New Balance never disappoints in their careful attention to continuous improvement. Their marketing theme this show: "Always in Beta".
The big news on display an expansion of Fresh Foam to the 1080, an update to the Zante, a mild stability version of the Vazee the Prism, and a trail version of the Vazee the Summit.
Fresh Foam 1080
New Balance's premium neutral shoe goes with Fresh Foam. The 1080 Fresh Foam is approximately a 19mm forefoot 27mm heel shoe with approximately 2mm more forefoot cushioning than the Fresh Foam Boracay. The 1080 uses New Balance's hexagon geometry on the midsole. It has flex grooves in the foretoot outsole, yes! ( I found the Boracay kind of stiff) a synthetic saddle in the mid foot shared with the Zante update, and a bootie construction of engineered mesh to provide a well cushioned shoe. My kind of trainer. 10.35 oz, On sale January. $150.
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| New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 |
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| Women's New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam 1080 |
Fresh Foam Zante v2 Update
The primary updates to the Fresh Foam Zante are a new engineered mesh upper, the use of convex hexagons on the medial fore foot outsole instead of concave, tending to firm up stabilize push off, a saddle wrap of the mid foot, removal of the seam along the medial fore foot ( I could feel this seam and think it contributed to a tight feeling under the arch for me and others), and some outsole siping or cuts in the outsole. The Fresh Foam Zante will be on sale around 2/15/16. A “breathability” collection essentially a more open mesh will be on sale around 4/1/15. Both "slightly" heavier than current Zante.
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 Women's |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 Breathablity |
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| New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 Breathability left, Zante standard mesh right |
Vazee Pace
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New Balance Vazee Pace
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Vazee Prism light stability
A 9.9 oz men's 8.25 oz women's light stability version of the Vazee Pace. Slightly different outsole configuration. $100. On sale 1/16.
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| New Balance Vazee Prism |
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| New Balance Vazee Pace Outsole left, Vazee Prism right |
Vazee Summit
A 9.5 oz men, 7.5 oz women trail version of the Vazee Pace. Built on the 1400 last with similar 10mm drop. Has a rock plate. On sale 4/1/16. $100.
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| New Balance Vazee Summit |
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| New Balance Vazee Summit |
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| New Balance Vazee Summit |
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| New Balance Vazee Summit |
1400 v4 and 1500 v2
The 1400 v4 and 1500 v2 with their Revite midsole and 10 and 6mm drops respectively get mainly cosmetic updates. The 1500, the stability racer, gets a mid foot material from Gore (not waterproof) to provide a snug and secure mid foot upper hold.
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| New Balance 1400 and 1500 updates, |
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| New Balance 1400 and 1500 updates, 1500 orange |
Interested in other shoe brands, packs, illumination introductions at Outdoor Retailer? All our coverage at RoadTrailRun's summary page here
1 comment:
Did New Balance mention when the 1500 v2 would be released?
Thanks!
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