Nuestra conclusión

Las New Balance 796 v4 son unas zapatillas de tenis básicas que hacen bien su trabajo. Hemos comprobado que cumplen con todos los requisitos necesarios para que la mayoría de los jugadores principiantes y los aficionados a este deporte de raqueta se lo pasen bien. A menos que jueguen en verano, claro, ¡porque dan un calor que no veas! En general, creemos que la relación calidad-precio de estas New Balance es justa, pero a lo mejor te merece la pena echarle un ojo a alguna alternativa un poco más caras si quieres un mejor rendimiento.

Pros

  • Relación calidad-precio justa
  • Cómodas
  • Parte delantera espaciosa
  • Buena protección contra impactos
  • Estabilidad suficiente
  • Protección resistente para el arrastre de los dedos
  • Agarre fiable

Contras

  • No son nada transpirables
  • No son muy duraderas

Veredicto de los usuarios

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Who should buy

In our opinion, the New Balance 796 v4 is worth considering if:

  • you are just starting out with racquet sports and don't want to invest a lot of money
  • you want a basic tennis shoe with decent performance on all fronts
  • you have medium-to-wide feet and need an accommodating toebox
  • you play in cooler weather

New Balance 796 v4 review

Who should NOT buy

Even as a budget-friendly shoe, the New Balance 796 v4 has some pretty tough competition in its price range. Thus, we urge you to consider a few more alternatives before going for this NB shoe.

Here are some of them:

New Balance 796 v4 lab test

Amortiguación

Altura de la suela en la zona del talón

We are very glad that New Balance added more cushioning to the 4th iteration of the 796 because its predecessor certainly lacked in that department.

New Balance 796 v4 Heel stack

Seeing 28.4 mm on the caliper, we can confirm that the 796 v4 has just as much cushioning as the average tennis shoe. And it offers a sufficient amount of impact protection too.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 28.4 mm
Media 29.3 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
25.3 mm
Altura de la suela en la zona del talón
33.0 mm

Altura de la suela en el antepié

Measuring the shoe's forefoot stack returned a reading of 20.9 mm which is also on par with the average.

New Balance 796 v4 Forefoot stack

Having this much cushioning for the balls of our feet helped us stay on our toes throughout the whole session.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 20.9 mm
Media 19.6 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
16.1 mm
Altura de la suela en el antepié
23.4 mm

Drop

Based on our caliper measurements, the difference in stack heights in this NB shoe is 7.5 mm. This is not too far from what is stated by the brand (8.0 mm).

New Balance 796 v4 Drop

It is a very balanced offset which, in our opinion, is going to feel at home for the majority of players.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 7.5 mm
Media 9.7 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
6.2 mm
Drop
14.7 mm

Suavidad de la mediasuela

We are pleasantly surprised with the brand's choice to replace REVlite foam with FuelCell for the 4th version of the 796. The latter treated us to a notably softer and livelier ride as we dashed to the net and back.

Pressing a Shore A durometer against the shoe's cut-up midsole, we got a reading of 25.5 HA. This is 18% softer than the REVlite foam of the v3 and is 12% softer than the average tennis shoe midsole.

New Balance 796 v4 Midsole softness
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 25.5 HA
Media 28.4 HA
Utilizamos la media de cuatro pruebas. La foto muestra una de esas pruebas.
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
17.1 HA
Suavidad de la mediasuela (de blanda a firme)
34.0 HA

Grosor de la plantilla

The cushioning is topped off with a padded insole. Our caliper shows 4.7 mm of thickness in the heel which is standard for a tennis shoe insole.

New Balance 796 v4 Insole thickness
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 4.7 mm
Media 5.2 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
3.9 mm
Grosor de la plantilla
7.5 mm

Tallaje y ajuste

Talla

New Balance 796 v4 tallan bien (10 votos).

Si tienes estas zapatillas, ¿qué opinas de su talla?

1 talla más pequeñas ½ talla más pequeñas Tallan bien ½ talla más grandes 1 talla más grandes
En comparación con 22 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
½ talla más pequeñas
Tallan un poquito pequeño
Tallan bien
Tallan un poquito grande
½ talla más grandes

Anchura de la parte delantera - zona más ancha

Our feet were happy with the toebox space that the New Balance 796 v4 provided in a D medium width.

New Balance 796 v4 fit

The widest part of the forefoot showed a caliper reading of 101.3 mm which is on par with the average we got in other tennis shoes in a men's US size 9.

