KICKZ Performance Review: Puma RS Dreamer

What’s up, KICKZ Fam? I hope you had a great start into 2022 and are excited for a new lineup of performance basketball shoes! Let’s get straight to it. Today we are having a closer look at Kyle KUZMA’s shoe rotation and have therefore picked PUMA’s RS Dreamer for this review. Let’s go!

Design

The headliner for this shoe is definitely PUMA’s collaboration with J. COLE. Personally, I quite like how the visual design of this model connects street vibes with the hardcourt, which gives these a pretty fresh touch, in my opinion. In general, I think PUMA does a decent job with crossing those elements over as seen with other recent releases 🔥. So if that’s your thing, PUMA has you covered! Also don’t worry, I know the shoe I have in hand is rather plain but rest assured, there are also more screaming color combinations in store for you 🎨. What I however don’t like too much about these, is how much weight they carry. At 465 g they are easily one of the heaviest basketball performance shoes out there right now and weigh a whopping 100 g more than my proclaimed PUMA flagship shoe, the Clyde All-Pro 😮.

Materials

The RS Dreamer comes with a “fully knitted upper with suede overlays” as PUMA describes and honestly, this combination just works pretty good and feels nice on foot. It is flexible and reacts well to any moves you may have in your bag of tricks. So no issues from a performance standpoint and also no break-in time is needed as the materials are ready to go directly out of the box.

Traction

PUMA used a leaf-like traction pattern in combination with “high-abrasion rubber” on the outsole of the RS Dreamer. And once again, PUMA just delivers another shoe with really good grip. They are just nailing it lately 🤷🏽‍♂️. Never did I have the feeling that I would slide out or move out of position after hard cuts or direction changes. The traction was consistently good although you may need to wipe occasionally. Additionally, the rubber compound looked quite durable to me, which makes these a legit outdoor option.

Cushion

According to PUMA, the cushioning setup consists of a ProFoam midsole and an RS foam heel. Given that I had already experienced the ProFoam in the PUMA Clyde Hardwood, it did not surprise me too much that this setup is on the firmer side once again. This unfortunately affects impact protection and bounce, which are both lacking to some extent compared to other options on the market. This definitely got me wondering if ProFoam+, which is used in the PUMA Clyde All-Pro, could have been a game changer here. And while a softer setup would have been more desirable, the RS Dreamer still manages to come with a perk. Court feel is really good, so get ready for a pretty responsive ride.

Fit

I went true to size and that worked well for me. No pinching, no jamming, just a little bit of dead space in the toe box, which turned out to be not too big of a problem at all. Apart from that, the shoe fits pretty well and is comfortable overall. Additionally, lockdown is good despite lacking any special padding or molding in the interior of the shoe. The whole combination of the materials, lacing and padding keeps your foot on the footbed at all times. Solid.

Support

Just the basics to be honest. A good fit, that keeps you contained and locked down and a wide base, that keeps you stable. Nothing really exciting or unique to add here. A support setup that gets the job done. Nothing more, nothing less.

Bottom Line

People, don’t sleep on the PUMAs. The RS Dreamer is yet another model that adds more depth to the performance shoe game and this is not the first time that PUMA is delivering a well balanced basketball shoe. For the price of EUR 125,- you’ll get a mid-tier sneaker with good traction and other solid performance attributes. If you can condone the heavier design and the firm cushioning, this can definitely be a good option for you.

Feedback

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