New Balance Mens FuelCell Rebel Running Shoes

Product Information

I ran in the first version of this shoe in college and found that even though they were lightweight, the foam felt pretty dense,” one reviewer says. I'd also love a little upper refinement to increase the comfort of the material itself as it contacts the skin. There is a toe guard present, but it is very minimal and provides just enough to reinforcement to keep the shape of the shoe without putting any excessive pressure anywhere. The midsole is medium-stack, very flexible, and largely similar to the Rebel v2, with the key addition of slightly more stack and width.

So similar that I would hesitate to confidently say the v3 is an improvement in any way that would be worth the process of designing and manufacturing a new shoe this year, but that need for new is just part of the current industry. This was made apparent in the reviews, info from New Balance, and simply be looking at the bottom of the shoe. It’s not because the shoe is higher stack now, but rather I find the forefoot rocker to be even less evident now than in v2. So the overall fit is a bit lower volume as others have mentioned before, and the shoe might even run a bit short for some people.

The Rebel v2 maintains the sleek look all the way through the shoe by not using any unnecessary padding or overlays.

My second pair are still fresh with about 75 miles, which helped with comparisons to the new Rebel v3. Part of why I wouldn't size up is because there is ample width through the forefoot and the midfoot and heel fit perfectly for lockdown. The design of the upper looks a little more “traditional” now and reminds me of the 880v12 I previously tested, which is a bit of a shame.I didn't feel the foam bottom out during those slower, longer runs, and the softer foam felt like a nice break for my feet. Version 1 of the Rebel was such a unique tempo trainer because it wasn’t firm and boring like most tempo trainers at the time. The new version’s upper is less transparent and less breathable, which means less stretch and volume.