New Balance Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit

Name: New Balance Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.9 (14 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 6.9 oz · 23/17mm stack · 6mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock.

How it ranks

The New Balance Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Value and looks are its strongest sub-ratings. Cushioning scores well below its other sub-ratings. The rating is based on 14 runner reviews.

Good

Overall

Good 89

Value

Very good 92

Appearance

Very good 91

Durability

Decent 76

Comfort

Decent 75

Cushioning

Below average 65

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

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.

Brand rating
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Heel counter more comfortable than any other shoe”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Durability under toes is bad—holes in every pair”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Shoe feels like it disappears under you”

5/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon

“Seriously light, feels like a less edgy racing flat”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Freedom ISO

“Perfect for narrow-footed runners seeking a connected-to-ground feel”

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

“Insole too thin, moves around after 8km or when wet”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Fujilyte

“Midsole very responsive and feels great when running hard”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Upper fits like a sock”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Smooth out of box, no break-in needed”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for middle distance came from the New Balance 890 v6

“Takes time to break in, uncomfortable in arch first week”

4/5 Full review 110 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Diadora Mythos Blushield Hip 3

“Concerned about legs taking a beating with the lack of cushion”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Freedom ISO

“Racing flats that served as a trainer”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Freedom ISO

“Outsole provides solid traction on road and handles gentle trails”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Caused heel pain sometimes”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Startling amount of mileage for a lightweight shoe”

4/5 Full review 110 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Diadora Mythos Blushield Hip 3

“Gloves top of foot but can create chafing in weird areas”

4/5 Full review 70 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“400 miles in and still have life left”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Tread in heel disappearing”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Fujilyte

“Heel slips a bit and feels stiff”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Wears out really fast”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Fujilyte

“Insole bunches up when wet”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

“Didn't last as long as hoped”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Freedom ISO

“Happier on the road or track”

5/5 Full review 20 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Freedom ISO

“After around 600km”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4

Prefer this shoe over another

41% 9/22

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

Light at 7.4 oz, and reviewers call it fast and responsive.
Reviewers rate it well for tempo runs, intervals and racing.
It lists at $110, and value rates 4.7 out of 5, with two reviewers calling it cheap for what it is.

Cons

Durability is the weakest dimension at 4.2 out of 5, and two reviewers wear through the outsole at the heel or the toes.
Two reviewers have the thin insole shift or bunch when the shoe gets wet.
Four reviewers find it firm with little cushioning, and two prefer other shoes for easy miles.

Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit rates 89. This shoe has high confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Runner Ratings

14 ratings

5/5 12

4/5 2

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: 6.9 oz
Men's / women's: Men's 7.4 oz · Women's 6.4 oz
Release: 2019 Q1
MSRP: $110
Stack: 23/17mm
Drop: 6mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Fast shoe

5/5

Overall

Light, fast training shoe with decent sole and support.

Anonymous runner · Jul 3, 2019

40 mpw training for a half marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon

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

New Balance FF Zante Pursuit

5/5

Overall

These shoes felt smooth out of the box, with no "break-in" period needed for my feet to get used to them. I have done runs of 3-10 miles in them, anywhere from 5 minute mile pace up to 7 minute mile pace. They feel comfortable on the foot, lightweight, and reasonably responsive at all the paces I have tried. I have only run about 100 miles in them so far, and don't know about their long-term durability (although they already seem to be doing better than the NB Zante 4, which I had tried previously).

Anonymous runner · Jul 3, 2019

50 mpw training for middle distance came from the New Balance 890 v6

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

Grew on me.

5/5

Overall

Out of the box I was a bit skeptical of this shoe. The upper seemed to unstructured and it appeared to be a big change from the zante. After a few runs I was convinced that it was an improvement. The shoe feels like it disappears under me. The cushioning is great and the durability is also very good.

Anonymous runner · Jul 3, 2019

35 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Wonderful light weight training shoe

5/5

Overall

I love this shoe as a great light weight training shoe, but for 2 issues. First, it wears out really fast. The tread in the heel is disappearing. Second, the insole is too thin so it starts moving around after about 8km or if the shoe gets wet like from rain or puddles, such that you cannot run without pain each foot strike. I’ve taken to using the insoles from old ASICS and using them instead.

Anonymous runner · May 26, 2019

30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the ASICS GEL-Fujilyte