New Balance FuelCell 996 v6 review

The 996 v6 should be on your radar if:

• you have a speedy playing style and move around the court a lot
• you need a highly breathable tennis shoe to survive hot summer sessions

The lack of durability in the shoe's upper and toe drag guard was a major turnoff for us. If you are an aggressive slider, we recommend investing in a better-reinforced shoe. The NikeCourt Vapour Pro 2, for example, has a similar price and parameters but shows better signs of longevity.

On the other hand, if you are bothered by the above-average weight of the 996 v6, the ASICS Solution Speed FF 3 is one of the best lightweight tennis shoes out there. It is also exceptionally durable and breathable.

We never lacked cushioning or impact protection in the New Balance 996 v6.

With a calliper reading of 29.8 mm, the shoe's heel stack proved to be on par with the average.

Our forefoot also received a nice buffer upon landings thanks to the shoe's 21.4 mm forefoot stack.

We felt confident choosing the 996 v6 for long sessions as it took good care of the balls of our feet and didn't leave them beaten up afterward.

We measured the heel-to-toe drop of the New Balance 996 v6 at 8.4 mm.

It is a very safe offset for most players because it's neither too low to strain the Achilles nor too high to push the toes forward.

New Balance kept the shoe's tongue padding minimal at 4.7 mm which is a few millimetres thinner than average.

But it certainly did not cut back on the collar padding. It is as abundant as it could possibly be!

The primary cushioning is complemented by a comfortable well-padded insole. We measure its thickness at 4.8 mm in the heel.

On its official product page, New Balance states that the fit of the 996 v6 is great for narrow feet.

Contrary to that statement, our medium-width feet felt very nicely accommodated in this New Balance shoe.

What's more, our calliper confirmed that its toebox offers as much space as the average tennis shoe.

We measured a standard 101.9 mm in the widest part of the forefoot.

We also found that the shoe's toebox has a rounded shape showing as much as 79.7 mm at the big toe point. That's a few millimetres wider than some of the other D-medium shoes we measured in a men's US size 9.

Players with wide feet shouldn't give up on the NB 996 v6 either because it is also available in wide options (2E for men and D for women).

Another positive change we saw in the 6th version of the 996 is its enhanced stability.

We could feel the difference in foot containment and side-to-side support as we performed more forceful lateral movements and rapid direction changes.

One major stability component that remained unchanged from the v5 is the chicken-foot shank that runs through the bottom of the shoe.

Together with the firm raised midsole sidewalls, it helps to create a rather rigid platform to prevent the shoe from twisting and wobbling during agile movements on the court.

After the unsuccessful attempts to twist the NB 996 v6 in our manual test, we rated its torsional rigidity with the highest stiffness score of 5.

According to New Balance, the v6 received a higher collar and a tighter heel lockdown.

In a side-by-side comparison, the difference in collar height appears to be very minor. But we can subscribe to better heel lockdown as we could feel a notable upgrade in the v6!

The shoe's heel counter got stiffer and more structured and refused to yield in our manual test. On a stiffness scale from 1 to 5, we gave it a high score of 4.

The 996 v6 gives a very secure slip-free experience in the rearfoot.

The shoe also provided a very steady and planted experience thanks to its wide platform.

There is a protruding flange on the lateral side of the forefoot which showed 115.3 mm in the widest part. A few millimetres wider than the average, it offered a reliable base for side-to-side landings and charged push-offs.

The heel doesn't skimp on the landing area either. Our calliper measured 89.7 mm in its widest part which is a standard width for tennis shoe heels.

Its funky chicken shank loaded the 996 v6 with a great deal of stiffness.

Using a force gauge, we discovered that it takes 44.6N which is about 40% more force than average to bend this New Balance shoe to a 90-degree angle.

We believe that this is what helped the 996 v6 feel so ready to go! The shoe has a propulsive nature to it which made our sprints to the net feel nice and charged. Paired with its stable platform, it creates a pretty speedy experience, just as the brand promised.

