The New Balance Hierro v9 is a trail-running shoe with a high midsole stack of Fresh Foam X cushioning. It’s built to deliver a similar level of comfort to road running shoes, but with more stability and grip for the trails, with a revamped Vibram Megagrip outsole offering reliable traction across a wide range of off-road terrain. Nick has been testing out the shoe over the past few weeks, here’s his full New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v9 review.
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
02:19 – How’s The Fit?
03:21 – The Run Test
07:06 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello welcome to run testers my name is Nick and this is our full review of the New Balance Fresh Foam X hero [Music] V9 so the hero v9 is a trail running Shoe that is designed to be versatile One that can handle a lot of terrains in The past the hero has very much been a Road to Trail model and I think that is Still true of the her v9 but it now has A revamped outso that I do think makes It a bit more suitable for range of Trails as well I'm not holding it right Now because it's muddy I've been using It in the UK in the winter and you know Even though I've knocked off some of the Mud it's still a bit too Grim to have in My hands right now it cost $155 in the US I don't know the UK prices yet but The previous model was £140 I think the Price has risen slightly in the US so it Might also rise a little bit in the UK As well it weighs in at 311 G or 10.9 o And a UK size 9 which is a US 9.5 has a 4 mm drop and the full stack heite is 42 Mm at the heel 38 at the 4ot so it's a Big cushion shoe but also that might Include the outsole which is pretty Substantial as well you have a mesh Upper on the shoe with a nice amount of Padding around the tongue and collar Very much feels like a road shoe in the Way it has step- in Comfort but then You've got protective overlays on the
Shoe and a big tow bumper on it as well For the trails and quite a lot of Structure around the heel to make sure You've got enough support there you have A dual density fresh Fox midsole with a Softer layer on the top and a firmer Layer on the bottom to deliver a nice Soft and cushion feeling on on Landing But still have the stability you need on The trails like this is not like the Softest version of fresh foam X I'd say As as well compared to some of the stuff On road shoes e balance uses that term For a material that has quite a wide Range of different feels and even though It has that softer top layer this is Still you know a fairly Firishta I think you will have quite a Lot of bite with the shoe well I know You will because I've used it in soft Conditions but yeah you got a lot more Bite i' would say on the latest version Of the hero v9 which just makes it more Of an all conditions Cruiser in the UK In particular where there is a lot of Soft trails with bits of mud on them This is still you know a road to Trail Shoe very much a very approachable Trail Shoe that lot of people can pick up to Use for mostly Road running and a bit of Park paths that kind of thing I think it Now has a bit more range in terms of the Trails you can tackle comfortably in [Music]
It comes to the fit of the New Balance Euro v9 I've got a uk9 a US 9.5 that's The normal size I use with New Balance Shoes and I would say the fit is in line With other New Balance shoes but maybe I Could have gone a half size up so the Fit of the shoes is fine if I was using It on the roads all the time but when I'm on the trails think you need a Little bit more room in the front of the Shoe in particular when coming down Hills I did notice my foot hitting the Front of the shoe a little bit Especially my right foot which is Slightly larger than my left when I was Coming down Hills you've got that you Know substantial toe bumper there so It's not very flexible or accommodating For foot because you're getting that Extra protection so I would probably go Half size up myself like you know in General I'm in between a US 9.5 and a 10 So maybe if you're in a similar position It might be worth looking at going a Half size up similarly if you know your Size in New Balance Road shoes you might Want to go half size up to have that Little bit of extra room on the trails And that's especially true if you're Looking at this for really long runs Like I've gone up to about 20K in the Shoe on my longest run and you know it Was fine but like I say on downhills I Did notice I was hitting the front of
The shoe a little bit more than I'd like Ideally so as someone in between sizes I'd probably go for the larger size Myself if picking up the shoe [Music] Again so I've run 50k in the New Balance Sierra v9 and I've done that all in my Local Forest here in the UK in North London so it's been a fair mix of Conditions because we have had a real Cold snap lately so there's been some Icy trails to run on as well as the Usual mud plenty of mud even on the main Trails at this time of year and some you Know harder packed slightly grity paths And just hard packed trails in general Done it across a range of basically Daily training runs like as part of my Marathon training I used it for one of My long runs of 90 minutes around 20K That was and then you know a couple of Shorter daily training runs as well Definitely feels like that's the way to Use this shoe it's like a cushioned Road Shoe that you basically can take onto a Wider range of trails and I have really Enjoyed using it in that way you have Got a lot of cushioning here under foot And while the outsole does reduce how Cushioned it feels because you've got That harder layer on the bottom you Sticks up a little bit from the road You're not getting you know the sinking Squishiness of something like the New
Balance 1080 but it is certainly a Really comfortable and protective shoe And I really appreciate that in Particular on my long run which is at The end of a big week of mileage Marathon training like I say and it Worked well for that protects the legs What was giving you that capacity to go Onto the trails a bit more than you get With Road shoes because you have now got You know a pretty serious outso on this Shoe that I found has gripped really Well for me in the UK winter here in the Forest so as mentioned I have used it on The mix of trails even gone on to some Soft muddy grass in it as well and you Are getting a lot more bite with the Shoe than you have with past models of The hero in my experience anyway which Were always very slippery in the woods Like any kind of patch of mud would see Them come unstuck I didn't actually used The hero V8 which I think had a slightly Better outsole than the one before but Yeah in my experience it's not been a Shoe that i' would have used a lot Myself because like I say the forest Where I run all my kind of Trail runs Throughout the winter is just a bit too Muddy for it and now with this latest Version you know it works perfectly for It because there are still lots of hard Passs in the forest I'm using it on the Road to and from it as well and it does
