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New Balance Fresh Foam X Balos Initial Video Review
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Jul 16, 2024
In the video, we 00:00 detail the August releasing Fresh Foam Balos ($200) with at 07:08 Fit and 08:58 Ride Impressions from the run, 13:48 Conclusions and 16:15 Comparisons to adidas Supernova Prima, 361 Eleos, and New Balance's More v4 and 1080 v13. Full written multi tester review at www.roadtrailrun.com soon.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hello everybody, we're going to take a look at the New Balance Fresh Foam X Ballos, which
0:05
releases August $200. You can see that very pronounced rocker profile. It has an EVA Piba blend midsole, similar to the Rebel V4, on a widish platform, and
0:18
the outsole is partially a hardened EVA. The upper is an engineered mesh with underlays
0:26
It's quite plush, but it's more sort of the performance oriented to handle all the softness
0:31
below foot. We come in at 38.5mm heel, 32.5mm forefoot, 6mm drop, and the weight is 8.6oz, 243g in
0:45
my US 8.5 sample. I've taken them out on the roads here in New Hampshire
0:50
I'm going to give you my impressions from the run, a fit ride, and some comparisons
0:55
Stay tuned. Okay, let's get into some of the details of our Fresh Foam X Ballos
1:01
Let's start with the midsole. The midsole is, according to New Balance, an EVA Piba blend
1:12
If you may recall, the Fuel Cell Rebel V4 was also a Piba EVA blend
1:19
They do not say it's supercritical foam. We'll try to find out if it is, but you can see it's very, very soft
1:28
The softness picture continues with this outsole. The orange areas are an outsole grade EVA, and you can see how soft it is
1:40
We'll have to see about where. Up front here is a regular rubber, and very significantly at the heel, we have a very
1:49
thick pad of rubber. I'm going to give you comments on fit and ride from the run, but this little piece right
1:57
here is really essential to keep the softness under control and to really work what is one
2:04
key feature of the shoe, which is its rocker. Let me see if I can kind of show you from down below how that looks
2:15
You can see how much of a rocker we have here. Look at that. Wow
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A very pronounced rocker, which helps you get off the heel and forward
2:28
What we've got here is an unplated shoe with a soft Piba EVA blend foam and a very pronounced rocker
2:38
I found New Balance's other kind of trainers of the soft variety, the Moore V4
2:44
We're going to test the V5. Don't have it yet here. I found the 1080 V13 extremely soft and just really not much fun
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I'm going to give you my comments, but I can tell you already that this combination of
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Piba EVA and rocker really improves New Balance's kind of focus on soft
3:06
But that isn't all. In particular, I found the 1080 V13 had a very kind of sloppy upper
3:15
My pair was half a size up from normal. Obviously that works
3:19
So with all the softness, I was kind of out of control. Not so here
3:23
We have a non-stretch kind of mesh here with, you can see, the whitish elements
3:33
And if I can show you inside, you'll see there's a grid, if you will, an inner grid of support
3:41
Very breathable, very supportive. This is, I would call it, even though it looks kind of fancy
3:48
Look at the tufted kind of effects here. A performance type upper, not a kind of all sloppy comfort upper
3:57
So you're really well held to this platform. The tongue is a knit kind of material with a bit of extra padding, you can see here
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Does have a gusset. The laces are really luxurious. Lace up was super easy
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My run today was about 10 kilometers, 6 miles, moderate pace, under 10 minutes
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So pretty good test of what is really a kind of moderate pace daily trainer
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Now we talked about the stack height earlier of 38.5, heel 32.5, midfoot, so 6 millimeter drop
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We're in the max cushion category, although there are shoes with more nimbus from Asics
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which really get up into the 40s and really have a hard time kind of turning over
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Blocky heels. You'll see here the platform width. I'm measuring more and more platform widths, and here we have 110 at the forefoot, reasonably wide
4:55
We have a relatively narrow at contact 75 millimeter midfoot, and you can see this kind
5:03
of tapered heel construction, which at the widest point is 90. So this really helps kind of activate that rocker through the soft heel
5:14
What I particularly notice is the midfoot. You really kind of collapse forward into the shoe and toe off
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This isn't a speed type shoe. So I'm going to take them out on the, you know, for my usual, where I give you my comments
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In terms of weight, we're very reasonable here. 8.6 ounces, 243 grams in my US 8.5, so well under 10 ounces in a US 9 for such a big stack
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Of course, that's helped by the lightweight materials of the upper, the midsole grade
5:52
EVA instead of real rubber, and also the foam itself. So what I'm also going to do is give you some comparisons, and the two that I'm going
6:06
to focus on after the run are the Supernova, let me see if we can see it here, the Supernova
6:16
Prima from Adidas, supercritical foam, and an outsole grade EVA in part underneath with
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the support rods, part of the contact area, but also with some rubber with what they call
6:30
DreamStrike foam, and also one that's very, very similar, also an EVA Peeba blend, a shoe
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we really like a lot, the Elios from 361, which has a more, kind of a quote, more conventional
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rubber outsole, but also an EVA Peeba blend with a similar stack height
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So I'm going to take them out for the run right now, give you my ride and fit impressions
7:03
and those more detailed comparisons. Stay tuned. Okay, let's talk about the fit of our Fresh Foam X Ballos
7:14
True to size fit, but on the snugger side, not so much because of the actual width, but