New Balance positions the 996 v6 as a tennis shoe for a "speedier type of play," also mentioning that its design is inspired by racing cars. Unfortunately, we didn't see that reflected in the shoe's weight.

Our scale returned 13.8 oz (390g) in a men's US size 9 which is a whole ounce heavier than average. What's more, the v6 gained some serious weight over its previous version - the 996 v5 came in at only 11.9 oz (336g)! 

But on the bright side, the shoe doesn't feel heavy on foot thanks to its propulsive midsole and a shank (more on that below).

Copying the outsole pattern from its predecessor, the gripping capacity of the 996 v6 felt exactly the same.

We had no issues starting and stopping on a sixpence or retaining speed on corners.

New Balance promised "breathability during long matches on hot days" and the 996 v6 delivered it!

Look how incredibly fast the smoke passed through the shoe's toebox! We rarely see this level of ventilation in tennis shoes because it is usually a trade-off with durability (unfortunately, that's the case for the 996 v6 too but more on that below).

The secret lies in the shoe's highly porous net mesh where thousands of ventilation holes let the air in and out without any obstruction.

Without a doubt, this is one of the most breathable tennis shoes we've tested earning the highest score of 5.

Now to the trade-offs. The other side of the shoe's impressive breathability is its catastrophic lack of wear resistance.

In less than 22 seconds of drilling it, the translucent toe guard was completely destroyed by sandpaper! We couldn't believe how weak the shoe's protection was.

Unfortunately, we don't think that the NB 996 v6 can stand up against aggressive sliding and that is reflected in the shoe's very low toe guard durability score.

Obviously, the shoe's net mesh is not the strongest material either.

After applying sandpaper to the exposed fabric for 12 seconds, we saw some pretty notable damage.

But we should still give that mesh some credit because it resisted the Dremel long enough to prevent a glaring hole. It did even better than the £200 ROGER Pro 2 (on the right)!

That's why we upped the toebox durability score to 3 out of 5.

Looking at the shoe's inner lining, we also believe that New Balance could've done better.

Assessing the damage left by a 4-second Dremel test, we couldn't rate it any higher than 2 out of 5.

At the bottom of the NB 996 v6, we found both hard and translucent types of rubber in the shoe's outsole.

Using a Shore C durometer, we measured the hardness at 90.0 and 89.0 HC respectively. Nearly identical compounds.

We applied our Dremel to the hard rubber part of the outsole for 22 seconds. The speed was set to the demanding 10K RPM.

The material fought back rather well developing only 1.0 mm of damage. This is a good result for a tennis shoe in this price range. 

We were also glad to see as much as 4.5 mm of outsole thickness in the 996 v6.

Overall, we found the shoe's outsole sufficiently hard, abrasion-resistant, and thick to last as long as the average tennis shoe outsole.

But a durability warranty would've made us more reassured.

Copying the outsole pattern from its predecessor, the gripping capacity of the 996 v6 felt exactly the same.

We had no issues starting and stopping on a sixpence or retaining speed on corners.

The retail price of the New Balance 996 v6 sits right in the middle of tennis shoes.

For this price range, we believe that the shoe offers excellent performance with its nimble and propulsive ride.

But because it lacks in the durability department we don't think that the 996 v6 deserves the full price.

New Balance kept the shoe's tongue padding minimal at 4.7 mm which is a few millimetres thinner than average.

But it certainly did not cut back on the collar padding. It is as abundant as it could possibly be!

The tongue of this New Balance shoe has gussets on both sides which we found quite helpful during forceful lateral movements.

We experienced no tongue shifting and the overall lockdown felt like a race car bucket seat.

The NB 996 v6 is very agreeable during on-and-off despite not having any finger loops or pull tabs to hold on to.

It takes no effort to remove the insole of the 996 v6 in case you need a pair of orthotics.