand loyalty alone.

Dangerous by design

The wider pack puts Future, Ultra and King into the same off-white, red and black language.

Future carries the creative side. King stays calmer and more traditional. Ultra looks like the one sent out to make the first move.

The red forefoot also suits the tech story. Everything points towards the front of the boot: the colour, the plate, the FastTrack studs and the NITROFOAM™ ELITE beneath the foot. Plant here. Push here. Go.

PUMA is back in the race

The PUMA Ultra NITRO™ 7 Ultimate is the best Ultra in years.

The softer ULTRAWEAVE upper gives it a cleaner first wear, the new heel shape holds the foot properly and the NITROFOAM™ ELITE setup adds a firm, quick response through the forefoot. The PEBA plate and FastTrack studs then turn that response into a sharp push away from the ground.

It is not simply a light boot. It feels built to launch you into the next action.

At £210, it also undercuts an already stacked speed-boot summer without giving up the tech needed to compete. For standard-footed players who want close touch, a softer upper and a boot that comes alive through the plant and push-off, the Ultra NITRO™ 7 Ultimate is firmly back with the leading pack.