New Balance Women's 1500v6 Running Shoe

Product Information

I have landed only a handful of shoes that have treated me as well as these. This is the second pair of this series after retiring the previous version. These are my go-to shoes for the half-marathon without question.

There are fewer flex grooves in the front and rear. In its place is a larger outsole with tiny perforations that expose the foam under the forefoot. The weight is up by 0.3-ounces or 8 grams due to the greater coverage of outsole rubber. Besides a miss in the heel, this continues to be a great shoe in my lineup for speed and function. If you want something fast, yet stable this is the shoe for you!It’s a modestly priced shoe that gains traction in popularity every year, but is still a sleeper hit. Mostly this is due to the fact that there isn’t a big demand for a racing flat that also gives support. The tongue top now has a foam padded section to prevent lace bite. This is helpful because the lacing near the top is wider than the front. This is new for the 1500V6; the V5 had evenly spaced eyelets. Here, the distance between the center eyelets is around 20% greater than the front three rows.

The tread is wearing nicely at 63 miles as of today. There are signs of wear on the toe and the heel as expected. I typically change out shoes around the 300-mile mark, and these appear to be right on that schedule.White typically does not stay clean, but I have had no issues with these staining or showing their age prematurely. Recent runs have put them through some water and even a tad of mud, so the sparkle is starting to dwindle. Build The sole of the shoe is intriguing. It has small lugs that have some bite, but you don’t feel them as individual components when running. I have had no issue with slipping on wet pavement or asphalt. The sensation on the ground is solid protection with minimal bounce and ease of rotation. There are no ridges or rises on the forefoot or midfoot area—the toe just eases into the forefoot to the midfoot to the hell seamlessly. The outer midsole has a raised sidewall like the 890 for support. Everyone’s doing the ‘Guiderail’ thing, so might as well do it on the 1500.

After a few hundred miles on older 1500 design (V1 to V5), the foam around the hard medial-post would compress and make the latter more noticeable than it was on day 1. This shouldn’t be a problem with the V6 due to the low-slung medial wedge.

New Balance 1500v6 Upper Unit

Competition is slim, but there are a couple. Saucony Fastwitch is the biggest contender and If you really want to count a 3 year old shoe, the Brooks Asteria is the one out right now. New Balance 1500v6 First Impressions Is it a game changer? No, but you really need to either go half a size up or take advantage of New Balance’s attention to the wide footed runner. With a new knit upper and a midsole that tones down the medial post, the completely redesigned 1500V6 is a sign of the times. This is one of the few shoes that I have burned through that felt right on the first lace and took no break-in to get accustomed to its features. This is one of the few shoes that I don’t “feel” when running. Apparently, my feet splay greatly when running and require some space in the toe-box. I got these as a wide option, and they give just that right amount of snug around the midfoot, but my toes are wild and free!