New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro v6 GTX Trail Shoe – Review

Underwater trails around my local loop have provided an excellent opportunity to consistently wear the New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro v6 GTX Trail Shoe. Here’s how they’ve held up after 100km.

New Balance’s Fresh Foam Hierro range is a popular road running shoe, so it’s unsurprising that the trail version is equally impressive. 

I’ve recently found value in rotating between my regular trail shoe — Salomon’s Ultra Glide — and the Gore-Tex Fresh Foam Hierro v6 when conditions require it. 

Both of these shoes are on the more plush and comfortable side, so there’s no real adjusting between them. But, where the GTX Hierro’s shine (for want of a better word) is when the trails get moist.  

Since my local trails have been consistently sodden for a while now, I’ve been reaching for the GORE more often than not. 

It’s worth noting that New Balance has since released a v7 of the Fresh Foam Hierro Trail Shoe, however, they’re yet to release an updated GTX option, so for now the v6 is still the best bet for waterproofing your feet.

Otherwise, they’ve made minimal changes in the v7 outside a new colour scheme, except for updating the outsole lug pattern from the classic Vibram® to Vibram® Megagrip. So, this piece should still be very instructive if you’re keen on the Hierro range. 

Fit

The Fresh Foam Hierro v6 GTX has a relaxed and forgiving fit that prioritizes comfort over race performance. 

I wouldn’t use these as my race shoes, given the additional weight the comfort affords — they weigh 337g —  however as a training shoe or even casual walker, these tick a lot of boxes. 

They’re slightly wider than your average trail shoe to begin with — with an option to buy the extra-wide version, although I wouldn’t recommend that unless you have seriously wide flippers.

There’s a bootie-style upper construction that wraps your upper foot securely and offers a snug, supportive fit. 

The regular laces are almost refreshing for a trail shoe —  looking at you Quicklace — although some might miss having somewhere to tuck the laces into.

Comfort

The relaxed fit lends itself to comfort, but everything about the shoe is engineered for maximum comfort. 

The tongue itself is 7.5mm thick which is over 2mm thicker than the average trail shoe tongue. 

Compare this to something like the Arc’teryx Norvan LD3 Trail Runner which would have a tongue half as thick and you begin to see where the priorities lie in the Hierro. 

There’s a similar amount of padding in the upper ankle which is comfortable but dare I say, may even be too chunky when combined with a thicker pair of trail socks. 

The thick Fresh Foam midsole delivers an ultra-cushioned and forgiving ride. They’re pretty chunky as well, but it’s nigh impossible to have both comfort and high performance, so it really depends on where your preference falls on the spectrum. 

A wide base underfoot means plenty of ground contact, however, you don’t have the same ‘ground-feel’ as you would with a lighter, less padded runner.

Performance

These are a super stable shoe and excel at long distances across milder, more consistent terrain. 

For super technical, narrow, single track they feel a little large and cushy, but on wider fire trails and on graded, gravelly paths these feel great. 

They’re even plenty comfortable for sections of road, although they run fairly hot with the Gore-Tex membrane limiting their airflow. 

There’s a unique-looking heel ‘rudder’ at the rear of the shoe, which overhangs — to the extent that I read on an online forum that someone actually cut theirs off… 

Now, I wouldn’t recommend doing that as New Balance added this feature to provide even more stabilization on the downhills, however, I can’t seem to tell much of a difference myself.

As for the waterproofing, well this is where these shoes come into their own.

I was able to stand in a stream and not have water penetrate the shoe, and you can jump in small puddles to your heart’s content, safe in the knowledge that you won’t end up with wet feet.

Once the shoes do fill with water — that aforementioned stream got a little deeper, unfortunately — the shoes were able to flush it out surprisingly well, but obviously not as well as a non-GTX shoe. 

I found the GTX and TPU upper threads also limited the amount of silt/dirt/debris that entered the shoe. At one stage, my shoe was replaced with an unrecognizable muddy brown blob, yet after running it through a few more puddles, it came out looking fresh again. 

They’re also considerably easier to clean than the mesh of the Salomon Ultra Glides which seem to trap dirt particles within their fabric.

Durability

I’ve just ticked over 100km in the Fresh Foam Hierro v6 GTX and they look basically the same as when they came out of the box. 

The black colourway helps massively here, and I haven’t been shy to give them a bath every now and then to keep the foam looking fresh (see what I did there).

Aesthetics

Speaking of the black colour scheme, I’m a big fan. 

These are some of the more ‘understated’ trail shoes on the market and can be worn on surfaces other than trails and you won’t feel out of place — something that probably can’t be said for all trail shoe options out there. 

New Balance kept a black shoe in the range with their updated v7 sleek black colourway, however, if you want something that looks faster, there are other options and likely something for everyone.

Matt was given the New Balance Fresh Foam Hierro v6 GTX Trail Shoe for testing and was allowed to keep them afterwards. He was allowed to say whatever the heck he wanted about them in this review. Check out our Editorial Standards for more! 

Photos by @tim_ashelford and @mattwisemanmedia