I have to confess, from the first wear I fell in love with this new New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4. To be more specific, the feel of its midsole, that “new” FuelCell (later you will see why I put it in quotes again), a FuelCell with a touch that masks the sensation of the carbon plate and that gives us a competition shoe that is easier to wear, especially in the long distance where fatigue distorts the passing of the kilometers our footprint.
We are going to quickly remove the most negative aspects of the shoe and leave all the good for last, which is a lot, and which far outweighs the least good in the balance. Well, this less good part would be its weight, and the official weight is 237g. Something heavy if we take into account that this week ASICS has presented its METASPEED Paris in approximately 185g. It is not a heavy shoe by any means, and its response in the race will hide it a little more, but these are things to improve for the future v5.
PEBA midsole and thinner plate
Yes, in the title you see PEBA and not FuelCell, and this is the most significant change that the shoe has undergone. Its midsole is 100% PEBA, but they call it FuelCell. The touch is still soft, although it gives me the feeling that it is somewhat more “rubbery” and does not tend to sink as much with each step. Of course, it is also more reactive and the agility of the shoe is largely due to this energy return and not so much to the feel of the plate.
At the beginning I told you that the foam masks the feeling of plaque, this is due to several factors. First, the large amount of foam we have under our feet. 40mm in the heel and 36mm in the front part. The heel part moves within that 40mm limit that is more normal in this type of supershoes, but for what it counts New Balance, they made several prototypes with different drops and the one that gave the best results was the 4mm one. A lower drop means having more foam in the front area and giving the foam more prominence. If a large amount of FuelCell (PEBA), we also added that the plate is thinner, especially in the front area, this gives it less rigidity and that is why we said that the sensation of a plate is somewhat lost. This plate is thicker in the middle part to give greater stability to the model. And as is customary, the plate comes with the technology Energy Arc, which is a convex-shaped curvature in the middle area so that from the first moment we land, the plate flexes and accumulates that energy and then releases it.
This Energy Arc, is accompanied by a hole in the midsole (if we look at the sole we can see the plate through it), this, apart from reducing weight, allows the foam to expand more easily. A somewhat shorter gap in this v4 that no longer leaves the plate so exposed to contact with the ground, especially with stones.
Chiseled geometries
That's the first impression I got as soon as I saw them. With that midsole with cuts and non-rounded geometric shapes, which surely help control the compression of the foam.
The other point I wanted to talk about in this section is its rocker (curvature of its midsole). Despite noticing a wide last with a lot of contact with the ground, my feeling when standing with them is that of being on a seesaw at all times. This could play against its stability, but it does not, and what it does provide is a feeling of fluidity from the midfoot position to the toe. We are also not going to notice a very aggressive curvature, the kind that seems to leave our fingers in hyperextension, but I like that rocking sensation of it.
FantomFit and goodbye to knitting
These words that you see in the title reflect another big change in this model. It abandons the upper knit (sock type) and replaces it with a more traditional, super light and breathable mesh. As I said, we gain a lot in breathability, but we lose in fit. They also solve those problems of chafing in the collar area, with a more traditional mouthpiece, although without much padding to control the weight. If the instep area is almost translucent, on the sides you can see a small reinforcement with greater density to avoid extra materials and provide support to the foot. Furthermore, in the middle area, where we have the “N” in a kind of heat-sealing, we see an interior reinforcement that hugs the foot and supports it. The tongue is thin, without too many details but enough to protect the instep. Furthermore, it is not sewn to the sides but it does not seem to have a tendency to move to the sides.
better grip
Its sole has also changed, we have a drawing that segments the shoe longitudinally into 3 parts and where, unlike the v3, the central area is more protected in the metatarsals. Taking this opportunity to talk about its base, we have a good platform in both the front and rear areas so, within the competition segment, we can classify it as having good stability.
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