New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon

Pros: Upper feel, Heel/tongue and entry into the shoe, low weight with high stack height cushioning

Cons: Lack of rubber on outsole, cushioning is ample but not especially soft, laces are a bit short for me

I liked these enough to buy a second pair. These have spoiled me for running in anything heavy. The heaviest I can go now is an Adidas Boston, and even that's heavier than I'd like. I do still want a softer option for long runs, but Beacons work great for marathon pace and easy pace runs.

Wore for trading, track and race and great for all, but treads wire after 3 runs. Super comfy!

The Beacon is a versatile every day training shoe. Light enough for speed work and repeats, durable enough to last a reasonable workload of daily wear, and comfortable enough to wear during long runs.

The shoe is not ideal in cold weather, but it doesn't claim to be.

I ended up with a hole in the top of the big toe area, which usually happens with my shoes, but it would be nice if more models had a little extra fabric there to prevent that. However, this is not an issue that should influence your decision on these shoes.

Overall, this is a great trainer, and can be found for relatively cheap online.

I have wide feet so I am always looking for new light weight neutral shoes with a wide option. New balance always has something to offer in this category and I believe that the beacon is one of the best options available. I have used this shoe from 5k races, recovery days and for steady long runs. Initially the beacon has quite a bit of pop for the first two hundred miles and would be a good option for faster efforts and races from 5k to marathon. IMO after 200 miles the shoe loses some responsiveness but the cushioning remains premium. The upper secures your foot but is not too constricting. The tread is a combination of exposed foam and dense rubber tread on the big toe side of the forefoot and on the back outer heel. For me it was perfect placement for my foot strike. My only complaint is that the heel collar will run in your Achilles the first few times you run in it. I spent some time stretching the heel collar back and this fixed the problem. If you are looking for a neutral do-it-all trainer that is light weight give the beacon a shot!!

I love the NB Beacon V1, I've been through more pairs than I can count and as much as I want to try the V2, it's hard to pass up grabbing the old version for $60-80 as I rotate 2-3 pairs and need new ones every 2-3 months at around 300-350 miles. I'll eventually have to try the V2 but my experience with V1 has been amazing. I guess I'm considered a heavier runner at 5'6" 180lbs but I think I'm above average speed, running 3:05-3:30 marathons. I love that it's a super light weight shoe and provides plenty of cushion without having to go for a clunky heavy shoe. As stated above I only get 300-350 miles out of them which could be because I'm a little heaver or possibly because of the exposed Fresh Foam that keeps them light weight. Lighter runners may be able to get more mileage. Only problems I've had is the on humid, wet days, the insole can slide and bunch up.

New Balance found their balance in the Beacon. Lightweight, comfortable, and cushioning for days. Everything you need and nothing you don't. It's my go-to for anything, short, speedwork, long run. I only wish they added a touch more hard rubber under the toe box to increase it's durability.

I stumbled across this shoe when i needed a neutral lightweight trainer to log my marathon training miles. The Sale price was $64 which was another incentive. Overall very impressive, good comfort, good cushioning and still maintained a good lightweight feel. I logged 400 miles in these for training and still use as an everyday trainer. Wore on long runs and even Tempo runs. Good all round purchase.

The NB Beacon is a great lightweight trainer with plenty of cushioning. I have wide feet and therefore have limited options outside of New Balance. This shoe fit fine in the wide version. I never had trouble with blisters or any foot pain. I ran long runs up to 25 km in these shoes without a problem and raced a road marathon in them. I was surprised at how durable they are -- I have 770 km on them and they are still going fine. The uppers got nicked in a few places when I ran on a rocky trail, but otherwise they are still going strong.

The one thing, though, was that after wearing these shoes for a while I decided that I prefer heavier shoes for training so that my lighter racing shoes give me a psychological boost when I put them on before a race. I've switched over to training in heavier NB 1080s, saving the Beacons for shorter runs on recovery days.

I don't usually pay much attention to running shoe looks, but I have to say that these shoes look great and I sometimes wear them around town in addition to running.

Great shoes for every type of runs and every type of runners. Nothing much to complain except that insole slipped out time to time.

Very versatile. Good for long runs and speed work. Could be used for anything really. I've done eveything from marathons to 400 repeats in them and they feel great. The only compaint is in the durability. They seem to wear out after about 150 miles.