MOUNTAIN RACES, BY MAYAYO New Balance Iron V6: Thorough test by Abel de Frutos. More and more support

Posted by adefrutos on March 25, 2021 in Mountain races, mountain races, Trail running material, nb iron v6, new balance fresh foam x iron v6, trail running | 3 Comments

New Balance Iron V6: Thorough test by Abel de Frutos. More and more support. Today our TRAIL SHOES section brings us the in-depth test of the sixth version of the Hierro, by our colleague Abel de Frutos. After a few months shooting with it and having tested the version five to the full during 2020, he brings us his final conclusion about this shoe.

Improvements or not, depending on who tests it, this latest version seeks to provide greater comfort (than version 5 already had) to users. Will they have achieved it? Let's first see the technical analysis by Abel de Frutos to then go with the conclusions.

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NEW BALANCE IRON V6

Proof in depth by Abel de Frutos

Big changes in this new version that I personally did not like very much. However there will be many users who will have loved these changes. But of course, not everyone has the same tastes, and not everyone is good at the same things.

At carrerademontana.com we have already analyzed and tested SEVEN VERSIONS of NB Hierro. Of all these versions, there have been some that we liked more than others. In my case and in my opinion version 5 was a leap forward from this shoe and it was very difficult to improve.

One of the reasons that version 5 has been "the apple of my eye" was clearly the width of its last. I am a wide foot, the last of this version 5 was a success from the first moment. A last that gave me enough comfort and that allowed me to put this shoe on any terrain, where even though it is not a shoe for technical terrain, comfort prevailed over "technicality". In fact, the New Balance Iron v5 was the winner of the 2020 #pattern awards, chosen by all of you.

We are not going to go into their numbers here, since you have all the details in the presentation article on our website.

NEW IRONBALANCE V6: Thorough test by Abel de Frutos

If you have read the details and our previous articles, such as the first impressions on the race published a few months ago. You will have seen that one of the biggest changes in version 6 of the shoe has been in the last. A last that the Boston brand has tightened.

Many users of version five complained that the last of the shoe was very wide and that it did not provide enough support on technical terrain and descents, as was the case with our colleague Mayayo. In my case and that of other users, the opposite was the case, this width of the last came in handy.

First start

The first day I put on the new version, I must say that I was not very happy. Obviously this adjustment in the area of ​​the cover (instep and toe mainly) does not fit the model of my foot. Therefore, the first outings were not comfortable at all. In addition, I still have my version of the Iron v5, which for my taste fits much better.

In fact, in the first outings, one of the problems I had was several scratches in the toe area, something that had never happened to me with the previous version (as you can see in the following photos). But of course, all these inconveniences are somewhat personal, as I mentioned before, because not everyone has such wide feet.

We keep rolling them

Even with the small problems I had in the first rides, I have not given up pushing the new Hierro to the limit. I'm a bit stubborn and I don't like to discard something at the first change. Also, after the good experience I've always had with New Balance, I wanted to give them a second chance. What did I do? Well, try to solve the problem, and no! It hasn't been cutting my fingers, but putting some newspapers in the shoe to see if the cover would give a little and the result has been good.

After several outings I have managed to "mold" the shoe to the foot a little, or the foot to the shoes. The truth is that the cover has given a little (perhaps because of the newspaper, or simply because of the use given) and I have to say that for the moment the adjustment is being correct. I still miss the width of the previous version because they are still a bit tight on me. But it is also true that it is no longer the same discomfort that it had in the first sessions.

training

Unfortunately and due to the absence of races, for the moment I have not been able to test them in the race. All the tute that we have given to the shoe has been in training in the Sierra de Guadarrama, technical areas in La Pedriza and the mountains of Valsaín and not as technical as the Segovian roads. We train on dirt, snow (even using crampons) or mud for up to 4 hours.

Let's remember that it is a shoe with little heel, vibram sole, that works well on all types of terrain, but that its natural habitat will be the track and not very technical terrain. Although for example in my case, I prefer to lose some support on technical terrain and gain it in comfort, especially in ultra-distance races.

NEW IRONBALANCE V6: Conclusions

If you give me a choice, personally I'll stick with the previous version. I think there are many other brands in the range of narrow shell shoes (Hoka, Salomon, etc) and in my opinion, New Balance had given us a great opportunity for those wide-footed runners with this shoe. However, I have to admit that the brand wants to increase the range of runners willing to use their shoe and perhaps unseat these other "tighter" brands.

This new version maintains the same sole and midsole as the previous version. Therefore, and despite not having been able to run an ultra yet, I think it will be a best seller again in 2021. Well, the cover and tongue have improved compared to its predecessor, which will give much more comfort if it fits in the width and you can run long and hard with them.

In short, I believe and I am sure that we will have it in the Top 3 of the best sneakers of the year in 2021.

NEW BALANCE FRESH FOAM X IRON V6

Photo gallery by Abel de Frutos and Mayayo

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NEW BALANCE 2021. ALL THE NEWS, IN DEPTH IN #RADIOTRAIL

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Abel De Frutos and Mayayo, as veteran expert runners in the brand, detail one by one the novelties in the three great Fuelcell lines (With/Without carbon plate) Fresh Foam X and Trail. Novelties such as the Hierro V6, NB 1080 V11, or the spectacular Fuelcell Race Streak, which are already there.

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