New Balance 796 v4 Toebox width - widest part
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 101.3 mm
Media 101.0 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
96.3 mm
Anchura de la parte delantera - zona más ancha
105.0 mm

Anchura de la parte delantera - dedo gordo

The rounded toebox shape also contributes to the in-shoe space of this New Balance shoe.

Our caliper showed a wider-than-average reading of 81.0 mm of toebox width in the area of the big toe. That's a few millimeters wider than average.

New Balance 796 v4 Toebox width - big toe
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 81.0 mm
Media 76.9 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
74.7 mm
Anchura de la parte delantera - dedo gordo
81.0 mm

Estabilidad

Prueba de estabilidad lateral

We didn't expect a lot of support from a shoe under €110 but the New Balance 796 v4 surprised us in a good way.

Quick cuts and crossover steps felt nice and stable in this NB shoe and its steady base also gave our feet and ankles sufficient push-off power.

But even though we felt a step up in stability over the v3, we can still think of even more stable shoes in the same price range. The TPU Wingwall of the ASICS Gel Challenger 14, for example, offers a lot more side support than the raised foam walls of the 796 v4.

New Balance 796 v4 vs ASICS Gel Challenger 14 comparison

Rigidez torsional

And yet we should give those foam walls some credit for generating enough stability in the 796 v4.

The shoe was almost unyielding in our manual test. And because of how hard it was to twist, we rated its torsional rigidity with a high score of 4 out of 5.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 4
Media 4.3
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Rigidez torsional
5

Rigidez del contrafuerte del talón

We should also mention the shoe's very sturdy heel counter as it did a great job locking our heels and ankles down in place.

You can see from our manual check how resistant the whole rearfoot is to squeezing and pushing. We readily gave it the highest stiffness score of 5.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 5
Media 3.9
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Rigidez del contrafuerte del talón
5

Anchura de la mediasuela - antepié

Last but not least - platform width. It contributed to the overall stability of the NB 796 v4 quite significantly.

New Balance 796 v4 Midsole width - forefoot

The midsole flares out on the lateral side showing 114.6 mm in the widest area. It is even a few millimeters wider than average.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 114.6 mm
Media 111.9 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
105.3 mm
Anchura de la mediasuela - antepié
117.4 mm

Anchura de la mediasuela - talón

Checking the widest part of the shoe's heel, we were amazed to see almost 10 mm more compared to v3!

New Balance 796 v4 Midsole width - heel

Now the widest part of the heel clocks in at 92.5 mm offering a broad and reliable base to lean on.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 92.5 mm
Media 89.5 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
82.4 mm
Anchura de la mediasuela - talón
99.7 mm

Flexibilidad

Rigidez

Playtesting the 796 v4, we could feel its resistance to bending even though there was no shank inside the midsole! Such stiffness added a touch of snap and stability to the ride of this NB shoe.

When we measured the force it takes to bend it, our gauge indeed showed an above-average reading of 37.5N. That is 20% stiffer than the average tennis shoe.

New Balance 796 v4 flexibility

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 37.5N
Media 31.3N
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
18.8N
Flexibility <> Stiffness
52.0N

Peso

As a budget-friendly shoe that doesn't carry a ton of features, the New Balance 796 v4 doesn't weigh so much either.

New Balance 796 v4 Weight

Our scale recorded 12.2 oz (346g) in a men's US size 9 which is slightly lighter than a typical tennis shoe.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 12.20 oz (346g)
Media 12.84 oz (364g)
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
10.30 oz (292g)
Peso
14.71 oz (417g)

Transpirabilidad

Is this a tennis shoe for winter?

Because we have no idea what else could explain the total absence of breathability in the 796 v4!

Not even a tiny streak of smoke passed through the shoe's toebox in our smoke-pumping test!

We saw no hints of ventilation pores or perforations in the upper transparency test either.

New Balance 796 v4 Breathability microscope test

What's more, a closer look at the fabric through our microscope revealed the most tightly woven material we've ever seen on a tennis shoe.

New Balance 796 v4 Breathability under microscope

Maybe this New Balance shoe could work for chilly weather but it is otherwise a pretty suffocating experience. Thus, we gave it the lowest breathability score - 1 out of 5.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 1
Media 3.4
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Transpirabilidad
5

Durabilidad

Durabilidad de la protección delantera

Most tennis shoes use large overlays made of rubber or TPU to protect the inner side of the forefoot from toe dragging.

