Shoe Review: New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail v1

Trails take notice, the New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail is here.
New Balance designed the More Trail with its biggest bed of Fresh Foam to help carry you farther. The thick midsole paired with a burly, studded outsole makes it one of the best trail running shoes on the market.
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Fleet Feet reviewers put a lot of training miles and a 50K trail race onto the New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail to see how the shoe feels underfoot and how well it grips the trail. Here’s what they thought.
Tech specs | New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail |
Weight | 8.9 oz (W), 10.8 oz (M) |
Drop | 4 mm |
Midsole | Fresh Foam |
Category | Neutral |
Use | Everyday training |
Surface | Trail |
New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail Fit and Materials

New Balance built the Fresh Foam More Trail for comfort. While the midsole gets the headlines, the fit plays a huge role in how comfortable the shoe is.
Let’s start with the upper: The upper includes two different types of mesh. A stiffer, more structured mesh forms the midfoot while a lighter, flexible mesh covers the toe box. New Balance reinforced the toe, too, for extra durability.
Testers found the Fresh Foam More Trail fits similarly to the New Balance Fresh Foam 1080v10. It has a generous amount of width through the midfoot and forefoot, and the last doesn’t have an aggressive curve, which puts your big toe in a neutral position.
“It’s very comfortable,” one tester says. “The fit isn’t aggressive or sloppy. It really strikes a good balance.”
The other important part of the fit is the heel. New Balance dialed in the design there, too.
New Balance included a thin, slightly flexible heel counter that’s less rigid than some other shoes, but the More Trail doesn’t miss the rigidity. Testers say the heel cup fits snugly around the back of their feet, and it hung on securely through many miles.
The rest of the heel cup is well-cushioned. A soft pad runs around the inside, and it’s covered in a smooth fabric—ideal for long days off road.
Designers threaded thin, flat laces through a standard lacing pattern, and they included an empty eyelet at the top of the shoe to let you change the lacing if you want to.
One of the most thoughtful details is the tongue. New Balance designed a thin, minimally padded tongue that molds comfortably over the top of your foot. But the More Trails tongue is sewed into a full bootie.
On many modern road shoes, the tongue is sewn into stretchy straps on each side for a semi-bootie fit. That design leaves gaps at the corners where the tongue meets the toe box. It’s not a problem for road shoes, but it could let dirt and debris into your shoe on the trail.
To keep dirt out, New Balance sewed the tongue all the way around, so there’s no gaps between the tongue and the upper.
One detail not to be overlooked is the color. New Balance’s ‘80s-themed hues give the More Trail real character.
“I love the throwback ‘80s colors,” one tester says. “It really gives the shoe a fun and energizing look.”
New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail Ride and Performance

The first thing testers noticed about the New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail is the midsole—it’s hard to miss.
New Balance packed a ton of foam into the shoe for a protective ride. The Fresh Foam composition here doesn’t feel quite as soft as some New Balance road shoes, like the Fresh Foam 1080v10, but it provides a really good cushion between your foot and the sharp rocks and jagged roots that can litter some trails.
Another nice feature of the midsole is its sidewall design; the foam creates a sort of cup for your heel and midfoot. The sides of the foam rise up above the footbed, which act as bumpers to center your foot every time you step down.
“The midsole is elevated and hugs your rearfoot,” one tester says. “It provides fantastic cushion and flexibility, and its shape provides inherent stability that keeps me neutral through footstrike.”
Even with all that foam, though, testers say the More Trail feels lightweight and agile. Part of the nimble feeling comes from the flex grooves in the sole that allow for a natural transition, but it’s the impressive weight that encourages quick turnovers.
Designers mated the midsole to a burly, molded outsole. New Balance shaped the rubber into deep lugs that dig into soft trails and give you more traction on slippery surfaces. Smaller, narrower lugs under the forefoot help power uphill, while larger, wider lugs in the heel help control descents.
One tester put the shoes through 15- to 20-mile training runs and a very technical 50K trail race. She says the More Trail performed admirably.
“It was perfect for the trail race. The course was incredibly technical. There were multiple stream crossings and off-camber terrain that was hardly a trail. At one point it was about a mile of just running on moss-covered rocks,” she says. “But I felt secure in the shoes at all times.”
Even better: She says her feet stayed blister-free despite multiple thigh-deep stream crossings.
Conclusion

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The New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail is a comfortable and capable trail running shoe that packs a whole lot of cushion without packing a lot of weight.
New Balance’s Fresh Foam shines in the new trail shoe. It’s responsive without being hard, and there’s plenty of it to protect your feet from rocks and roots. Fleet Feet reviewers say it’s adept at handling technical terrain, and it drains well after splashing through streams.
Coated in a grippy rubber outsole that’s studded with deep lugs for increased traction on soft trails, the New Balance Fresh Foam More Trail delivers lightweight performance for the most demanding trail runs.
Still not convinced? Don’t sweat it. Fleet Feet's return policy means you can test drive your shoes and gear without risk. If you’re not happy with the way your gear performs, looks or fits, we’ll take it back within 60 days. Plus, you’ll get free shipping on orders over $99 and free return shipping on all fleetfeet.com orders. That's our Happy Fit Guarantee.