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The last NB I got were the 2002r, distinctly not Made in USA, so I had to come back to something more luxurious for the brand.
The New Balance 990v2 is a follow up to the 990 and originally released in 1998. These upgraded the 990 midsole by adding full length ABZORB foam in the sole which pops out in the back bubble. We also see the 990 series toebox overlay look start to emerge.
The grey colorway I picked up I am 99% sure these are an OG colorway if not THE OG colorway. Grey is fairly synonymous with New Balance which leads me to believe I am right on this, although I’ve been wrong before. Anyway, I kind of randomly stumbled upon these on the Kith website, and shockingly was able to check out for retail! There isn’t a lot of fanfare or info around these. In fact, these seem to be a Kith exclusive that originally released in 2018. So are these just left over stock or a re-release? I literally have zero idea!
All that aside, I love these 990v2s! This grey pair I have fills a spot in my collection left blank between the 990 and 990v4 and v5. I’m now keeping my eyes peeled for any 990v3 that might retro so I can have at least one token pair from each of the series. One thing I like about these is that at this point, NB was still keeping the pointy toe shape somewhat, even though they were also starting to introduce that certain type of look to the toebox. Also, the midsole looks super fancy with that big, bulky and somewhat oval piece towards the back. To some, an all-grey New Balance like this might be kind of boring. If you collect the brand at all though, you might see why these are actually quite a special release!
Details/Materials
For the grey pair, starting off we have a 990 New Balance made in USA in white stitched onto a grey microfiber tongue, with an N stitched in below that on the lacestay. At least, the tongue’s microfiber at the top, but actually mesh as we move down.
We have suede eyelets leading down to a mesh toebox. The toebox has a 3M piece at the top and microfiber overlays with a grey suede mudguard that wraps around.
Moving to the side we have pretty much all grey suede with a couple small mesh panels. We can see the N logo overlaid in 3M. Down below we see the Abzorb logo on the midsole. On the back we have more grey suede plus a 3M hit with the USA stitched in grey. Above that we have a microfiber backtab and below we can just barely see the Abzorb logo on the foam through the bubble.
The insole is white with the NB logo and New Balance classic in black. Meanwhile the outsole is black and navy with New Balance in white towards the back. There’s also an oval piece with an N and a bit of a blue gradient.
These ship with flat laces (white for the grey pair) and come in the standard Made In USA box. I always liked the slightly wider flat laces that we get with New Balance sometimes. Overall we’re getting most of the retail cost based on the heritage aspect as well as the Made In USA surcharge.
How is the Quality?
Of course, Made In USA New Balance conjure a certain standard, and these definitely live up to that as far as the suede material. It’s soft, lush, has a visible backstroke, and so forth.
The suede on these New Balance 990v2 is definitely what I think the price tag is mostly covering here. Everything else on the shoe kind of is what it is, just more mesh, microfiber and 3M, similar to what we see on many other retro runner type releases. If this shoe truly is leftover stock from 3 years ago, it’s held up well!
Craftsmanship here is decent, some very small glue and loose thread type things but nothing out of the ordinary. Definitely nothing you notice unless you are right up close. All in all, I think you get what you pay for on the Made lines from New Balance and only rarely am I disappointed when I splurge to buy one of these. This example here is dare I say a quintessential version of the quality that these lines evoke.
How Do The New Balance 990v2 Fit?
The New Balance 990v2 fit comfortably snug at true to size. The toe is relatively aerodynamic on these compared to later versions of the 990, which means it doesn’t have quite the roomy toebox fit that later versions would have. That said, it’s not narrow enough to go up in shoe size when purchasing.
Given that the makeup of the shoe is mostly soft suede and mesh, I find these to be very comfortable as far as the upper. It fit fine right away with no break in and will probably break in and stretch out even further. I get a more glovelike feel from the upper than I do in later iterations of the 990.
Underfoot these have similar cushioning to other 990 series retros as far as I can tell. They feel pretty sturdy underfoot with just a little bit of give. Nothing mind blowing, but comfy enough to wear around for a few hours without my feet starting to hurt. I definitely could wear these all day with zero problems and I feel like this is exactly the type of shoe you don’t want to take off once they’re on! I can recommend these for comfort for anyone looking to get into the brand and see what it’s about.
Conclusion
I think I have my token pair of 990v2 with the grey pair here. This is such a classic color combo that looks very crisp in hand and when worn. Apparently this is a 3 year old shoe, but I somehow got lucky and caught an extremely delayed W in an extremely random fashion. It’s a bit disturbing on this type of “restock” or whatever it is that most people never would have had a shot and I can’t replicate the pickup easily. I just have to be a total sneaker fiend and continue checking these sites daily for opportunities like this!
These don’t include a lot of extras, but then again most of the cost is due to the quality brought on by the Made In USA series. The comfort seems right in line with what I expect from the brand and the 990 series. I think the best part about all of it though is they look great on feet!
Where To Buy the New Balance 990v2
You can occasionally find the v2 on the New Balance website. However, you are more likely to find them on sneaker boutique and aftermarket websites.
See below for links to get individual colorways that I’ve owned:
New Balance 990v2 Grey/White
Colorway: Grey / White
Style Code: M990GR2
Year of Release: 2018 (2021?)
MSRP: $200
Buy: eBay