New Balance Abzorb 2000 review

Having analyzed the New Balance ABZORB 2000 from both a visual and a functional perspective, we believe that it can be a nice match for you if:

• you are drawn to Y2K kicks that look like a match to the iMac G3 from early 2000s
• you want to add a more progressive silhouette to your sneaker collection (but not as extreme as the Nike Shox)
• you only settle for fashion&function and expect comfort and durability along with style

If you like 2000s-inspired sneakers but find this silhouette too extreme for your wardrobe, the New Balance 2002R and the 1906R provide a nice middle ground.

These kicks feature smaller, less pronounced ABZORB SBS pods and have a more classic dad-shoe vibe. Not to mention that they are much more affordable.

The shoe's ABZORB cushioning literally screams in caps that it's designed for shock absorption. And we are here to run our lab tests to measure exactly how much.

Recording 104 SA in the heel, we can confirm that this New Balance shoe offers more impact protection than the average lifestyle sneaker. However, it still runs behind the best cushioned kicks, even within the brand's own lineup. The New Balance 1000, by far, has the highest results at 122 SA.

At first glance, it may seem like the shoe's massive ABZORB SBS pods are filled with air, like the Nike VaporMax, but that's not the case. These are, in fact, concave TPU elements that compress well but provide very little rebound.

The latter is reflected in the shoe's low energy return of only 49%. Despite its bubbly appearance, the NB ABZORB 2000 feels pretty static and is not particularly responsive.

Despite the sneaker's massive design, its stack height is actually pretty moderate. Having cut its midsole in half, we used a digital caliper to measure the material thickness between the foot and the ground.

At 34.4 mm in the heel, it is even lower than the NB 9060 (37.3 mm) or the NB 990 v6 (39.1 mm).

But it's the shoe's tall forefoot platform that is responsible for the bulk. We measured it notably higher than average at 25.9 mm.

That way, the NB ABZORB 1000 has a standard drop of 8.5 mm, making it comfortably ergonomic for a wide range of wearers.

Even though the shoe's midsole geometry allows some compression, every one of its components is made of very firm, even hard materials.

The primary full-length EVA foam showed a firm durometer reading of 54.1 AC, offering a very stable base directly underfoot.

The ABZORB foam beneath it is hardly any softer, showing an equally firm durometer reading of 50.3 AC.

And finally, the ABZORB SBS pods are made of even harder TPU pods with the highest Asker C measurement of 61.0 AC.

The New Balance ABZORB 2000 has a very mild curvature in the toe and heel areas of the platform to ease transitions from heel to toe.

A small but necessary design tweak that helps to balance the shoe's chunky pods on the go.

We hardly even complain about the fit and sizing of New Balance sneakers, but when it comes to experimental designs like the ABZORB 2000, we expect some deviation from the norm.

Having retrieved a solid gel cast that replicates the shoe's interior, we couldn't help but notice its unusual diamond shape. Using a digital caliper, we measured the cast's widest part at only 89.8 mm.

This means the shoe is narrower than average in the ball-of-foot area, limiting its target audience to narrower foot shapes. There is no wide width for this model either.

The shoe's toebox also proved to be on the narrow side, with a moderate width of 67.2 mm in the big toe area.

Its vertical space, on the other hand, is on par with the sneaker average.

There is enough wiggle room with a toebox height of 27.6 mm.

With tough black rubber on its pods, the ABZORB 2000 proved quite grippy for most urban scenarios! Mimicking a heel strike on a wet slab of concrete, we recorded this New Balance shoe's friction coefficient at an above-average 0.65.

That's a fantastic result for a casual sneaker, offering surefooted strides on both dry and wet surfaces.

The brand went with a segmented outsole design meant to resemble 'connected biological cells.' They perform their own functions, touching the floor at different stages of the gait cycle, yet work together as one organism.

The ABZORB 2000 does not want to bend so easily. At 16.6N, we measured that its thick forefoot stack and large pods require more force to bend by 30 degrees than the average sneaker.

That makes it one of the stiffest NB sneakers, along with the New Balance 2002R (17.8N), offering more support for long hours of walking nd standing but making the ride feel less natural.

With its beefed-up proportions, we are not surprised that the New Balance ABZORB 2000 falls into the heavier range of sneakers. Weighing it in a men's US size 9, we got as much as 14.6 oz (390g), which is comparable to the Nike Dunk Low (14.8 oz).

The shoe's tightly woven, no-sew mesh upper is not particularly eager to release heat and moisture from its interior.

Assessing the moderate pace of smoke expulsion through this NB shoe's toebox, we lowered its breathability score to 3 out of 5.

Our transparency test further confirmed the dense nature of this shoe's interior lining and outer mesh.

The latter becomes even clearer in our microscope shots, where ventilation pores are hardly visible between the treads.

The New Balance ABZORB 2000 is not positioned as a highly stable sneaker, but its supportive nature becomes immediately apparent the moment you put it on.

The shoe's busy design incorporates a good amount of structural support, making it a viable option for people with moderate overpronation.

First of all, this New Balance sneaker is not easily twisted. Its firm midsole components and Stability Web shank create so much torsional rigidity that it takes an above-average torque of 16.7 Nm to twist this sneaker left and right. This solid base prevents the foot from excessively rolling inwards.

We also found the shoe's heel design structured but moderately malleable, offering heel and ankle support without putting too much pressure on the heel bone.

The ABZORB 2000 has a chunky silhouette for sure. But measuring the broadest area of its forefoot at 115.2 mm, we found that it is not as wide-set as the NB 9060 (121.0 mm).

And even though its heel width exceeds the average at 91.6 mm, it is nowhere near the 103.1 mm wide heel base of the 9060!

Even though most of the ABZORB 2000's upper features exposed mesh, it showed decent wear resistance in our Dremel test. Assessing the damage as non-critical, we rated the shoe's toebox durability with a moderate 3 out of 5.

The mesh lining inside its heel collar also resisted the Dremel fairly well, earning a middle-range score of 3 out of 5.

And most importantly, the shoe's rubber outsole didn't melt under the Dremel either. In fact, it showed a better result than an average sneaker with a shallow 0.9 mm dent!

With a whopping 5 mm of rubber thickness, this shoe's outsole is likely to be the last part to give up!

A moderate layer of foam padding buffers the foot from the shoe's firm midsole. But even though it's not a particularly plush, sink-in underfoot experience, the ABZORB 2000 feels pleasantly supportive.

You could use a different insert to adjust the in-shoe feel, but keep in mind that its fit is a bit narrower than average.

The ABZORB 2000's N logo and a small eyestay at the top proved to be reflective.

Our caliper measured the shoe tongue padding at a moderate 6.2 mm.

But most of this New Balance sneaker's interior padding is concentrated in the collar, offering a luxuriously comfortable fit around the ankle.

There are no gussets on the sides of this shoe's tongue, making it a traditional free-floating design.

The shoe entry is rather effortless in this NB kick, so there is no need for a pull tab.

The ABZORB 2000's unconventional design puts it into the pricier category of New Balance sneakers. It's not as premium as the Made in USA/UK models, but its overall build quality and unique design choices make it stand out from the crowd.