New Balance 1500v3 Review

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Inspirational Quote: RUN ON! 

About New Balance v1500v3

According to New Balance's official website, this is how New Balance 1500v3 is described:

The men's New Balance 1500v3 was made to race. Athlete-inspired updates means you get what you need to compete. Lightweight stability and a slim, sleek FantomFit upper deliver a shoe designed to make you feel fast. 

Featuring subtle improvements to breathability and fit, the shoe gives you more edge on the competition than ever before. TBeam technology adds torsional stability in the mid foot of the shoe while a REVlite midsole gives you lightweight, responsive cushioning so you can finish your strongest.

Run to win with the updated men's racing flats New Balance 1500v3. 


Specifications

  • Type      : Stability
  • Weight   : 229 grams (8 oz)
  • Heel drop   : 6 mm 
  • No-sew material application
  • Synthetic/mesh upper
  • Color: dark denim with dark porcelain blue and lime glo

Technology

  • Fantom Fit: A skeletally engineered upper that provides ultralight support and fit. Created by fusing two thin materials with a no-sew process.
  • REVlite: An innovative foam compound providing the same responsiveness and durability of New Balance foams 30% heavier. REVlite offers a lightweight ride without minimising construction or sacrificing underfoot cushioning or stability.
  • TBeam: A lightweight, flexible TPU shank engineered to deliver torsional stability in the shoe and arch support through a unique center beam design.

Why I bought New Balance 1500v3?

New Balance is a new brand to me. So far I have only worn Skechers and Saucony to race in full marathons before. As I'm pretty much comfortable with both Skechers and Saucony, it makes it harder to find a reason to try a different brand, especially for running full marathons.

To know how I ended up with my first ever pair of New Balance 1500v3, you can read my previous 2 articles during my shoe search:




New Balance 1500v3 Review

In order to write this shoe review, I have run and walked on 5 different surfaces, namely:
  • synthetic jogging track with EPDM, a special rubberised material

  • grass

  • footpaths / road pavements

  • treadmill

  • tar road


Mileage wise, I completed a 42km full marathon race wearing New Balance 1500v3 at Penang Bridge International Marathon 2017 , a 20km run and several shorter distance runs. Additionally, I also wore it as a casual walking shoe during my most recent runcation (running vacation) in Taiwan.

What's my verdict?

I love New Balance 1500v3! 😘😍

Upper


Let's first talk about the upper. 

With New Balance 1500v3's Fantom Fit technology, the end result is a brilliant skeletally engineered upper that provides ultralight support and fit. The fusing two thin materials with a no-sew process make me feel as if the shoe is wrapping around my feet! 

It's very comfortable indeed with no friction or whatsoever that might cause discomfort, to my feet, even during my full marathon race. 

Since I love to give a little space to my shoe with half size larger in anticipation of my potential foot enlargement after running for few hours in a full marathon, I could really feel this comfortable feeling of the Fantom Fit that seems to follow the contour of my feet as I move. Due to its no-sew process, New Balance 1500v3 upper feels very seamless and smooth to my feet!

If ever there is one thing that I can give feedback on is the shoe tongue. Every time I need to put on my New Balance 1500v3, I will need to pull the shoe tongue out before I tie the shoe laces But fortunately, the shoe tongue doesn't slide back again. 


Underfoot cushioning and stability


Well, I must confess that it has taken me a while to get used to the "hard underfoot" in comparison to Saucony Kinvara and Skechers GoRun.

I find that both my Saucony Kinvara and Skechers GoRun running shoes provide me with more cushioning as I could feel the "absorption" of the energy before the "returning" of the energy. With Saucony Kinvara, there is some "bouncy" feeling as well. 

Whereas for New Balance 1500v3, every time I land my feet on the underfoot, I find that I'm landing on a hard surface. In fact, after I completed my 42km full marathon in Penang, the ball of my feet was very painful! haha!

Is there something wrong with New Balance 1500v3 underfoot cushioning?

Nothing is wrong to New Balance 1500v3's underfoot cushioning, actually! 

