New Balance Fresh Foam More V1 vs V2 Comparison Shoe Review
The New Balance Fresh Foam More v2 running shoe is your max cushioned shoe with a rocker sole concept for clocking up high mileage in comfort. Josh reviews and highlights where this ultra-protective road shoe fits into your running rotation and explains what makes it a potential ride for overpronated, neutral and supinated foot types alike.
A huge amount of surface area is packed under the shoe for reliable purchase on the road, allowing you to run confidently even as fatigue sets in over long distances. New Balance have injected the Fresh Foam X midsole into this elevated platform for an exceptionally plush feel, dampening impact forces to coast effortlessly between strides.
They've cut weight off the heel counter, trading in a touch of support for additional comfort and yet it remains an orthotic and walker-friendly shoe to tackle hours on your feet. Topped with a durable and breathable mesh upper and available in broader width offerings, this running shoe is certainly worth a look for road warriors that prioritise comfort to go the distance.
Check out the review with full transcript below.
Hi guys, Josh here from Sportitude and today it’s shoe review time. We're going to be reviewing the New Balance Fresh Foam More v2. As you can see at home and no surprises here, this is a max cushioned shoe.
There's a lot of midsole underneath the foot and essentially it's New Balance’s version in this rocker sole, this max cushioned category which has been led by the brand called Hoka One One for the best part of a decade.
We're going to talk about all things outsole, midsole and upper. We’ll profile the foot type that could consider this shoe and where it could be added into your shoe rotation or as your go-to shoe for your mileage. Without further ado let's get stuck in.
Runner Profile
First things first we’ll talk about which foot type can consider the New Balance Fresh Foam More. To be completely honest and fair because there is so much shoe underneath the foot and a fair bit of generosity in the upper, you can be an overpronator and consider this shoe. You can also have a neutral foot type or supinated foot type. We've had success across all three categories running in the New Balance Fresh Foam More.
However, there's no medial support on the inside but for an overpronator you get quite a large purchase with the ground so you still get a nice stable platform to sit on.
Let's talk about the cushioning in this shoe with the Fresh Foam X midsole. There is a very plush feel underneath your foot, that's the best way to explain it. You have so much cushioning underneath your foot that you feel insanely protected.
I’ve ran in v1 and I wore through them at about 500 kilometres. I've just started using the v2 in some of my rotations. I haven't used it as much as the v1 because I'm testing other shoes but I'm still using it. I like what this shoe is all about.
For my longer runs where I know I’m going to be spending a bit of time out the road and I'm not too fussed about time of running or speed of running and I just need to clock up the kilometres and be protected, I will gravitate toward this shoe no questions asked.
It is a very cushioned and comfortable shoe on the foot. It does have that noticeable rocker through the front half. Over the last 6 to 8 weeks I have been see-sawing with a sore first metatarsal on the left hand side. Some weeks it's good and some weeks it's bad.
When it's bad and I still want to run, I put this on my foot and I don't get that irritation on my first metatarsal, purely and simply because the rocker of this shoe helps engage me in that last phase of my gait cycle and prevents me putting too much load on my first metatarsal. It does find its way into my running rotation and I have enjoyed running with it, that's for sure.
Outsole
I’d like to talk about the outsole of this shoe and compare it to where it was previously. As you can see in the v1, the outsole wraps up around the midsole on both the medial and lateral side of the heel. It’s the same thing through the forefoot and it's one piece. It's a very durable, stiffer outsole than what we've got going on in the v2.
As you can see in the v2 they've introduced a couple of slits in the outsole. It’s not too dissimilar to what they did with the New Balance 1080v9 when they didn't have the flex grooves going the whole way across the midsole. They placed them strategically through the forefoot to get a little bit of flexibility but not undo what this shoe is all about, that rocker sole through the front half.
As we highlighted there’s almost enough land mass there to build a house on. There is a lot going on underneath your foot. You’ve got plenty of purchase with the ground which is fantastic.
On longer runs when you tend to lose a bit of form and you want to know you're protected with plenty of grab with the ground, the New Balance Fresh Foam More has it. It has so much surface area which is fantastic.
