The ONLY New Balance Walking Shoe...That You Need To Know!

Last year, the New Balance 1080 V14 quietly became the most comfortable walking shoe that you could buy. But the newest model, the V15, is actually built more for running than walking. And that's created a bit of a problem, because most running shoes are built for speed and forward momentum. Because when you're walking slowly or standing for long periods of time, the same shoe can feel a little bit unstable and inefficient. So that raises an interesting question. Did New Balance create the ellipse to fix that? As most people assume that the most comfortable walking shoe is simply a soft shoe. But softness alone doesn't actually solve the real problems people experience when walking longer distances. Because after several thousand steps, many shoes start to feel slightly unstable, a bit flat and inefficient, or surprisingly tiring. That's because many cushioned running shoes are designed to compress and rebound quickly, which works great when you're running. But when you're walking slowly, that same design can actually make the shoe feel less stable and less efficient over time. And that's where the ellipse starts to feel different. The ellipse is a completely new model from New Balance, and sits between their two most popular shoes, the 880, which is their firmer everyday trainer, and the 1080, which is their premium cushioned running shoe. But when you actually walk in the ellipse, it doesn't really feel like either of them. In fact, after testing it on long walks, it actually feels like a shoe that was specifically designed more as a lifestyle shoe for walking than a running shoe. And the interesting part is why. The ellipse uses Fresh Foam X cushioning, which is the same foam New Balance use in many of their premium shoes. When you first put on the shoe, the cushioning feels soft straight away, but it's not overly mushy. Instead, your foot sinks slightly into the foam, which gives that comfortable pillow-like feel underfoot. Now, one of the problems with very soft running shoes is that when you walk slowly in them, they can actually feel a little unstable or wobbly. But the ellipse avoids that. The foam compresses slightly under your foot, which absorbs impact, but still feels controlled when you're walking. That balance between softness and stability is actually quite hard to get right. But interestingly, the cushion itself isn't the main reason the shoe works so well for walking, because there's another design feature that makes a big difference once you start walking in the shoe for longer distances. And you see it when you look at the shape of the midsole. At the back of the shoe, there's a posterior heel bevel. That helps smooth out the landing when your heel hits the ground. Instead of feeling like the heel drops straight down, the shoe helps guide your foot forward into the next step. Then through the front of the shoe, there's an early to mid-foot rocker. That slight curve helps your foot roll forward more naturally when walking. Now, this might sound like a small detail or very technical, but when you're walking thousands of steps, that forward rolling motion can actually make walking feel smoother and slightly easier. Instead of pushing through each step, the shoe almost helps to carry you forward. But there is another design feature in the shoe that surprised me even more, because it's something that the 1080 doesn't do quite as well anymore. When you flip the shoe over, you see that the platform of the ellipse is quite wide. In fact, the base is actually wider than the New Balance 1080 V15. And that wider base gives the a noticeably more stable feel when you're walking. Your foot feels supported underneath you, and the shoe doesn't feel like it's tipping from side to side. That's something that can happen with narrower shoes that have softer platforms. Interestingly, the wider base actually reminds me quite a bit of the 1080 V14, which many people found to be very comfortable for walking. And that's where the ellipse starts to feel quite a bit different from the 1080 V15. Now, one thing I was quite curious about when I tried it on the ellipse is whether the design actually makes walking easier over longer distances. Because a lot of shoes feel comfortable for the first few minutes, but they start to feel tiring over several thousand steps. So I decided to test it properly. I wore the ellipse for several days while I walked over 10,000 steps, and I paid attention to three things. How stable the shoe felt, how easy it felt to keep on walking, and whether my feet felt more or less tired at the end of the walk compared to other shoes that I wear daily. And after all these walks, something interesting started to happen. Instead of the cushioning feeling softer and softer, the shoe actually started to feel easier to walk in the longer the walk went on. The rocker helps guide your foot forward, the cushioning absorbs the impact, and the wider platform keeps everything stable underfoot. So instead of feeling like you're working through each step, the shoe almost feels like it reduces the effort required to walk. And that combination is exactly why people want more of a primarily walking focus shoe than a running focus shoe. Moving to the upper, New Balance uses an engineered mesh. It feels breathable and comfortable, and the overall fit is a true to size. There's a good amount of space in the toe box, which can be the big difference if you're wearing the shoe all day. Around the heel, the counter is fairly flexible, although it does tilt inward slightly, so not ideal for those of you with Haglund's deformity or sensitivity around the back of the heel. One thing worth mentioning is that the forefoot is quite flexible, and for most people walking, that makes it feel more natural. But if you have conditions like Haglund's rigidus, where bending through the big toe joint is quite painful, you may prefer a different shoe with a which we have a review of on the channel. So while the shoe works very well for walking, it may not suit some people. So where does the Ellipse actually sit in the New Balance range now? Compared to the A80, the Ellipse feels softer and more cushioned. Compared to the 1080, the Ellipse feels less bouncy, but slightly more stable. So it ends up sitting somewhere in the middle. You get the comfort of the previous 1080, but with a more stable platform that feels closer to the 880. Which is why it works particularly well for walking and standing all day. So coming back to the question that we started with, did New Balance create the Ellipse to replace the walking comfort that we got on the old models of the 1080? And after testing this shoe for over 10,000 steps a day, I actually think the answer is yes. Because the more recent model of the 1080 V15 is most certainly a more running focused shoe than walking shoe, and therefore the Ellipse ends up being a better walking shoe than the most recent model. It has soft but controlled cushioning with a smooth rocker and a nice wide stable platform. And for that reason, I'd be surprised if the New Balance Ellipse doesn't quietly become New Balance's best selling walking shoe in 2026. But let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Do you like the aesthetics of the shoe? And one surprising note is that it comes in cheaper than the 1080 and the 880, for those of you who are interested. I've got links to that in the description below, if you want to check out the latest prices of all three on Amazon at the moment. 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