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unlike say the 1080 V13, we have a non-stretch mesh. You can see my toe pretty close to a thumb here, that's my wider foot, and over here
7:34
a bit more room, that's my narrower foot. So this is actually kind of a precise fit, a bit unusual if you think about kind of the
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playful look here. The tongue is a stretch knit, there's the gusset I showed you earlier
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This is also, I think, will be a very breathable upper. As you can see, laces are kind of deluxe, everything's holding well together
8:02
We've got a really stout heel counter, so while it kind of has a comfort vibe, this
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is definitely a performance-oriented upper so far in terms of fit. Crazy performance, but given we got this mono mesh with underneath the brownish matrix kind
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of, and it doesn't stretch too much, got a really solid hold
8:28
Now, I think that's important given the soft foam here. The other thing I'm really, really noticing, and let me see if I can show you, is our black
8:40
rubber, that thick piece really keeps this from being mushy and sloppy, and the Peeba
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EVA blend is definitely more responsive than, say, the foam we had in the 1080 or the Moore V4
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We'll see about the Moore V5. So this is my first run back here in New Hampshire, after being in Europe along the coast
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I'm going to keep going and give you some impressions from the ride. So some first impressions of the ride
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As you may recall, we got 38 1⁄2 heel, 32 1⁄2 forefoot, so we got a big stack, particularly
9:18
up front. There's a distinct, distinct sensation of the rocker here, and things are really helped
9:24
along by that pad of thick, harder rubber. The rest of the outsole is rubberized outsole grade EVA type material, blends really well
9:39
You really have a sensation of rolling and rocking here. The EVA Peeba blend foam, very energetic, does remind of the Rebels foam, but here in
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a different platform. In terms of the weight, very reasonable for such a broad shoe
10:00
High, relatively high, 8.6 ounces, 243 grams in my US 8.5
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So we're below nine ounces in the US 9, which is great
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What's it feeling like? Definitely a forgiving daily trainer, maybe even more so kind of a long run shoe
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The rocker is just very pronounced, without any play here at all. Neat
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Keep going. That's the town's farm and barn right there. Okay, so there's a distinct impression of landing through the soft foam, but then getting
10:50
a quick rebound off that black, thick, regular rubber. The midfoot rolls through super well, and then you've got that rubberized outsole grade
11:03
foam as the front outsole, which kind of smoothly moves you forward to the toe off with the
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foam, giving you lots of rebound. Very well integrated here in terms of the feel, given the foam is very soft
11:21
They've really tamed it, if you will, because that rubberized EVA as outsole provides enough
11:30
stability, doesn't allow the shoe to bottom out or get sloppy or get unstable in front
11:38
Really well done. And of course, a very, very pronounced rocker without a play affected
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So there's a super smooth sensation of just rolling forward here, which is really pleasing
11:56
Those are the Rosa Regosas, our flowers. I think this would make a very good long run shoe at just about any pace because the weight
12:12
were under nine ounces. We got 38 and a half, 32 and a half, plenty of cushioning, smooth roll
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So if you're fast, you're slow, you don't want to go plated
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This is a really nice option. Maybe even a marathon shoe for the slower marathoner, say 330 and up, especially on
12:34
a hilly course, because I'm also finding them quite stable, although this is really a neutral shoe
12:40
Yeah, so it's a soft ride, but that heel rubber and the geometry with those pronounced rockers
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keep things moving very well. Don't feel like I'm bottoming out the heel because I'm about five miles in, 10 minute
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pace, kind of a warm day. I'm feeling that it's a moderate pace shoe
13:06
It's going to compete with the Supernova Prima we've reviewed in writing
13:13
That one also has EVA material as outsole grade, but also has some rubber
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This guy is a little softer, a little less springy off the front because of the, like
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full rubber and not the geometry of the Supernova Prima, which has that big V kind of shape
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drop, but similar. There's some nice bars. Okay, some conclusions and some comparisons
13:53
So if you're looking for a soft ride that's actually effective in terms of moving you
14:00
along, the Balos is really one to take a close look at
14:05
It is $200, but this is really a premium, premium, superb upper, really
14:11
The foam, the Peeba EVA blend is soft and quite springy. I wish it was a little bit more, a little denser, a little bit more responsive, but
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part of that is influenced by this EVA midsole that's outsole grade, which leads to the smoothness
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of the ride, but also maybe takes away a little bit of the response
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I do think, and I'll get into a few of the competitors, but in terms of the New Balance
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lineup, if I compare to the More V4, four millimeter drop, similar stack height, I barely
14:53
could move that thing along. This new rocker geometry, more dynamic foam in this soft kind of approach is more effective here
15:05
The 1080 V13 also, although the 1080 V13 was really held back by its stretch knit upper
15:13
for me, which just didn't provide this kind of support that we get here with this non
