New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo

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

Daily trainer · Stability · Road · 10 oz · 4mm drop · 25/21mm stack

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 rests on 8 runner reviews and 4 other rated shoes in the Fresh Foam Vongo product line. Another 4 reviews would set the confidence on this shoe's own reviews.

Bottom-tier

59/100

Overall

Bottom-tier 59

Cushioning

Very good 93

Durability

Good 85

Value

Good 82

Comfort

Decent 77

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

See the product line's history

Confidence

80/100

Moderate 80

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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“Very light for a support shoe”

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

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 Sep 14.

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 on 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 59. This shoe has moderate certainty. 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

59 2017 61 2017 70 2018 84 2019 74 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

74 Decent

58 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v4

2019 · 7 reviews

84 Good

75 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v3

2018 · 20 reviews

70 Decent

90 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo v2

2017 · 7 reviews

61 Below average

77 Confidence
Fresh Foam Vongo This shoe

2017 · 8 reviews

59 Bottom-tier

80 Confidence

Reader 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: 10 oz
Release: 2017 Q3
MSRP: $130
Stack Height: 25mm heel - 21mm toe
Drop Height: 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

Reader review

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