Remember back in May when I got the chance to reveal the return of the Temper Run? Well, lightning strikes twice and now I’m with you for another dose of 90’s late running this time in the form of the Puma Cell Endura.
Now this is something very exciting for me to talk about, the CELL era for Puma was filled with some absolutely mental designs that are completely off the grid, put it this way - with over 10 years collecting I’ve only seen a CELL pair once on foot, spotted during a workout at my local gym, I struck up a conversation with the owner and with most encounters of this type (that being when the general public meet someone who is obsessed over footwear… well you get the few odd looks and bouts of confusion as they try to work out if they’re walking around wearing a goldmine or I’m taking the piss.) he didn’t have a clue about there origins.
Now CELL launched in 1998* and bears some similarities with popular tech at the time, most notably AIR from Nike and Hexilite from Reebok. Before CELL, Puma relied on foam and rubber to give cushioning and support to its runners so this was a rather big move for the brand.
*Click the link for the original Endura advert
As stated above CELL Endura and all the shoes under the CELL umbrella disappeared into the myths of time becoming a cult line amongst vintage fans and hardcore Puma collectors alike. Very little information is available online so the return of the Endura will be the first time that a new wave of a footwear fanatics will get to grips with CELL.
I can’t comment on how close the retro is to the original as again I’ve never seen a pair in the flesh but the 2018 version is well-built, sturdy and comfortable on foot, I wore mine all day during Sneakerness and had no complaints whatsoever, I’d suggest going true to size for a nice snug fit.
The 90’s will always be my favourite era in footwear, a huge tech race was alive for all the brands, each trying to outdo themselves with the next gimmick, fad or revolution but because of the materials available at the time, I.E a lack of synthetic and knit that we have in abundance today it left all the shoes from their period with beautiful intricate leather uppers and the Endura shows this with full force, one of the most interesting aspects of the shoe is the lace-hooks acting almost like an early form of Flywire, pulling the outer sides of the shoe to surround the foot.
I have no information yet on when the Endura will be available, my pair is a UK10 sample so it could be subject to change. Once I know the dates I’ll update the article.
Thanks to Puma for the early on this one, thanks to my readers for always supporting and keep your eyes locked on the CELL range as there’s a lot of good *Cough* Venom *Cough* to come!
