New Balance 1080 v5 Review (What is Fresh Foam?)

[Roger Caffin]

Companion forum thread to: New Balance 1080 v5 Review (What is Fresh Foam?)

The newly released New Balance 1080v5 shoes have “fresh foam” technology to minimize running wear on the body without compromising stability.

[HiLight]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like they complement the Leadville V2 shoe, with a road focus. I look forward to your durability results.

[John Klinepeter]

I have been wearing a pair of Fresh Foam 980 shoes the last few weeks.  They have become my preferred hiking shoes for the moment,  I removed the insoles and inserted gel heel cups to cushion my tender heels.  No insole material under the toes leaves plenty of volume for my toes.  The soles are thick enough and stiff enough to tolerate stepping on rocks.  The mesh material above the forefoot allows the entry of dust.  Max carried pack weight so far is about 20 pounds; the shoes worked fine at that weight and I intend to use them to carry 23-24 pounds next week. (I tried to separate the above into two paragraphs but it was not allowed.  What the hay?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robin McKay]

Roger – an unfortunate name for NZ consumers. 1080 is a deadly poison used throughout our backcountry to control possums. Stoats and rabbits to protect our native birds and fauna. There is a group of highly emotional people against this (objects not based in science). Personally, as a backcountry regular user – and a dweller of a rabbit infested area (central Otago ), I agree with its usage – Rob

[Roger Caffin]

Update on life:

We started wearing these in the middle of March 2016. It is now 1-September, and we are still wearing them when running for about 1 hour on 2 mornings out of 3. Running on asphalt (roadway) then rough dirt (fire trail). No significant signs of wear or breakdown so far, after about 5 1/2 months solid use. Not bad.

Cheers

 

[HiLight]

Not bad at all for a running shoe. I’ve been very happy with how well the Leadville V2 works on rough trails, so I may give The Freshness a try when my regular pavement shoes die.

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