While other sports apparel brands may hog the limelight when it comes to the culture, it’s impossible to deny the legacy Puma has. The shoe manufacturers have been in business as a single company since 1948 and are the original rivals of Adidas since, before 48, they were originally a single company. This brand has clothed men and women alike and is especially popular in Europe. Aside from shoes, they also sell sports apparel like joggers, running jackets, jumpers and hoodies.
There is currently a small selection of Puma platform sneakers to choose from on their site, all of which are women’s shoes. Most of them have the same platform sole design, which appears to be the worst sole design of any well-known brand.
They have made good platform shoes in the past and have also collaborated with other brands in making effective platforms. However, they may be hard to find. All of the platform trainers Puma offers are women’s trainers. Sorry, Short Kings, better luck next time.
Let’s talk about them today!
We’ll start with the…
The Mayze | Puma’s Standard Platform Trainers
One of the most popular silhouettes Puma has, in regard to platform sneakers, is the Puma Mayze platform sneaker. Puma has made these shoes so they can be for just about anyone, with several designs and even more colourways such as white, black and more. They have one of the classic Puma uppers with that signature bold strip that sweeps from the side of the trainer to the heel.
The quality of the uppers is questionable for these shoes. While they have implemented some real leather into parts of the shoe, the toecap is made of a much lower quality faux leather. This is not ideal, considering that most of the shoe’s wear and tear will be in that area.
As for the platforms? Let’s get into it. The platforms lack the two things that make for an effective platform shoe.
- Support
- A platform
The soles are designed almost deceptively so. The outsole is a moulded rubber that cups the upper of the shoe, but has no support columns filling the space like the Adidas platform sneakers do. Instead, they’ve cut out a foot-shaped slab of foam and have managed to wedge it between the outsole and the insole. This foam is meant to do the two things we mentioned in the short list above, but there’s one glaring problem: foam offers terrible support by itself, and it flattens when placed under weight.
Why is this deceptive? Because someone will try on a pair of these and think they’ve selected their perfect platform shoe. They’ll pay good money and walk out of the store at their newfound elevated height. Then, after a few days, the foam will flatten from constant wear, and the unsuspecting buyer will go back to their normal height. It’s a shame, too; there’s no denying how cool they look.
Sadly, many silhouettes, like the Smash Platform v3 Pop Ups, apply the same sole design, meaning they’re no good either.
Puma Trace Block Platform Shoes
Valid question: what about the Puma sneakers with gum soles? Silhouettes like the Puma Trace often have gum souls, which, in many cases, are solid all the way through. This is a much better choice of platform sneaker for those who still want to go with Puma.
The upper is made from suede, making it much better quality than the Mayze Platform Sneaker and, yes, the gum sole is solid, which means it offers the support and permanent height that a platform shoe needs.
These, unfortunately, are no longer on the Puma site and are relatively hard to find. Many retail websites like Zappos have sold them in the past, but no longer. Be sure not to fall for any untrustworthy websites like Kickscrew, either. They claim to have hard-to-find sneakers for sale but instead sell overpriced counterfeits. They are not the answer. If checking out an online shop, always look for reviews, especially from Trustpilot.
The Puma X Buffalo Platform Sneakers
Buffalo London is a German brand famous for their platform shoes, which were made famous in the 90s when Madonna and girl bands like the Spice Girls rocked them on stage. All of their shoes have the same platform sole design, so you could argue that they’re a platform sole brand, not a shoe brand. These shoes also offer the highest height boost out of all Puma shoes.
The collab is very straightforward: Puma on the top, Buffalo on the bottom. The Puma uppers are made from very soft suede, which transcends the quality of most Puma sneakers. The sole is the standard Cloud Foam platform that made Buffalo London so famous. Aside from being extremely durable, they offer a tonne of support. There’s no chance these will flatten.
These are also a challenge to get a hold of, being a limited sneaker. These chunky trainers do make an appearance on StockX every so often, but sizes may be limited. While Puma does have some viable options, if you look hard enough, brands like Adidas and Converse offer platform sneakers that are easy to find and do the job better. Read our next post to see some!
