New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo

Name: New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.4 (8 reviews)

Daily trainer · Stability · Road · 9.4 oz · 25/21mm stack · 4mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo v3 replaced it

How it ranks

The New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo trails most daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and durability are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating is based on 8 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Fresh Foam Vongo product line.

Below average

Overall

Below average 61

Cushioning

Good 86

Durability

Good 80

Value

Decent 79

Comfort

Decent 74

Appearance

Decent 74

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.

See the product line's history

Confidence

83 Moderate

Moderate 83

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

“Go up a half size from what you measure!”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ravenna 7

“Extremely durable and the low heel-toe drop ratio allows me to run comfortably on my midfoot or forefoot”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Long life (800+ miles before you start feeling the road)”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Mirage 4

“Nice amount of padding for distance/long runs, but still responsive enough for tempos”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Mirage 4

“The Vongo is a 4mm drop which makes midfoot striking much easier to achieve”

4/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Coast V3

“Great balance between the sole and the upper making it feel light without sacrificing any fresh foam cushioning”

5/5 Full review 80 mpw 4,171 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon came from the New Balance 880 v4

“Just the right amount of support for my moderate pronation and a fantastic amount of cushioning”

4/5 Full review 10 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 10

“Some wear noted on the soles after about 100 miles, but holding up well beyond that”

4/5 Full review 10 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 10

“The shoes hold up relatively well, around 400 miles”

4/5 Full review 55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Coast V3

“Very light for a support shoe”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a half marathon

“Downside is longer than normal to break-in”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Mirage 4

“Toe box is large”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Mirage 4

“Fast smooth ride”

5/5 Full review 80 mpw 4,171 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon came from the New Balance 880 v4

“It fits really well and feels good underfoot”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ravenna 7

Prefer this shoe over another

13% 1/8

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

Comfort and durability both average 4.5 out of 5 across eight reviews, and the five who rated cushioning give it 4.8.
Three reviewers call it light for a support shoe, and two say the 4mm drop lets them midfoot strike in one.
Two reviewers get 400 to 800 miles from a pair.

Cons

Averaging 9.4 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is heavier than the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers for sale.
One reviewer finds the break-in longer than normal, and another says to go up half a size.
One reviewer would not have bought it at full price, and another sees wear on the soles by 100 miles.

Fresh Foam Vongo rates 61. This shoe has moderate confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo

Each dot is one version of the Fresh Foam Vongo, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

61 2017 62 2017 68 2018 77 2019 79 2021

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Fresh Foam Vongo v5

2021 · 6 reviews

79 Decent

75 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v4

2019 · 7 reviews

77 Decent

85 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v3

2018 · 20 reviews

68 Below average

93 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v2

2017 · 7 reviews

62 Below average

84 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo This shoe

2017 · 8 reviews

61 Below average

83 Confidence

Runner Ratings

8 ratings

5/5 3

4/5 5

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 9.4 oz
Men's / women's: Men's 10.0 oz · Women's 8.8 oz
Release: 2017 Q3
MSRP: $130
Stack: 25/21mm
Drop: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

3rd iteration of owning these shoes

5/5

Overall

Having moderate pronation and running over 30-40 miles a week, I've owned these pairs for the past 3 years. Extremely durable and the low heel-toe drop ratio allows me to run comfortably on my midfoot or forefoot. Have not been injured with these and I find them very light for a support shoe.

Anonymous runner · Feb 28, 2019

40 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Great shoe for moderate support

4/5

Overall

Bought a pair of Vongos at a discount to try them out. Found a great shoe with just the right amount of support for my moderate pronation and a fantastic amount of cushioning. Some wear noted on the soles after about 100 miles, but holding up well beyond that. Will try an updated version when it's time to replace these beauties.

Anonymous runner · Jul 11, 2018

10 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 10

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

4/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Apr 25, 2018

30 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 4/5

Vongo: A Wide Foot's Best Friend

5/5

Overall

Toe box is large. Generally can get them for 65 dollars Nice amount of padding for distance/long runs, but still responsive enough for tempos Long life (800+ miles before you start feeling the road) Slight arch support is there, but not obtrusive Downside is longer than normal to break-in

Anonymous runner · Feb 18, 2018

70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Mirage 4

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 5/5
Appearance: 3/5
Value: 3/5

Great, unique shoe

4/5

Overall

The Vongo is a great shoe for people in need of a stability shoe, but who also prefer a low drop shoe. Most stability/overpronation shoes have a 10mm+ drop, very few go below 8mm. The vongo is a 4mm drop which makes midfoot striking much easier to achieve. The shoes hold up relatively well, around 400 miles. I've had 4 pairs over the last 2 years. I think they look really nice too, I have no problem walking to class with them on without feeling silly. Really good shoe.

Spaghettimonster · Feb 6, 2018

55 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Coast V3