New Balance 890 v4

Name: New Balance 890 v4
Brand: New Balance
Rating: 4.2 (57 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 11 oz · 8mm drop · 23/15mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance 890 v5 replaced it

How it ranks

The New Balance 890 v4 trails most daily trainers in our data. Cushioning and value are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 57 runner reviews and 6 other rated shoes in the 890 product line.

Bottom-tier

50/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 50

Cushioning

Below average 63

Value

Bottom-tier 57

Appearance

Bottom-tier 52

Durability

Bottom-tier 50

Comfort

Bottom-tier 50

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 will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

98/100

Very high 98

What runners say

“Feels really fast; pods compact differently per foot strike.”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam 980

“Third pair torn through in less than a month.”

2/5 Full review 85 mpw training for a half marathon

“Tongue is a huge monstrosity that makes the upper too tight.”

2/5 Full review 80 mpw training for a marathon

“Feels smaller, tighter, and thinner in sole than v3.”

4/5 Full review 80 mpw training for middle distance

“Feels just as good as new after 400 miles.”

4/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon

“Midsole is just enough cushioning without being too soft.”

5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the New Balance Fresh Foam 980

“Big gaps between sole parts pick up rocks.”

4/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a half marathon

“Outsole wears extremely fast.”

2/5 Full review 80 mpw training for a marathon

“Tongue is massive; tough to cinch on narrow foot.”

4/5 Full review 70 mpw training for a half marathon

“Midsole doesn't protect against rocks or small pebbles.”

4/5 Full review 95 mpw training for a half marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

40% 8/20

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

Three reviewers call it cushioned enough for long runs while still light on foot.
Two reviewers use it on both roads and dirt trails.

Cons

Reviewers rate durability 3.5 out of 5, its lowest dimension, and several report fast outsole wear.
At 11.0 oz it is well above the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers on sale.
The 890 v3 before it scores 63 on twenty-seven reviews and the 890 v7 scores 89 on nine, against this version's 50.

890 v4 rates 50. This shoe has very high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the New Balance 890

Each dot is one version of the 890, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

70 2012 63 2013 50 2014 59 2015 58 2018 88 2019 56 2020

Release year

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

890 v8

2020 · 2 reviews

56 Bottom-tier

70 Confidence
890 v7

2019 · 9 reviews

88 Good

85 Confidence
890 v6

2018 · 8 reviews

58 Bottom-tier

84 Confidence
890 v5

2015 · 4 reviews

59 Bottom-tier

75 Confidence
890 v4 This shoe

2014 · 57 reviews

50 Bottom-tier

98 Confidence
890 v3

2013 · 27 reviews

63 Below average

88 Confidence
890 v2

2012 · 5 reviews

70 Decent

67 Confidence

Reader Ratings

57 ratings

5/5 20

4/5 31

3/5 3

2/5 3

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 11 oz
Release: 2014
MSRP: $120
Stack Height: 23mm heel - 15mm toe
Drop Height: 8mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Zuma · Aug 28, 2014

110 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

Just great

dgraversgaard · Aug 27, 2014

70 mpw 1,217 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

It's a wonderful shoe, good for 50-60 mile weeks on asphalt as well as dirt.

Abxcrunner · Aug 27, 2014

55 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

nice well-cushioned and fairly lightweight neutral trainer. just right, not too soft, not too firm.

jwdjr · Aug 24, 2014

30 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Reader review

4/5

Overall

Very comfortable, good cushion, but I break them down pretty good after 200 miles on the road, then I just stick to dirt and grass surfaces with them.

Milethon · Aug 23, 2014

30 mpw training for a half marathon