Great Quality Long Run Shoe
4/5
Overall
Gordon Tremeshko · Jul 16, 2018
50 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Clifton 3
- Comfort
- 4/5
- Cushioning
- 4/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 3/5
- Value
- 3/5
New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon
Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 6.9 oz · 29/23mm stack · 6mm drop
Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon v2 replaced it
How it ranks
The New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Comfort and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating is based on 32 runner reviews and 2 other rated shoes in the Fresh Foam Beacon product line.
Excellent
Confidence
How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence is low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.
Confidence
98 Very high
Based on
The bars show roughly how much each source contributes to this shoe’s rating. Their influence depends on how many reviews we’ve collected, how many earlier versions are in the product line, and the external ratings available.
- Brand rating
- Our ratings
- External ratings
What runners say
“This shoe is extremely durable. I've put over 50 miles between dirt, roads, and trail in this shoe, and the only true wear on it is the dirt it has accumulated.”
“My legs are surprisingly not destroyed, as they have been in my other trainers (NB 880 v9, Brooks Ghost 11, Saucony Kinvara 9) after slightly shorter runs.”
“Light enough for speed work and repeats, durable enough to last a reasonable workload of daily wear, and comfortable enough to wear during long runs.”
“It is responsive when you need it, but cushioned when you want it.”
“I love that it's a super light weight shoe and provides plenty of cushion without having to go for a clunky heavy shoe.”
“The cushioning is ample but not intense/overwhelming. It's also not as soft as I expected but that's not a bad thing, it means the shoe feels a bit more responsive.”
“Beacon is cushioned, but somehow still has good road feel and feels responsive.”
“Excellent blend of cushioning (particularly in the forefoot), flexibility, and bounce.”
“I've tried for years to find a shoe that I can put on, go for a run, and not think about my feet. These accomplish that.”
“They are super comfortable at slower paces and have amazing energy return, making them good at faster paces/harder efforts.”
“Going downhill, it's going to feel like you will fly out of this shoe.”
“For the first two miles I wore these I hated them. They felt like styrofoam blocks on my feet.”
“After 200 miles the shoe loses some responsiveness but the cushioning remains premium.”
“The heel collar will run in your Achilles the first few times you run in it.”
“Traction is poor in wet conditions, they run a bit hot, and they get waterlogged.”
“I do still want a softer option for long runs, but Beacons work great for marathon pace and easy pace runs.”
“They seem to wear out after about 150 miles.”
“You may want to size up 1/2 size, but realize that the sloppy upper will diminish the value of sizing up.”
“The insoles are paper thin and don't grip the bottom of the shoe.”
“Doesn't feel "fast" so better for long steady efforts for me than all-out workouts or races.”
“I ended up with a hole in the top of the big toe area, which usually happens with my shoes, but it would be nice if more models had a little extra fabric there to prevent that.”
“The durability on the outsole is not bad, but the lack of outsole material shows.”
“I only wish they added a touch more hard rubber under the toe box to increase its durability.”
Prefer this shoe over another
53% 20/38
Where to buy
No offers available
Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.
Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 23.
Pros
- At 7.5 oz, reviewers still get enough cushioning for long runs.
- Runners use it for easy days, tempos and marathons alike.
- Many find the roomy toe box comfortable, and it comes in a wide.
Cons
- The outsole carries little rubber, and several reviewers replace the shoe by about 300 miles.
- Three reviewers report the thin insole sliding back and bunching under the heel.
- One reviewer finds the upper sloppy on downhills, and another finds it hot and slow to dry.
Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale
Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.
Better Shoes Rating
Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon
Each dot is one version of the Fresh Foam Beacon, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.
Release year
-
2020 · 2 reviews
90 Very good
67 Confidence
-
2019 · 14 reviews
97 Exceptional
91 Confidence
-
Fresh Foam Beacon This shoe
2018 · 32 reviews
93 Excellent
98 Confidence
Specs & fit
Sizing and ride details at a glance.
- Weight
- 6.9 oz
- Men's / women's
- Men's 7.5 oz · Women's 6.4 oz
- Release
- 2018 Q2
- MSRP
- $120
- Stack
- 29/23mm
- Drop
- 6mm
Runner reviews
Max Cushion w no Squishyness, Incredible Cushion to Weight Ratio
4/5
Overall
theJeff · Jun 29, 2018
65 mpw training for a half marathon
- Comfort
- 5/5
- Cushioning
- 5/5
- Durability
- 4/5
- Appearance
- 5/5
- Value
- 5/5
Alternatives
Other shoes worth considering.
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Compared to other shoes
See how this shoe compares to others like it.
New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon In Context
More on the New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon
Compare every Fresh Foam Beacon versionReviewers Also Ran In
- New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v3 2 runners
- New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4 2 runners
- Saucony Kinvara 9 2 runners