Facts
Road
Shoes best for road, track and light gravel. See the best road shoes.
Trail
Shoes best for trail, off road, mountains and other unstable surfaces. See the best trail shoes.
Good to know
As long as you stick to the road or path, and if you want just one running shoe, buy a road running shoe.
Neutral / cushion / high arch
Shoes for runners who does not need any additional arch support (Around 50% of runners). Best for people with high or medium high arches. See the best neutral shoes.
Stability / overpronation / normal arch
Shoes for runners who needs arch support (Around 45% of runners). Best for runners with a normal arch. See the best stability shoes.
Motion control / severe overproanation / flat feet
Shoes for runners who needs a lot of arch support. Best for runners with flat feet. See the best motion control shoes.
Good to know
- Rule of thumb: If in doubt, buy neutral shoes to avoid injuries.
- More about arch support in this video.
- Find your arch type by following steps from this video.
Daily running
Cushioned shoes for your daily easy running. Great comfort. See best shoes for daily running.
Competition
Lightweight shoes good for races, interval training, tempo runs and fartlek. Here are the best competition running shoes.
Good to know
If you want just one pair of shoes, buy a shoe for daily running.
The height difference from the heel to the forefoot, also known as heel drop, toe spring, heel to toe spring or simply drop.
There are many opinions about what a good heel drop is. We do not recommend any in particular. Lean more in this video.
Summary
We spent 7.5 hours reading reviews from experts and users. In summary, this is what sneaker fanatics think:
15 reasons to buy
- According to reviewers, the low-top New Balance 574 Sport is very comfortable, especially when used for walking around the town.
- The color options available for this version are diverse, which is an appeal to reviewers.
- A handful of wide-footed weartesters is satisfied with the fit of this sneaker.
- This sporty shoe surprisingly looks charming on a big-footed individual, according to one purchaser.
- Those who tried this Sport variety of the New Balance 574 are receiving compliments as this sneaker holds a very stylish charm.
- An excellent purchase in terms of comfort and premium quality.
- A reviewer noted that the bootie construction of the New Balance 574 Sport offers good support, particularly during lateral movements.
- One buyer emphasized that this pair of kicks offers nice grip on concrete and wooden surfaces.
- The extended height around the ankle offers extra support.
- It definitely delivers comfort big time, noted by a buyer who used this all day and did not feel any discomfort.
- Incredibly light on the feet.
- Not hard to pair up with a host of different casual wear options.
- Reviewers loved the updated logo, which is so plush and not glossy.
- The style and additional cushioning on the heel make this sporty shoe a stunner.
- Its thick mesh cover is so breathable.
2 reasons not to buy
- A reviewer complained that his heel got a sore after wearing this shoe for an hour as the polymer insert on the heel made that region super rigid.
- One reviewer is saddened as this sporty profile does not have enough arch support.
Bottom line
The New Balance 574 Sport received good remarks from sneaker enthusiasts and NB supporters, particularly in areas of comfort, breathability, fit, and quality. Its cushioning properties are the most reverberating feature of this updated 1980s classic runner that offers ease even during prolonged hours of use. It retained the timeless charm of the 574 model in a very modern package with a price tag that is very reasonable. Put simply, this silhouette is a nice add-on to your collection of lifestyle sneakers as it is also appropriate for a variety of casual outfits.
Rankings
Popularity
Ratings
My Rating
Expert Reviews
Experts are running shoe geeks, who post reviews at youtube, directly at RunRepeat or at their own websites. Each expert is categorized from level 1 to level 5 based on expertise. See stats on expert reviews and how we calculate scores here.
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New Balance 574 Sport History
New Balance took a bold move and repackaged its classic 574 trainer into an appealing modern-day, lightweight sneaker, introduced as the 574 Sport. This entirely fresh new form, built with a slip-on bootie upper construction, evidently displays a more contemporary look to the iconic shoe.
This re-imagined version that still carries hints of New Balance’s rich heritage into its form was dropped in the Spring/Summer of 2017 in limited pairs. The updated silhouette, debuted with a colorway named Friends and Family, is packaged with a very unique and interesting all-white showcase box. From the window on the box, one can easily marvel at the clean, slimmed-down cover of the low-top New Balance 574 Sport, which is emphasized by its striking tri-colored sole unit.
About a month after this new profile landed into the quarters of loyal New Balance supporters, the 574 Sport was launched globally that retailed at $120. The first salvo was called the Tier 1 collection that comes in two colorways, specifically in bright white and tonal black paired with eye-catching red, black, and gray contrasts in the sole section.