15:19
this mono mesh with the underlays. It looks super plush. It is super plush, but this is more a performance upper that I think is really suitable to this
15:33
soft platform. You can see here. So this is a fun shoe to run
15:39
It's not a particularly stable platform. It's stable enough, sure helped by the upper, but it's really another expression by New
15:50
Balance of trying to tame softness into an effective shoe, and with this pronounced rocker
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they go a long ways there. So now let's get into a few comparisons
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The Supernova Prima from Adidas and the 361 Elios, kind of comparable shoes
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So let me pull them up here. Okay. The first comparison, the 361 Elios
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The first thing you got to know about this one is it's $145 versus our $200 for the Balos
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It has a super critical EVAP by blend. It's a little, as you can see, a little firmer, a little denser
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So this is a more responsive kind of platform. In terms of weight, it is 285 grams
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So it's about 40 grams or 1.5 ounces heavier than our Balos
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So it is a heavier shoe. It does have a real, quote, real rubber in the front and the back
17:01
Its platform is somewhat wider at 120 here. I think we're 110 with our Balos
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Let me put it up so you can see it. So we're a bit wider in our Elios
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In terms of the stack height, we're a bit lower. We're 36, 36, 30 versus 38 and a half, 32
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So we're a bit lower. So this shoe, also the upper, I had a nine and you can see I had to do the lace lock
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This is the roomiest of the comparisons, no question about it. I easily could go in an 8.5 here
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So this is the better option if you have a really wide foot
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You can see it's not as fancy an upper. It's a more conventional engineered mesh
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It's not the mono mesh with the underlace, but it works very well and it's very comfortable
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It is, I think, a livelier, quicker ride. Not quite as kind of soft and cushion feeling, but still plenty, plenty soft
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So the next one I want to talk about is the Supernova Prima from Adidas
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Also, it has a supercritical Dreamstrike foam, this main midsole. The salmon colored pinkish stuff is EVA, a hardened EVA
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So similar to what we have here as the orange outsole. Although the Adidas uses these support rods, right
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That go through the front and the landing area at the rear
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And then this layer, it's a little hard to see, is a thin layer of rubber, which extends
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through the lateral side of the heel. So there's a thin rubber as well
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The Supernova is more stable. There's no question about it. You've got your support rods, which are firmer in feel than the comparable EVA midsole here
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Plus, you've got the rubber up front. It's really quite a bit more stable, a bit firmer shoe, more responsive
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It is quite, it has some flex, but similar, but not, it doesn't quite get all the way
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down like we do here in our Balos. Landings are more stable in the Adidas
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The feel is a bit firmer. In terms of the uppers, oh boy, these are really good uppers
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This is a $170 shoe. This is the $200 shoe. This is a lighter, less, somewhat less dense upper, a bit more foot conforming
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This one kind of snuggles you a bit more. Both are really excellent
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This upper I think is a little bit more breathable in heat, but they're both really, really excellent uppers
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So our Prima is, it's a six, it's an eight millimeter drop versus six, and we have a
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one millimeter lower at the heel in the Prima and three millimeters lower at the forefoot
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because it's an eight millimeter drop. In terms of weight, the Prima is about 30 grams an ounce heavier, I think in large part
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due to its, to this more extensive second layers of support rods plus rubber up front
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and of course the upper, which is a heavier material. In this matchup, which would I pick
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I think the Ballos may end up a bit more fun, but I think the Prima is kind of a bit more
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versatile, reliable, especially if you need a touch of stability in the mix, a teeny touch
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because the stability is just right through here. There's no plates or plastic pieces
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It's really just a hardened EVA kind of layer. I still would lean towards the Prima overall as a daily trainer, although I thought the
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Ballos fit was a little kind of more perfected and the soft ride was a bit more fun, but
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maybe not quite as reliable day in and day out. So that's the choice there
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Thank you very much for watching. Have a great run. We'll have a full written multi-tester review over on RoadTrailRun.com real soon
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See you on the roads and the trails
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