New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo v3

Name: New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo v3
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.7 (20 reviews)

Daily trainer · Stability · Road · 9.7 oz · 35/31mm stack · 4mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo v4 replaced it

How it ranks

The New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo v3 trails most daily trainers in our data. Durability and cushioning are its strongest sub-ratings. Looks scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating is based on 20 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Fresh Foam Vongo product line.

Below average

Overall

Below average 68

Durability

Excellent 93

Cushioning

Very good 90

Comfort

Good 87

Value

Good 81

Appearance

Decent 75

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

93 High

High 93

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.

Product line track record
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Runs about a half size big”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Liberty ISO

“Strong and spongy mid-foot cushioning helps alleviate foot pain”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“Lasted nearly 600 miles before cushioning broke down”

5/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Altra Provision 3.5

“Feet don't start feeling tired until at least the 8 mile mark even on hard asphalt”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

“Feel like mush when going faster; not responsive enough”

4/5 Full review

“The ride was like butter”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the HOKA Clifton 3

“Can handle a ton of mileage without transferring much of a beating on your legs”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

“Poor ventilation causes foot/insole sliding on hot days”

5/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Guide ISO

“Reliable for logging longer miles without excessive wear and tear”

5/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 10

“Much less like a brick than typical stability shoes”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

“Legs felt protected and fresh after 20+ mile run”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for ultramarathons came from the HOKA Clifton 3

“Good for easy and recovery runs; not for tempo sessions”

4/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo

“Lightweight, supportive and responsive”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a marathon came from the Nike Air Zoom Structure 22

“Fresh Foam denser along medial side acts as a less rigid post”

4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for middle distance came from the Saucony Liberty ISO

“Fresh Foam really shining through in the cushioning category”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

“When picking up pace and getting on your toes feels more forced than normal”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

“Wider than average at the toes”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon

“Requires adjustment period if coming from a 12mm drop”

4/5 Full review

“Higher-priced options may offer better performance”

4/5 Full review 20 mpw came from the Brooks Ghost 10

“Cushioning wears out faster than some other brands”

4/5 Full review 45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

Prefer this shoe over another

44% 7/16

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 23.

Pros

Reviewers report several hundred miles before the cushioning breaks down, and rate durability 4.6 out of 5.
Its stability comes from denser foam along the medial side, and reviewers find it less rigid underfoot than posted shoes.
Reviewers prefer it to the first two Vongo versions, which score 59 and 60.

Cons

Reviewers find it mushy and unresponsive at faster paces.
Averaging 9.7 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 reports it ventilates poorly, with the insole sliding underfoot on hot days.

Fresh Foam Vongo v3 rates 68. This shoe has high 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 This shoe

2018 · 20 reviews

68 Below average

93 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v2

2017 · 7 reviews

62 Below average

84 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo

2017 · 8 reviews

61 Below average

83 Confidence

Runner Ratings

20 ratings

5/5 14

4/5 6

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: 9.7 oz
Men's / women's: Men's 10.5 oz · Women's 8.8 oz
Release: 2018 Q2
MSRP: $135
Stack: 35/31mm
Drop: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Good choice

5/5

Overall

I am neutral when I hit the ground, pronator when leave. So far (6 months) my experience with these shoes is very good!

Anonymous runner · Jul 26, 2019

5 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Newton Gravity 7

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

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Jul 24, 2019

45 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Great for everything but speedwork

4/5

Overall

As other reviews have said, the Vongo is a great option if you want a more natural feeling stability shoe. It is still very much on the heavier/plush side of things, but the lack of a medial post/guide rail and a more natural 4mm drop (vs the 12mm you see in most competitors) makes these feel less "forced" than other options. Note that if you are coming from a 12mm drop, you'll need to ease into using these, but now that I'm used to it I greatly prefer the lower drop The one major downside is that these feel like mush when going faster - they simply aren't responsive enough (the ~23mm toe stack height is certainly part of the problem), so plan on using something else for your tempos or interval work.

Anonymous runner · Jul 23, 2019

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

Great Stability Shoe Without the Stability Feel

4/5

Overall

This shoe is a great every day trainer and can handle a ton of mileage without transferring to much of a beating on your legs. The cushioning is great with the stack height and Fresh Foam really shining through in this category. Even in hard asphalt my feet don't start feeling tired until at the very least the 8 mile mark. I also love the offset of the shoe being 3-4 mm. Usually shoe with that low of a offset are pretty minimalist and aren't great daily trainers. Because of the low offset I was noticing that my foot strike was more efficient than normal on even recovery run. The last note on this is this lack of a medial post despite being a stability shoe. This was something I was wary of at first but ended up loving as it made the shoe much much less like a brick than your typical stability shoe. Now for what I didn't like, and If I had to sum this up in one word it would be Responsiveness. I know trainers like this aren't meant to be used for things like tempos or speed workouts. With that being said when picking ups the pay and getting on your toes at all feels more forced than normal. Pros: - The offset of the shoe felt like it really helps with a more efficient foot strike (Not heel striking as much) - Cushioned and durable ride - Can handle long runs well - Upper was secure - No medial post Cons: - Hard shoe to do any speed in - Cushioning does wear out faster than some other brands

Anonymous runner · Jul 23, 2019

45 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16

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

Super comfy

5/5

Overall

Stable, soft, and has that lightweight feel. Works well with my foot strike and stride so I easily glide along in these shoes. Have 300 miles on my first pair and they're holding up great thanks to all the foam packed in there and a fully covered outsole. I'm noticing that they don't ventilate very well, which means that my foot or insole will slide around on especially hot days. If I'm running fast - 5:30-6:00 pace - I just lock the laces down a bit tighter and usually don't have a problem with the sliding.

sfergusond · Jul 11, 2019

70 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Guide ISO