The Puma TRC Blaze Court is another great performance basketball shoe from Puma. The cushion is its biggest strength and materials are its biggest weakness.
Release Date: 2022
Price: $120
Puma has become my favorite basketball shoe brand in recent years. I dig their aesthetics, I feel unconventional when I wear them, and they tend to perform great on the court. I’ve been able to play in the Puma RS Dreamer, the Puma RS Dreamer 2, the Puma Clyde All-Pro, and the Puma MB.01, all very different shoes, all great.
I have to say I was excited when I got to test the new Puma TRC Blaze Court, especially because at first glance, it reminded me of a beefed-up version of the Puma Clyde All-Pro. But there were some new performance features added that I’d never experienced. First, a new cushioning system. Second, new support features. And third, the materials seem very different from the Puma Clyde. So did this new model live up to the high standard Puma has set? Let’s find out
Traction
Traction is one aspect of the shoe I was fairly certain would be great. Puma has some great rubber compounds and every Puma shoe I’ve worn has had very good traction. Plus, the traction pattern they chose for the TRC Blaze Court had a great chance of being awesome: multidirectional herringbone.
Turns out that I was right to think the traction would be good. In fact, the traction was spectacular. The shoe stopped on a dime with every type of move I threw at it no matter the surface I played on. Puma tailored the traction to every part of the foot and to what type of movement you’re most likely to generate in each section.
For example, in the forefoot, you’ll mainly see traditional herringbone. So you get coverage on forward and backward motion with some lateral coverage as well. But at the very tip of the forefoot, the herringbone turns 100% horizontal giving you better coverage for forward and backward moves. This is the part of your foot that you’ll use for moves like stepbacks, push-offs, and hesitations, and that is the type of traction you want to help you pull those off.
The traction is primarily parallel on the lateral side of the shoe. This configuration is great for lateral movements. What do you use that part of your foot for? You guessed it, moving laterally. Sliding on defense, crossovers, etc. are well covered so your foot can push off with ease.
One thing to keep in mind is that outdoor durability may be an issue. The rubber compound probably won’t hold up great after a while outdoors, especially if you play on very abrasive surfaces. I ripped a chunk out of mine after playing a couple of times outdoors, but for now, I chalk that up as a fluke.
Cushion
The Puma TRC Blaze Court features 2 cushioning systems: Nitro foam, which we’ve seen before, and Trinomic cushioning, which we’ve also seen before, but not like this.
Trinomic cushioning is a setup that Puma used back in the day. That version was similar to Reeboks DMX cushioning. It featured hexagonal pods that resembled a bee hive. It was supposed to offer the “holy trinity”: cushioning, flexibility and stability. But, Trinomic seemed to be an air-based system, and that’s nowhere to be found on this shoe.
What you get here is a dual-density foam setup, and although the Trinomic cushioning doesn’t look like the old Trinomic it’s bouncy, flexible, and stable. So, I don’t really care that it doesn’t look like the old Trinomic.
The blend of Nitro and Trinomic felt akin to adidas’ Boost. You get a ton of impact protection with a good amount of responsiveness. And, while you do ride high in the TRC Blaze Court, the shoe remains very stable. You do lose court feel, however, so if that’s what you are looking for in a shoe, you might want to check out another model.
Materials
Materials on the Puma TRC Blaze Court are functional and that’s about it. If I were suggesting upgrades to the shoe, materials would be my main focus. The upper is built entirely with textiles of different consistencies, with two rubber reinforcements (per shoe).
There’s a softer mesh over the toe box and across half of the midfoot, and a tighter woven mesh in the other half and heel of the shoe. There are also felt reinforcements in high-wear areas that add some design pop. The rubber reinforcements are on the lateral side of the midfoot and the heel to boost support and containment.
All of these work great on the court but the shoe doesn’t feel premium in any way, which doesn’t do the shoe justice. They could have done something similar to what they did with Jordan 37 which does not feature premium materials perse but the materials chosen make the shoe look and feel more premium.
Fit
The shoe fits great, if anything it’s slightly snug, and takes no time to break in. The 1-to-1 fit enhances the shoe’s support and lockdown on-court. But if that type of fit has given you issues in the past, you might want to go in-store and try them on or go up half a size.
The insole is nothing special, but there’s some padding in the forefoot and some nice heel padding and sculpting that make the shoe feel comfy from the get-go.
Support
Support is another standout feature on the Puma TRC Blaze Court. The shoe features a wide base in the forefoot, a TPU torsional plate in the midfoot, a pair of lace cables, a heel counter, and the aforementioned rubber containment features on the upper.
They all work well together to keep your foot in place as you play without feeling restricted. The two rubber pieces on the upper are different densities to offer targeted support: the heel piece is harder and acts like a roll cage to keep your heel in place while the midfoot piece is softer and more forgiving to allow a bit of stretch on lateral movements while keeping you on the footbed.
The wide base and the actual formulation of the midsole foam make for a stable ride, and the different weaves of the textile upper allow flexibility or containment where you need it.
Lastly, the shank plate. While it’s not the most substantial shank plate out there, it offers torsional support and adds some spring to your step.
Overall
I think the Puma TRC Blaze Court is a great shoe. The simplistic analysis of “a beefed up Puma Clyde All-Pro” is not far off. The Puma TRC Blaze Court might not be an all-time great basketball shoe, but I think it will easily make our list of the best basketball shoes of 2022.
Puma has become the most consistent brand in the basketball shoe space which is no easy feat. Models like the TRC Blaze Court just keep boosting Puma’s rep. If you want a shoe that does everything well and excels in cushioning, the Puma TRC Blaze Court is a safe bet.