New Balance 796 v4 toe drag guard comparison

However, the NB 796 v4 chose a more targeted approach by placing a rubber patch in the most high-wear area.

That piece resisted our sandpaper test rather well. Even though we applied the Dremel at 10K RPM speed for 22 seconds, it didn't burn through the entire patch. For that, we give the shoe's toe guard durability a high score of 4.

New Balance 796 v4 Toe guard durability test

But we are still in doubt that the exposed mesh and foam around this patch can stand up to aggressive sliding.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 4
Media 2.6
En comparación con 8 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Durabilidad de la protección delantera
5

Durabilidad de la parte delantera

Our next test shows that the shoe's mesh won't survive regular brushes against outdoor courts.

Our Dremel dug into the fabric quite easily, cutting almost all the way through. But because the material showed some resistance, we bumped up the toebox durability score to 3 out of 5.

New Balance 796 v4 toebox durability test

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 3
Media 3.8
En comparación con 31 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Durabilidad de la parte delantera
5

Durabilidad del acolchado del talón

The inner lining, on the other hand, is a very frail one. Only 4 seconds of exposure to sandpaper destroyed the shoe's interior mesh completely.

Thus, we couldn't rate the heel padding durability of this NB shoe any higher than 1 out of 5.

New Balance 796 v4 Heel padding durability comparison
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 1
Media 3.1
En comparación con 31 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
1
Durabilidad del acolchado del talón
5

Dureza de la suela

Disclaimer: In this review, we are testing the Padel version of the NB 796 v4.

According to specs, the New Balance 796 v4 uses NDurance rubber for the outsole. But the more NB shoes we test, the more we find that this compound can vary from one model to another. Especially when you are comparing a €100 shoe (NB 796) and a €150 shoe (NB 996).

New Balance 796 v4 Outsole hardness

In the case of 796 v4, the hardness measurement showed a fairly standard durometer reading of 84.0 HC. However, its wear resistance doesn't seem to live up to the average...

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 84.0 HC
Media 86.1 HC
Utilizamos la media de cuatro pruebas. La foto muestra una de esas pruebas.
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
79.0 HC
Dureza de la suela
92.0 HC

Durabilidad de la suela

Drilling the shoe's rubber outsole for 22 seconds at 10K RPM speed, our Dremel burned a 1.2-mm deep dent.

This is deeper than what we normally see in tennis shoes. But let's not forget that the 796 v4 is also cheaper than the average.

New Balance 796 v4 Outsole durability test
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 1.2 mm
Media 0.8 mm
En comparación con 31 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
0.0 mm
Desgaste de la suela
2.0 mm

Grosor de la suela

The fact that the NB 796 v4 packs an extra millimeter of rubber in the outsole (5.1 mm) gives us hope for its decent durability.

New Balance 796 v4 Outsole thickness

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 5.1 mm
Media 4.2 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
3.0 mm
Grosor de la suela
5.1 mm

Varios

Agarre / Tracción

Disclaimer: In this review, we are testing the Padel version of the NB 796 v4.

Even though the shoe's grip wasn't the tackiest, we found it solid for a beginner/recreational player whose playing style is not very aggressive.

New Balance 796 v4 traction pattern

Precio

We believe that the below-average retail price of the New Balance 796 v4 is fair and the shoe offers great value for money. It is a solid entry-level option that's over 50% cheaper than the average tennis shoe.

New Balance 796 v4 Price

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 $90
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
€75
Precio
€220

Acolchado de la lengüeta

The tongue and collar of this New Balance shoe are nicely padded. We recorded 7.0 mm of padding in the tongue which is a common amount of foam for tennis shoes.

New Balance 796 v4 Tongue padding

The padding gets even more generous in the collar of the shoe.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 7.0 mm
Media 7.7 mm
En comparación con 33 zapatillas de tenis
Número de zapatillas
2.5 mm
Acolchado de la lengüeta
13.1 mm

Lengüeta: tipo de refuerzo

More affordable tennis shoes rarely gussets on the tongue and the 796 v4 doesn't have one either.

New Balance 796 v4 Tongue: gusset type

This resulted in some minor tongue shifting during side-to-side movements.

Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 Ninguno

Tirador del talón

There are no heel tabs or finger loops but it is easy to get the 796 v4 on as it is.

New Balance 796 v4 Heel tab
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4 Ninguno

Plantilla extraíble

The shoe's insole is easily removable.

New Balance 796 v4 Removable insole
Resultados de las pruebas
796 v4