Adding more charm and 1990s vibe to this production is its retro-designed shoe box. It did not take long before the brand unveiled another lifestyle edition of the 574S. After showcasing the Tier 1, which is constructed with mesh and premium leather upper, in August the same year, New Balance added the Mesh Pack to its arsenal of 574 Sport. The Mesh Pack features a synthetic breathable cover, which reduces a great deal of weight to the first edition pair of the 574S. The ultramodern Mesh Pack was initially launched in white, navy, and black colorways.
New Balance 574 is considered the most popular silhouette of the brand, originally marketed as a trainer. This shoe was born in the era when competitive and recreational running was a widespread phenomenon and when jogging was a fad. Between the 1980s and 1990s, the New Balance collection of running shoes became even more prominent in and out of the running circuits. The New Balance 574, considered as an advanced runner back in the day, became a well-favored silhouette due to its functional properties.
Another plus factor of the NB 574 is its availability in a range of vibrant colorways and materials that drew much attention from loyal supporters. Testimonials about the shoe’s comfort and the brand’s attention to detail helped boost the popularity of this model as racers and running enthusiasts were the ones themselves advocating the New Balance 574 in their favorite variations. By the time the New Balance 574 was reissued in 2003, this shoe has evolved into many color palettes obtainable in a fusion of full leather, mesh, or supple suede. Its original colorways, premium versions, and exclusive releases attracted sneaker enthusiasts making it a staple in lifestyle footwear.
New Balance 574 Sport Style
New Balance smartens up its primary 574 model into a more modern day appropriate casual shoe called the low-top New Balance 574 Sport. This model carries a 1980s old-school appeal with modern technological updates. The one-piece bootie upper is retooled with either a fusion of suede and mesh or a combo of synthetic and mesh. You can rock this sporty profile with a pair of stylish shorts, skinny jeans, and tapered chinos and khakis.
Fit & Sizing
The low-top New Balance 574 Sport which resembles a single-piece bootie generally runs large that gets quite tight and narrow towards the forefoot. It is ideal to go half a size down than your usual New Balance size to enjoy the comfort of this lifestyle shoe which is constructed with a high instep. The shoe that comes with a good range of color and material options is available in men’s sizes ranging from 4 to 13 US, with half sizes. The width measurement of this men’s shoe is standard.
Notable Features
New Balance reworked on the blueprint of its much-favored 1980s runner, the 574, crowning it with ultramodern updates, which makes it more appropriate to fashion-savvy sneaker population. The use of simplified materials on the upper offers a minimalist vibe to this snazzy retro silhouette, renamed as the low-top New Balance 574 Sport.
Aside from its modified form, comfort is another element of this heritage-heavy sneaker in which it truly shines. This updated profile takes on the Fresh Foam cushioning technology in the sole, a shock-absorbing feature found in some of the modern-day NB running shoes. This feature is made even stable with the EVA foam in the heel and trademark ABZORB property.
Additional Info
- The forefoot of the Tier 1 pack is covered with a breathable mesh material that is bristly to the touch.
- The tongue which is connected to the collar is built with a more delicate kind of mesh which is softer than the one on the vamp.
- The tongue is accentuated by the New Balance 574 branding either stitched or welded to the mesh fabric.
- The N logo sits on the lateral and medial sides, either stitched or fused on the synthetic material underneath it.
- A plastic material is placed along the speed laces down to the ankle area.
- A nylon pull tab is located in the heel to aid in wearing this slip-on shoe.
- The heel stabilizer is built with a TPU material for support.
- Has a removable insole that offers additional cushioning.
- The upper sits atop a New Balance patented Fresh Foam midsole. Accentuating the Fresh Foam cushioning unit is the ABZORB technology placed in the heel region.
- The sole is a combination of injected molded foam insole and the proprietary Fresh Foam property, which supports and offers cushioning to the foot.
- The Fresh Foam is a cushioning property introduced by New Balance in 2013. This patented technology is originally used for New Balance modern running shoes which meant to propel runners to achieve their personal best.
- The Fresh Foam is made with geometrically shaped midsole from the outside and built with concave and convex units inside that compresses and expands distributing impact to a larger area of the sole. This technology offers extreme comfort to the feet.
- The ABZORB technology by New Balance can withstand impact for a prolonged time versus having just an EVA foam. This cushioning compound absorbs shock and disperses energy.
- The sole is made with a long-lasting rubber material suitable for a variety of flat surfaces.
- Adding more intensity to the global release of the New Balance 574 Sport, this Boston mainstay brand displayed chains of coffee-carts in New York as pop-up installations exhibiting two colorways of the 574S.
- The 574s coffee carts, which is part of the New York Fashion Week, allowed consumers to have a glimpse of the new offerings by the brand. However, consumers had to wait three days for the sneaker’s global release as the exhibit was more like a teaser.