crooked tongues magazine News Features

There's more to New Balance than grey suede and mesh (not that there's anything wrong with that) and there comes a time when you have to break out the loop of sensible running shoes. NB has the heritage runner side of things on lock and while the rainbow makeover on their latest iteration of the flagship M890 neutral runner series will cause some hatred for its rainbow colours (again, not that there's anything wrong with that), we embrace that weirdness. It's good to see a name attached to a New Balance shoe that's not a store or brand —middle-distance parkrun don-dada Andy Baddeley's surname is printed towards the rear. That's an offbeat athlete name to display on an offbeat shoe (this model is created to suit his needs) and it all makes a certain sense.

Every M890 iteration seems to have had the rainbow treatment and the M890RB3 works it into fades rather than going all-out clown car. Version 2's camo was available in light blue and an autumnal leaf shade that made it to spots like Tres Bien, beyond the usual core athletic spots and it seemed to actually work there. This one utilizes a similar REVlite neutral cushioned midsole and an outsole that's engineered to take heel, midfoot and forefoot strikes. Extra ABZORB cushioning absorbs shock, and that no sew upper is a new norm for running shoes, resulting in the gulf between conventional and minimal fulfilled by this insanely light design. If you're going to be insanely light, insanely comfortable and insanely functional, you may was well just look insane. A key change for the M890 V3 is the larger heel counter for superior support and modification for that forefoot web of panels.

This one's definitely not to every taste, but we're into it. If more conservative old-style releases that still use leather are your thing, you can't exactly call out New Balance for neglecting that market — they've dropped the best reissues of any running shoe brand out there. 1:1 990s repress? They've got you covered. Allow them their wild excesses in the quest for minimalism. We're glad that their bonkers performance drops are future cult favourites. With spots like the aforementioned Tres Bien and Nepenthes pushing the tech side of this brand, we're guessing that in the not too distant future, a handful of M890 haters will change their tune as the blogs and style mag editorials conduct it. Watch and see. In the meantime, the New Balance M890RB3 is in the Crooked Tongues store right now with a pricetag of £80. Serious runner, strange looks.