Disclaimer: I received a pair of New Balance 1400v2 as a gift, however I was not compensated for this post. All the opinions expressed here are my own. At the end of August New Balance sent me a pair of their 1400v2 shoes to try. It was part of a larger pack of gear they sent me for participating in their Reach the Beach Blogger Team events. Since New Balance is the only running shoe I've never tried I was eager to give their products a good wear testing. I've exclusively worn Saucony for the last three years, but before settling on Saucony I ran in Asics and Brooks. But somehow had passed on ever trying on a pair of New Balance.

Since getting the shoes back in August I've logged quite a few miles on them, including nearly all of the 26.44 miles of Reach the Beach--a good enough wear-testing for a review.

Description:The New Balance 1400v2 is described by New Balance as a "racing flat [that] was designed to achieve an ultralight racing experience, with the responsiveness of a REVlite® midsole and enhanced stability of a welded upper." For the most part that's what it feels like: a road flat.

Stats: According the NB the 1400 weighs 5.4oz (probably a womens size 8) my size 10 weighed in at 6.2 oz. The 1400 also has a 10mm drop, which I'm not used to running in. Traditionally I run in shoes with a 4mm (Saucony Kinvara, Fastwitch) drop or an 8 mm drop (Saucony Ride).

Fit: The 1400's fit well right off the bat. There wasn't anything glaringly uncomfortable about them and from the first run they seemed to work very well on my foot. I did notice though that the toe box tapered down on the top of the shoe very close to the top of my big toe. There was plenty of room in front of the toe, just not that much room on the top of the foot. In fact it rubbed a little at times while running. If I were to run a marathon in these shoes (not sure I would) but I think at the end I wouldn't have a big toe-nail anymore. I've never had issues with losing toe-nails and don't think I want to start now. There was also an issue with the insole, which I discuss more in the Cons, but that I believe is exclusive to my pair of shoes.

Upper: The upper is constructed of a mesh that is bonded to the other materials and is very breathable and light weight. The tongue was also light weight an not bulky at all, which I prefer. I don't like shoes that have a heavily padded upper. So far the upper has held up over the 50+ miles I've logged in the shoes. There have been no rips or tears or spots wear rubbing has worn the fabric. So it appears to be holding up well. I would imagine the life span of a shoe like this would be 200-300 miles.

Sole: The sole has a grippy feel on the road and the track, nice traction and shows little signs of wear so far.

Road Feel: For a road flat I was instantly surprised at how cushioned the 1400 felt. It had more give and felt slightly more responsive on the sole of the foot than most road flats, which have a tendency to be so minimal that they lack cushion and feel very firm on the road. I thought I'd noticed the 10mm drop right away, but for the most part it didn't seem all that different while running, when standing I did feel a slight difference: as if I was wearing a "heel." I have no way of knowing whether or not it changed my gate, but I don't feel that it did.

Initially I thought the 1400's felt fast. They are lighter than the Fastwitch and Kinvara and feel more like the A5 to me, but are more cushioned than both the Fastwitch and the A5. I was planning on an easy run the first time out, but easily fell in to a much speedier pace thanks to the light feel of the shoes. They beg for speed.

Pros: I really liked that the shoe is lighter than the Saucony Fastwitch and Kinvara. I also really liked the grippy road feel of the sole and I really liked that they had a more cushioned feel than most road racing flats I've worn.

Cons: I really wanted to love this shoe completely, but the insole kept slipping back while running. It's not an issue I've seen documented in other reviews so I think this is just a fluke with the pair I have. But it was quite annoying. Over the course of a run (short or long) the insole would slip back far enough that I could feel the edge of the insole under my toes. You can see form the picture how the heel of the sole as been bent up as it has slipped back. I've since swapped insoles with another NB shoe I have and that seems to have fixed the issue.

Insole for the NB 1400v2 on top (black), clearly curled up at the heel. Insole for NB Fresh Foam Trail on the bottom.

As for the toe-box I'm not sure if I need a 10.5 to give me a little more room in the toe box? The shoes felt like the fit in length, but the top of the shoe just didn't seem roomy enough for my toe. It might be a sizing issue or it might be the construction of the shoe is such that it fits close to the top of the foot and toes and I'm just not used to that? I really think that if I were to wear these for a longer distance run or race that it would irritate the top of my toe and potentially cause problems. But a bigger size might solve that problem

Overall: On the whole I really liked the shoe and have been wearing it quite frequently, both on the track and on the road. I love it's light fast feel, combined with a bit more cushion than what I'm used to in a road flat. I also like the color options available, they are bright and fun. I would purchase the shoe on my own ($99.99), but probably test out a half size bigger to see if that resolves the toe box issue.

Have you worn the 1400s? Do you run in New Balance?

--Sarah

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