We were pumped for the launch of the Fresh Foam More v2 because we were actually pretty big fans of the original. The shoe represents a new market for New Balance and while the first performed well, it looked and felt a little Frankenstein like. The v2 changes all that bringing in their new styling and a very consistent look and feel. We have a few concerns but read on to find out the good and the bad.
Quick Details, Specs, and Availability
- Weighs in at 9.25oz or 262g for a US Men’s 9
- Has 34mm of cushion and a 4mm heel/toe drop
- Retails at $164.99 USD (Wow, pricey!!)
- Comes in 3 colors for Men and Women
Run Test
First off, these things look so so much better than the original Fresh Foam More. The lines on here are really nicely done so props to New Balance on fixing that. They still look like monsters of course, but like any high stack shoe it just comes with the territory. On foot, your foot really sits down well in that molded heel and you can get a nice secure fit across that upper. The toebox is wider than most New Balance shoes so you do get ample movement in there which is great.
Running is where we found things a little problematic and again, this will very much depend on how you like a shoe to feel. For us, high cushion shoes need to find a balance between firmness and stiffness so think cushion and flex. The Fresh Foam More v2 runs both very stiff and very firm which was not what we expected at all. New Balance has tried to combat this with their outsole grooving, holes in the midsole, and more, but it remains just very stiff.
Some folks may like this, but we believe it makes it problematic for a lot of runners. It will work great for walkers, but repeated mid and long runs in these (over 6 miles) will definitely find your legs not seeing the relief shoes like these should offer. We really hope they can resolve this in v3 because visually it is a solid looking shoe now.
Construction: Upper
The upper on the Fresh Foam More v2 is a very thick engineered mesh that extends from the forefoot to about the midfoot, where New Balance has added an external support structure. From here it continues back into this newly designed 3D molded heel with a small ear for easy on and which serves as a heel counter and a heel cup at the same time.
The new think engineered mesh upper The mixed lacing box That new 3D molded heel cup New Balance Fresh Foam More V2 front view New Balance Fresh Foam More V2 back view
Construction: Midsole
The v2 midsole is 34mm of Fresh Foam with a 4mm drop and the thing is just gnarly massive. You can see a ton of little holes in there to add some flex, but we didn’t see this happening in our testing. They did a decent job keeping it light though as its still under 10oz.
Midsole – lateral front Midsole – lateral rear Midsole – medial rear Midsole – medial front
Construction: Outsole
The outsole on the v2 is a reinforced EVA, which they did to keep it light and is very similar to what we see from Hoka and other brands. They did add some flex grooves in there as you can see in the photo, but again… not feeling it all that much. Don’t expect it to last too long though as you can see it start to breakdown in the first 50 to 100 miles. It does its job pretty well though in terms of control and traction.
Outsole overhead
Style & Aesthetics
The shoe actually looks really good from a styling perspective. No question it is just massive and has a massive amount of cushion, but the lines are really well done and flow nicely into that heel. It does come in 3 colors for men and women and the options are really strong as well. Probably one of the stronger areas of the shoe.
For him For her
Overall Conclusion
The wrap up on the New Balance Fresh Foam More v2 is an easy one. This is a well made shoe with plenty of cushion and it is perfect for… walking. For some reason, this midsole is just super stiff so all the promise of the 34mm of cushion and responsive just doesn’t translate into actual performance. Next, it is just so so expensive and it is really hard to justify that price tag given how we felt the performance translated. In the v3, we look forward to a bit more responsiveness from that midsole and a little bit of softness. For now, we would suggest probably sticking with the first version or jumping over to the 1080v10.
Learn more on the New Balance website
Check Out Other Reviewers Thoughts
As always, we gather together some of our favorite reviewers so you can get a well-rounded view of the shoe. Here are our favorites.