Now have the grip for the muddy sections Because those lugs have enough bite you Know they have similar levels of bite Some like the hokus speed goat or the Meril agility Peak five you know really Good versatile rounder shoes that lean More towards hard Trails I'd say but Have enough bite for the main trails in A forest like this I wouldn't be taking The New Balance ARA onto like a pure Fell run or onto the real swampy patches Of the forest around me but you know It's not going to be terrible there if You're only having short sections and You now definitely have enough for just General runs without thinking about it You know just p on the shoe hit the Trails and it's going to be able to cope With pretty much the majority of what You're going to throw at it it is still I'd say more focus on those hard Trails Like I say and it did grip really well For me on the icy run I did in it today Actually I wasn't actually expecting it To be icy I didn't think the temperature Had been that low but even on the kind Of patches of icy Pavements to and from The forest the grip worked really well So you have really got now A versatile Shoe in terms of the grip and terrains It covers and that's great because You're coupling that with a very Comfortable midso that offers a lot of Protection a lot of durability as well G
Is pretty comfortable as well all round And protective you know it's a really Nice package as a you a comfort focused Trail shoe that can now handle good Range of trails and even though the Outso I think has now got that bit more Grip and they' gone for those longer Logs but you've lost a load of comfort On the trails like I don't think this is Going to be as comfortable as maybe I Think the Hero 7 was the last shoe I Tried which was very comfortable on the Road you know something like the Nike Pegasus trailer as well really Comfortable on the road those shoes but Don't have much bite I still think You're getting a lot of comfort on the Road with the hero but you now have a Lot more bite on mixed terrains don't Think I necessarily see it a pure a shoe I'd wanted to just spend an entire run On a road maybe but things like Canal Top pass and stuff like that you know It's still got a lot of comfort for Those and then you have got that extra Grip on more treacherous trails and the Last World on the run test would be you Kind of Versatility for Pace like it's a Fairly heavy shoe I think actually the Weight's that bad given the level of Cushioning you have here and the outsole But it's not really one that's built for Faster runs like it's more for those Relaxed long runs on the trails maybe
You look at some like a trail Marathon Shoe like I'm not a big Ultra Runner Myself but I do think this would be Pretty comfortable option for that kind Of thing as well especially with that Greater first T you get from the outside But yeah it's not one that You' go and Sprint a quick race in on the trails It's you know it's a big shoe design More for [Music] Cruising so my verdict is that I really Enjoyed running the new ban siero v9 It's a shoe that very much suits my Needs very well on the trails as a Comfortable shoe like most of my runs And trails are easy recovery runs in Between Hard Road runs it does those Really well and you can now pull it on Pretty confident if you're in a new area That it's going to be able to handle Whatever Trails throw at you definitely Got a good active holiday vibe to it as Well like the color I've got the green Is actually quite a nice looking shoes It's ruined now with all the mud but if You cleaned it up that's know quite nice Shoe to take away for you good for Hiking off-road as well good for runs on Pretty much any kind of terrain and you Know a really comfortable and enjoyable Shoe to wear it's still not a shoe That's going to be ideal for like fell Running I'm not sure about it chops on
The mountains as well cuz it is a big Shoe it's not very Nimble and agile and That kind of thing but for General Forest runs you know Park path runs mix Of Road and Trail runs General hard Graval Trail runs that you'll get a lot Of I think in the US in particular like It does all those really really well Grips well it's comfortable feels nice On the foot I through think that almost Sits in between the kind of road to Trail and allrounder category of shoes Like you have got stuff like the Hooka Challenger which I think is probably a Bit more comfortable on the road but Doesn't have quite as much bite as the Hero I would say potentially on the Trails but actually fairly similar shoes All around Challenger is another shoe I Rate really highly I think it does have Better grip than the Nike Pegasus Trail Then if you look at the more of the All-rounders like the hogus be5 I think Maybe has a little bit more bite all Round and in general I think is a more Reliable and agile shoe on really Technical Trails I think it's a bit more Of a Nimble and that kind of thing I do Think you get a bit more Comfort out of The hero it's quite similar to someone Like the meril agility Peak five in that Regard you know very comfortable shoe But I do think the balance is more Comfortable again for those cruising
Runs but you've got a slightly more Capable shoe on technical Trails I think In the agility Pig five which again is a Little bit non- Nimble as well the sakon Shoes I think it's more like something Like The Exodus than the peragine the Peragine isn't as comfortable as the Hero it's lower stacked it's got an Outso that's more configured I think for Soft ground than the hero but you know Is a really good shoe again in the UK Winter but I now think someone like the Her would probably cope with most of the Same stuff in the winter but then be a More comfortable shoe for summer trails And you know hard pack trails in general So again that's probably more similar to Something like the exus so I haven't Tested the latest model of that shoe but Yeah all around a shoe that really fits My knees very well as a trail Runner so If you're someone similar to me who's Doing a lot of easy runs on the trails Want to shoe that you can run through The winter here in the UK where you are Going to encounter mud and wet patches And stuff like that but is otherwise you Know also comfortable on the better Trails throughout the summer and just Harder services in general the her does That job really well and it is nice and Comfortable so yeah really enjoyed Running in [Music]
It that's our review of in balanceo v9 Let us know what you think in the Comments below please like And subscribe Ring the little bell and we'll see you Next time