Midsole
Coming up through the midsole. As I said before the Fresh Foam X midsole is a very soft, cushioned midsole with a simplistic design. What I mean by that is it's the same density the whole way through both lateral and medial side and right through to the forefoot.
The only subtle change is the convex and concave cutaway. We have the concave cutaway on the lateral side. Essentially there is a bit more added compression on the outside than there is on the medial side.
That's purely and simply because when we hit the ground heel striking or midfoot striking, there is going to be more of a requirement for compression and cushioning on the lateral side than what there is on the medial side. We want to structure up that medial side down the midsole as well. That's why there's that slight variance in how they cutaway the design of the Fresh Foam technology through the midsole.
Widths
In Australia this shoe is only available in a 2E width in men's and a D width in ladies’. That's one width wider than the norm, New Balance have gone with the broader offerings.
Is it true to the width? I’m going to step in and say I don't think it is. I've personally found the new New Balance More 2E to fit a little bit broader than what the New Balance 2E fitted last year.
I ran in that shoe and I'm technically D width but I can run 2E if it fits right. I’m finding the v2 to be more spacious. In my opinion I prefer the upper of the v1 but I like the midsole of the v2. It’d be great if they could combine the two and make one shoe.
If you are a 4E and you're looking for a max cushioned rocker sole shoe you may have trouble getting it on the market because still today I don’t think Hoka One One make a 4E offering in that space, but they definitely do a 2E.
I found the New Balance Fresh Foam More v2 2E fits like a 4E, so it is an option if you're looking for a very generous upper construction up top.
Upper
Let’s talk about the support of this shoe because there's a bit going on. In regard to the heel counter they almost have a slightly similar design to the 1080 with that little 'elf' design to take a bit of pressure off that insertion of the Achilles into your heel.
Comparing it to where they were last year, the v1 support around the calcaneus at the back of the heel was very structured and supportive. I like that.
They wanted to make the v2 lighter and to do that you have to take elements out, it's just the truth. They’ve taken a little bit of support out of the heel counter. It's nice and light but it gives you a more customised fit around the back of your heel.
You’ve got to be careful when you take a component like a heel counter away or aspects of the heel counter away. You can't just lose support or comfort. That's probably what they've done. They’ve sacrificed support for a little bit of comfort. You get a more customised fit around the back of your heel which is a good thing in some aspects.
Coming through to the midsection obviously there’s quite a bit of depth to this shoe and in the forefoot there's a lot of depth and width on offer as well. As I touched on, it does have a slightly wider feel than the traditional 2E.
I want to touch on the fact that it is a breathable upper with an engineered mesh construction. It’s designed for miles and miles of road running so you want this shoe to be breathable, strong and light which it is in the New Balance Fresh Foam More v2. It's fantastic.
Another thing I’d like to touch on in regards to fitting this shoe and what we've seen with our clients down here on the shop floor at Sportitude is from time to time we have had a lot of success putting an orthotic inside this shoe.
The reason being is there’s a lot of depth on offer and obviously a nice, broad platform. It is a very comfortable shoe for walking as well. If you happen to be looking for something with lots of cushioning and also that rocker sole for the forefoot, walkers have gravitated towards this with great success.
I can vouch for that too. From time to time at the back end of last year I was using the v1 which is similar to the v2. When I was a little bit sore and my feet were tender I would wear it to work for that day and it felt nice and comfortable at the end of the day. For walking around on hard surfaces it feels fantastic and supportive.
There you have it guys, the New Balance Fresh Foam More v2. It’s a fantastic update with a couple of tweaks from where it was last year. Certainly New Balance are making steps in improving this shoe going forward.
If you have any questions on this shoe please contact our Sportitude shoe experts and if you haven't subscribed to the Sportitude YouTube channel please do so.
Until next time happy running and we'll see you on the road.
FEATURES
- Support: Neutral
- Upper: Mesh
- Midsole: New Balance Fresh Foam X
- Heel Height: 33mm
- Forefoot Height: 29mm
- Offset / Drop: 4mm
- Width (women): D (wide)
- Width (men): 2E (wide)