One of the first major releases of 2010 has arrived in the new Puma PowerCat 1.10. The shoe was designed with the idea of improving the v1.10, and by all early accounts it appears as though Puma has succeeded.

First off, we approve of the design. The initial black/white/wild lime colourway gives off a stealth feel and the upper has a cool concentric circle scheme with an off-center lacing system. Near the heel, the Puma logo is explicit – the only real way to do it with a shoe tagged PowerCat.

The K-Leather material is really soft here and it’s said to be an easy shoe to break into – avoiding the tight fit of some its predecessors.

The technology hook of the cleat comes from its Power Shooting Technology which is built in to the kicking area. Hence the name, it increases shooting power, absorbing energy at impact to release power with every shot.

But just because the shoe is big on power doesn’t mean it’s short on feel. These are by no means clunky; they perform much more naturally and should be big winners with the general public.

Both Michael Carrick and Nicolas Anelka are headliner professional footballers who are already endorsing these cleats The PowerCats were being sold overseas in Puma stores but landed in the states last week.

A second colourway of white/puma royal and team gold will be available shortly.