In production · trail · Trail / Race day / Tempo · $160
Fast, low trail racer born from NB's fell-and-mountain ambitions.
Built for trail, race day, tempo, at a target pace of 7:30–10:30 /mi on trail.
New Balance tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is above average: the midsole rebounds well without feeling unstable. 34 mm of heel stack is the modern daily-trainer sweet spot — enough foam for long miles without losing contact with the road. Combined, the ride reads as snappy at 4/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is narrow and performance-oriented; wide-footed runners should try before buying. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 300 miles from the outsole, about $0.53 per mile at $160.
For the foams and plates New Balance uses across its line, read the New Balance brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
230 g / 8.1 oz
45 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
34 mm
2 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$160
Level with the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~300 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the New Balance line it is lighter than the brand's median (278 g / 9.8 oz) and sits lower than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed 2(2026)
240 g / 8.5 oz · 33 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $160
Stripped-down trail racer, lighter than the first Agravic Speed.
Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 4
250 g / 8.8 oz · 34 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $220
Locked-in technical trail racer with outstanding Contagrip traction.
Hoka Zinal 2
227 g / 8.0 oz · 30 mm · 5 mm drop · — · $160
Featherweight trail racer for short, fast mountain efforts.
Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed
255 g / 9.0 oz · 31 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $160
Light, quick trail racer with Continental grip.