Puma Mobium Elite in KL

Guess what? The Puma Mobium Elite is now available in Malaysia! I stumbled across it after collecting the race kit for the Brooks Half Marathon 10K run on Saturday. I know, I know, today is Tuesday and my news travel slow.

I'll tell you what though. I've tried it in store so I'll give you a quick update on what I think about it. I am not able to give a thorough input on this shoe as I only have it on for a while and was concentrating on an important question going through my head; to buy or not to buy.

Built and Look:
The Puma Mobium Elite looks phenomenal (personal opinion of course). I mean come on, how many shoes have that killer arch and black outsole pods that looks to be anatomically replicating our foot sole? Coupled with the bright color, I was sold to a 70% level already.

I'm unable to comment on the upper much as I didn't get to try it on long enough to check on breathability and heat. If I remember correctly, some part of it are cushioned whereas, other area are kind of thin. The Tongue is a thin piece of synthetic that's mainly there to prevent any chafing from the shoe laces. Feels good though.

Fit:
Fit wise, the shoe is kind of difficult to get into unless you've loosen the shoe lace by quite a bit. This is good, because it mean that your feet is gonna be secured pretty well. Once in, I was pretty surprised at the width of the forefoot area. In the picture above, the shoe looks kind of tight in that area and that was one of my reservation on whether to buy the shoe before putting it on. The mid foot area is solidly locked in place by the lace.

The Ankle area however is a different story. It felt very loose and insecure. I keep having the feeling that the shoe may fly off even though the mid is pretty secured. It could be due to the lack of a heel counter or too much padding in the upper, I wasn't too sure. I wanted to go 1 size down to reconfirm but unfortunately, they do not have that size. :(

Flexibility:
The shoe in itself is pretty flexible lengthwise. This is especially true where the shoe arch upward but reduce by quite a bit as it moves forward toward the forefoot area. It is still flexible enough for you to bend it easily with 1 hand. Sideway, this shoe ain't gonna win any twister competition like the GoBionic. It is however, flexible enough to allow your feet to twist in any direction upon landing to a degree greater than that of a traditional stability shoe.

Feel:
Without a run to confirm anything, this is going to be pretty vague. Initial observation is that the shoe is very cushioned. This may be due to the insole which, by the way, is removable. I'm not sure what the material is, but it's kind of "foamy". The last of the shoe seems to fit my feet pretty well, what with the ample forefoot space, and a secure mid area. The shoe seems to be built fit around your fit snugly, although the cast must have ham for ankle.

A few jumping test confirms that the feel of the foot upon landing is so-so, cushioned, firm, and not as flexible as the Skechers. Meaning, if you land on a gravel, you may not feel it as much, and the shoe may pretty well cause your feet to roll. I don't like the insole as it feels foamy/airy and not firm. The stack height is also quite high. What this mean is that I don't get feel the road as much as I'd like.

Now to the claim of the expanding sole. From what I can see of the sole area, the only part that expands is the arch area but not the rest of the pod. This is because the sole and pod area does not appear to have any mechanism to allow it to expand upon landing. As for the arch area, upon landing the arch will flatten out and contract upward again upon kick off, compliment of the X-Band located there. I can feel this working even while walking, but unfortunately I won't be able to tell you how it feels like while running. It feels kind of weak though. For me, I think I would prefer it to be tighter/stronger so that the arch don't collapse so easily.

Grip wise, this shoe is pretty grippy for something with not much grooves cut into it. This could be due to the outsole material or something which I may not have noticed.

To wrap up below are the pros and cons of the shoe in this
Pros:
1. Roomy toebox.
2. Secure Midfoot area.
3. Some springiness from the X-band (although I would prefer it to be on the tighter side for added firmness).

Cons:
1. Ankle area does not feel secure. I'm very aware of it but heck, I'm only walking and jumping so can't really comment on it unless I run in it and it feels the same..
2. Stack height too high.
3. Foamy insole. I would prefer something firmer like that of the GoRun2.
4. Don't have a smaller size. You know what they say about guys with small feet. They wear smaller shoes. :P
5. A tad heavy but not too extreme. Just heavier than what I'm used to I would say.

Conclusion:
Given the above, would I still go for this shoe? There is a high chance I may go for it if the smaller size fits better on my feet. I just need to confirm on the fitting around the ankle is all.

This shoe seems to be built for speed. Why do I say that? I don't know. It just feel that way what with the snug fit, the heel-drop ratio (which I don't know of), and how it feels like wearing it for a short time.

Truth be told, I've never been blown away by Puma's offering of running shoes. This however have changed my view on this matter. Puma seems to be moving slowly into the minimalist stream while still keeping half a feet in the mainstream shoe. They got some things right in this shoe, there's also lots of area for improvement on it. One thing for sure, I'll keep my eyes open for more Puma shoes next time.

For those interested in the shoe, you can get the Mobium Elite at the Puma store at The Curve Shopping Mall. Sorry but I forgot to check the price. If anyone of you happens to be there, do check it out and let me know.

p.s. They do not have any ladies size or offering of the Mobium Elite at the moment it seems. Wonder what the ladies will make of it. Hopefully the ladies version will come out soon since I know a friend who's interested in this shoe.

Edited: 4th March, 2013
p.p.s. Thanks to Wei Aun for checking out the price. Retail price is at RM 389, which puts it in the price range of Skechers GoRun2 and the GoBionic. I think I'm gonna have to go hunt for someone who has tried the shoes to give a proper review on this shoe.

Edited: 16th May, 2013
Additional information from Offshewent. Thank you so much for providing this information :)

Hi hi from Singapore. I chanced upon your blog when i was googling puma mobium to see who else was using it. I have a pair of the womens version, so far, after using it for 3 weeks, i feel that its built more for people who have neutral to normal arches. Flat footed people like me have to take a longer time to get used to it due its more slim fit design. Also, the shoe encourages the use of mid foot strike so those starting out to use the shoe might want to increase mileage slowly. I liked the fact that it really is quite light and conforms, not so good for trails though as gravel might get stuck in the grooves underneath where the band is. happy running! :)