William Riley founded New Balance Arch Company in Boston in 1906 and began selling arch supports for shoes. The company’s first pair of running type shoes was launched in 1938 but the running breakthrough came in 1960 with the release of the Trackster which was designed to fit feet of different widths. In 1976, New Balance’s 320 running shoe became the number one shoe on the market to make the brand become a global leader in running.

New Balance has been at the forefront of running shoe innovation. The New Balance 990, first introduced in 1982 with its revolutionary ENCAP technology where the EVA foam in the midsole was encapsulated by a polyurethane shell to keep its shape and bounce over time. The result was a springy, exceptionally durable running shoe.

New Balance continues to innovate today and also has its own proprietary foam, called Fresh Foam, and is a lighter, ultra-bouncy foam with superior cushioning that’s used in the midsole of many of its top selling running shoes. Other technologies include FuelCell, in which TPU foam is injected with nitrogen, gives a snappy bounce and improves energy return. RevLite is a refined EVA material that is designed to give cushion with maximum response used in some of the company’s lighter shoes. TruFuse is an EVA blend made up of two types of foam to increase energy return and smooth underfoot.

We sell New Balance running shoes in Switzerland for road and trail at Fast and Light in store and online at nice prices.