Nowadays, the world of super shoes is a mightily congested market with virtually every sneaker label having its own variation of a performance-focused runner.
Despite the crowdedness (and believe me, it’s crowded), there are a handful of brands making carbon-fiber plated runners considerably better than others, one of which being New Balance.
The Boston-based footwear label, which dropped its first game-changing super shoe back in July 2022, has raised the bar when it comes to its performance silhouettes, most notably with the introduction of its SC Elite series.
Its latest evolution, the SC Elite v4, takes New Balance’s super shoe proceedings to another level though, both technically and aesthetically.
From a technical standpoint, the v4 comprises everything we’ve come to expect of a modern day New Balance super shoe — a carbon-fiber plate in the midsole and Fuel Cell foam underfoot — although, thanks to a redesigned upper, aesthetically it’s an entirely different beast.
Rumors are currently slating a release date of early 2024 for New Balance’s SC Elite v4 (the same time as Nike's Alphafly 3 is set to land), which would make sense considering the commencement of spring marathon season in March. There were also a handful of athletes seen wearing the silhouette at the New York City Marathon earlier this month.
Alongside the likes of Nike, adidas, and arguably On, New Balance’s super shoes are up there as both the fastest and the most advanced.
However, with a reported retail price of $230, New Balance’s SuperComp Elite v4 is the cheapest compared to the adidas Adios Pro Evo v1 ($500), Nike’s Alphafly ($300), and On’s Cloudboom Echo Boom 3 ($290).
$230 is, of course, by no means cheap. But then again, what else did you expect of a shoe that’s literally super. A super shoe deserves a super price, right?
