PUMA Palermo review

Tired of walking into a room full of Sambas? Then it's time to consider this beautiful alternative from PUMA! We believe that the Palermo sneaker is right for you if:

• you want the sporty vibe of a '70s/'80s terrace sneaker (gum sole and all)
• you prefer light, minimal, and low-to-the-ground sneakers
• you are after a stylish suede/leather silhouette at an affordable price

If you are chasing comfortable footwear above all else, we don't think you will be happy with the PUMA Palermo. Its midsole is so thin and firm that you won't be getting the necessary cushioning for a day full of walking.

A more suitable PUMA sneaker would be the RS-X and if you are up for exploring other brands, New Balance and Nike have some pretty comfy sneakers too.

Choosing the Palermo for day-to-day wear, expect to feel VERY close to the ground in this low-profile sneaker.

We measured its heel stack at only 22.6 mm which is a solid 7 mm lower than the average lifestyle sneaker. It is, however, equally grounded as the famous Samba and the Gazelle.

The sole gets even thinner in the forefoot with only 15.6 mm of material separating the ball of foot from the ground.

Cushioning is practically non-existent here which makes the Palermo less than ideal for long hours of walking and standing.

The Palermo has a moderate heel-to-toe incline of 7.0 mm. This means that the heel is slightly elevated above the toes putting the foot in a less flat position.

The primary midsole material of the Palermo is made of a pretty dense EVA foam. Pressing a Shore A durometer against it returned a notably higher-than-average reading of 37.5 HA. For reference, this is 28% firmer than the typical lifestyle sneaker!

There is hardly any give to the shoe's platform resulting in very little comfort and impact protection in this PUMA sneaker. Not our top choice for hours of walking for sure!

To save the day, a padded insole makes the Palermo feel a little less like a brick underfoot.

Measuring its thickness with a caliper returned a regular reading of 4.0 mm.

The PUMA Palermo may seem like a narrow sneaker because of its visually streamlined design but it turns out to have an average amount of toebox space.

Measuring the widest part of its forefoot, our caliper showed 98.8 mm which is exactly the same as the average.

It's not enough to accommodate a wide foot or a bunion but it offers just enough room for a D-medium foot.

The tapering is not so aggressive in this PUMA sneaker either. We measured a standard width of 74.4 mm near the big toe. 

The PUMA Palermo is not a supportive sneaker per se but its low-set build and firm sole naturally make it feel quite stable.

You would need to try hard to roll the ankle in this low-to-the-ground shoe.

As a classic terrace sneaker, the Palermo's minimal construction makes it highly flexible.

See how effortlessly we were able to twist the shoe in our manual test above. On a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the stiffest, we rated its torsional rigidity with a low score of 2.

This is not the kind of kick that would make your movements feel restricted.

We found that the heel hold of this PUMA sneaker was moderate but sufficient. For a minimal shoe like that, a highly stiff and padded heel counter is simply not needed.

Pushing and squeezing the back portion of the Palermo, we assessed its heel counter stiffness with an average score of 3 out of 5. It is not entirely floppy either!

Flipping the shoe upside down, we found its footprint slightly broader than that of the Samba or Gazelle.

Our caliper recorded 105.9 mm between the widest points of the shoe's sole.

We think that the slightly wider contact area of the PUMA Palermo would be more beneficial for people with flat feet as opposed to the slimmer Adidas kicks.

Checking the widest area of the shoe's heel, we got 81.9 mm.

For context, the same measurement showed 72.0 mm on the Adidas Gazelle and 75.4 mm on the Samba.

Completely unrestricted steps are guaranteed in the PUMA Palermo. Its thin and flexible sole needed very little effort to bend as our feet transitioned from heels to toes.

How flexible is it exactly? Just like an average casual sneaker, according to our force gauge.

It took only 20.0N to bend the Palermo to a 90-degree angle - just the same as most kicks.

Even though the PUMA Palermo has a minimal silhouette and feels light on foot, the number on the scale did not drop much lower than average.

At 13.1 oz (371g) in a men's US size 9, we found that the shoe's weight is on par with the Adidas Gazelle but is about an ounce heavier than the Samba.

The Palermo is available in many different upper variations but they all feature either leather or suede as the primary material. And none of these are famous for their breathability.

Even though some of the smoke we pumped into the shoe's upper escaped through the tongue gaps, it wasn't enough to bump up the kick's breathability score above 3 out of 5.

No secret perforations or ventilation holes showed up in our transparency test either.

Thus, we believe that the best time to rock this PUMA sneaker would be a mildly warm spring or fall weather or a cool summer evening.

The Palermo's affordable price point is likely to raise questions about its quality. But luckily we have some good news on that front.

Using a butane torch, we found that neither the shoe's primary leather panel nor its suede patches caught fire like fake material would.

Also, none of the upper parts melted or became gooey like the eyestay in the video above (that's an indication of fake synthetic leather).

Zooming in on the shoe's suede T-toe through our microscope, we also found that it has a shaggy texture of genuine material.

All in all, we are happy that PUMA did not compromise the quality of its upper materials even at such a budget-friendly price.

Soft to the touch, the Palermo's suede T-toe is not so soft in substance.

Unlike mesh or textile, it hardly gave in to our Dremel. Even after 12 seconds of drilling the material at a 5K RPM speed, the sandpaper failed to burn even halfway through the suede layer.

Considering the cosmetic damage, we didn't hesitate to rate the PUMA Palermo's toebox durability with the highest score - 5 out of 5!

The interiors of this PUMA sneaker are lined with pretty basic synthetic leather. Our Dremel test showed that it can hardly sustain prolonged abrasion.

After only 4 seconds of sandpaper exposure, we saw a tear in the contact area. Compared to the results we got in other sneakers, the Palermo's heel padding durability deserves only a moderate score of 3 out of 5.

Assessing the gum rubber outsole of the PUMA Palermo, we didn't expect much wear resistance from this soft material. Especially since it proved to be softer than average with a durometer reading of 79.5 HC.

And yet, the gum caught us off guard when we subjected it to our Dremel test... 

The material proved to be just as sturdy as the black rubber! We were impressed to see a tiny 1.1 mm scuff on the outsole after 22 seconds of drilling it at 10K RPM speed.

This is the same amount of wear as we see on most sneaker outsoles after this durability test.

That's why we are not particularly worried about the fact that the Palermo's outsole is 1 mm thinner than average.

With 4.5 mm of wear-resistant rubber, we expect an average outsole lifespan from this PUMA sneaker.

We consider the PUMA Palermo's price to be fair for what the kick has to offer. It is on par with the other popular terrace sneakers from Adidas (Samba and Gazelle) and is fairly easy to cop at a discount.

The use of real leather and suede on the upper is a bonus for sure.

None of the upper elements on the Palermo are made of reflective material. No shining in the dark with this sneaker.

The in-shoe padding is practically non-existent in the PUMA Palermo. Its paper-thin tongue returned as little as 1.3 mm on our caliper.

It is some of the thinnest tongues we've seen on a sneaker, similar to the one in the Converse Chuck 70.

The Palermo doesn't have any finger loops or pull tabs attached.

The entire insole of the PUMA Palermo is glued to the strobel. This makes it tricky to insert any custom orthotics to elevate the sneaker's comfort and step-in feel.