New Balance - FuelCell Propel v5

Agree. NB5 get a bad rep, but mine lasted me 500 energetic bouncy miles & I could have got more out of them, but I was getting an itch for new shoes. NB5 made Doctors of Running list of most durable shoes. https://www.doctorsofrunning.com/2025/03/the-most-durable-running-shoes-2025.html

I loved my NB5 for long runs. Very protective, responsive for any distance. They’re fun too. Runrepeat has NB5 drop as 7.4 and SB2 drop as 8.2 mm if you’re concerned about drop.

Good job on your progress. I weigh 256 pounds. I’m 6 foot one mostly muscle I find the Evo SL to be a gray shoe for me. I feel like it handles the weight while still maintaining the bounce, and I think that the durability of the midsole will last for a long time. Also, I recommend the new balance propel v5 for a good balance daily runner. Evo sl is more speed based. But the propel gives a good bounce for me.

I agree, I find them "squishy" in a nice way, not mushy in a dead way. As far as fit, I have a wider toe area but narrow midfoot (for comparison the Puma DN3 fits my midfoot comfortably but is more snug than the NB5), and I can get a good lockdown pretty easily with the NB5 too. As far as fun factor vs just for easy runs - I have had fun running in them at 7:30 mile pace on 18 mile runs. I don't know if that's easy or not, just saying I had fun in them at that pace and distance. I have also had fun with them on shorter and slower runs.

I use the NB5 as part of a rotation of 4 other shoes, and I agree with your point that not using them every day keeps them pretty responsive. As far as shoe recommendations, I would look at the Hoka Mach 6 - a fantastic shoe. One of my very favorites for a daily trainer over this last year. Plus, the Mach 7 is coming soon, so you can probably get a great deal on the Mach 6.

They didn’t work for me and I gave up on them at about 80km as I had blisters on the medial aspect of my forefoot from slipping around on the smooth insole which cost a couple of days training (and I wear double layer runderwear antiblister socks without issue) I do pronate at the heel and found the shoe very unstable on even modest cambers and corners; which was a shame as the foam is really nice. I suspect it’s a bit too narrow for me. It was Back to the SB2. (I loved the NB5 for about 120km before they lost their bounce; I’m 75kg; so was a bit surprised how quickly the foam lost its pop. But out of the box the shoe was amazing and felt like it was performing above its price point… for a short while!).

The NB5 was brilliant out of the box; but lost support really quickly (80+km) exacerbating the pronation (I have very high arches and pronate at the heel, I land towards the heel rolling off via my big toe). SB2 is reliably stable, I also like the Saucony Speed & Tempus and have Vomero18 when I want to dial it down a bit.

Question to the „heavier“ runners here. I’m 84kg and on the tall side (204cm) so losing weight is not really an option for me. I’m struggling with the NB5s. I have like 200km on them and they feel flat after running the first km. My ankles and knees seem also more stressed in comparison to other shoes. Does anyone else have that problem?

I use NB5 for my daily and Zoomfly 6 for tempo/race. I'm almost 100 miles in on my NB5 and I don't really have any complaints. They feel stable enough for me and I have no issue picking up the pace in them (sub 7min/mile). The zoomflys feel great for long runs, but really excel at interval workouts.

Yes, NB5 - is good for runs up until 10-12 km, anything longer - SB2

I’ve owned both the Vomero 18 and the NB5 and the Vomero is much better. Might be 1/2 click less fast but more durable foam.

Hi Batchmate, I'm 85kg, 5'11 and using NB5 as daily trainers. I chose Superblast2 as my TBR shoes haha bought it yesterday and will plan to break it in tomorrow. Then will use to all my long runs para masanay yung paa ko until TBR .