My ASICS Thartherzeal 5 also feels hard when landing on the underfoot part. I believe this is by nature the design of a racing flat! 

I guess then it's better for me to compare New Balance 1500v3's underfoot with ASICS Thartherzeal 5 then. In comparison of the two, then I must say that New Balance 1500v3 provides more cushioning. 😁

This is because REVlite technology uses an innovative foam that provides the same responsiveness and durability of New Balance 30% heavier. No wonder I find New Balance 1500v3 to be lightweight when running on it, yet the cushioning and stability are superb for racing flats! 

I was told that all racing flats have "little" cushioning compared to some other distance shoes so that runners will not waste the "energy" due to the cushioning. 

After a few more runs onto New Balance 1500v3, I'm getting used to its cushioning and stability! In fact, I'm so comfortable with it until I don't feet any soreness or pain on the ball of my feet anymore even after a long run. I'm very happy with this latest comfort I find with New Balance 1500v3.

Outsole


Forgive my ignorance about racing flats. I have never owned one. New Balance 1500v3 is my first. 😁 

The outsole design is definitely different from Skechers and Saucony Kinvara, providing better grip for speed.

May be I wasn't very comfortable with it earlier. I actually found it a bit slippery when I ran on the wet jogging track. I lost the grip when running on slopes - on wet surface of the jogging track I tried on. That's the reason why I didn't wear New Balance 1500v3 to run the full marathon in Tianzhong, Taiwan in November 2017 (I wore ASICS Thartherzeal 5 instead) because it was raining whole day. With slopes along the racing route, I was very worried I might slip and fall. 

But I guess my worry was an overkill and unnecessary. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I wasn't used to the shoe yet.

I tried again running with New Balance 1500v3 on wet surfaces recently and I could feel the grip! I guess it's just a matter of time for my adjustment!

When I run on dry surface, I really love the grip! It helps to push and propel me forward!

And I just love how the landing is! I find that the 6mm heel drop also helps because I feel that I can land comfortably as I move my feet one after another forward. 

I believe it has something to do with the lightweight, flexible TPU shank engineered for a torsional stability in the shoe and arch support through a unique center beam design.

It's simply awesome!!

By the way, even though it's still too early for me to tell if New Balance 1500v3 is durable in terms of wear and tear, but by looking at the material and design on the outsole, I believe New Balance 1500v3 is very durable and long-lasting.


Design


What can I say? New Balance 1500v3 is very trendy and fashionable!

New Balance 1500v3's design and color don't look like a bit like any other running shoes I have owned. No neon bright colours like the typical running shoes!

The dark denim with dark porcelain blue and lime glo color makes it very easy to match with any outfit. In fact, New Balance 1500v3 looks so fashionable that I feel very happy to wear it as casual wear.

I know for sure that even after the wear and tear of New Balance 1500v3 one day after clocking in more distances,  I can still wear New Balance 1500v3 out to the streets, shopping malls, etc with my jeans and tee-shirts. I can also wear it during travel too, just like my most recent trip in Taiwan.

Do I look cool, trendy and fashionable (and young! haha!) in New Balance 1500v3 at Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan? 😁


In summary

After wearing New Balance1500v3 in different occasions (including non-running related), and running in 5 different surfaces, I must say that I'm falling in love with New Balance 1500v3.

Even though it has taken me a while to make some adjustment, I'm glad I am now fully adjusted to New Balance 1500v3 already.

I still love my Skechers. I still love my Saucony Kinvara. I also love my new pair of ASICS Thartherzeal 5. 

But I'm most very happy and fulfilled to have added New Balance 1500v3 into my shoe collection. 

I sincerely hope that one day New Balance 1500v3 can help me to achieve personal best (PB) in my future marathons!


Do I recommend New Balance 1500v3?

If you are looking for same type of running shoe as me for the same needs as mine, then I would strongly recommend New Balance 1500v3 to you. 

For more details, you can check out New Balance's official website at www.newbalance.com 



Inspirational Quote.  Run On!

Words.                       Vincent Khor
Date.                         14 January 2018
Facebook.                 http://www.facebook.com/vincentkhorblog
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