The 1400 is New Balances proven race flat for the efficient light weight racer. The 1400 stays fairly true to the traditional racing flat construction, but is constantly adapting to help improve upon what already works.

The 1400’s design caters to the majority of runners and the price point is also favorable to us common folk as well.

New Balance 1400v6 General Info

New Balance 1400v6 – Lateral Side

The 1400 is a fairly well-established go-to racing flat for many runners. With version 6 the same reactive ride, and airy feel remain fairly similar to the previous version.

This round New Balance has made some major updates to the upper to help further improve breathability and comfort. The 1400 is priced perfect around $100 and holds its own against other popular models like the Adios and Hitogami.

New Balance 1400v6 Sole Unit

Version 6 seems to be unchanged so far as the midsole is concerned. RevLite continues to be the tried and true compound used.

I am a huge fan of RevLite, in case you hadn’t noticed after my review of the 890, Its durable, responsive, and is so smooth that it makes running easy.

As with the previous version there is a plastic shank, similar to the strips in the 890, that runs from midfoot to forefoot. This shank acted as a spring board propelling my foot forward from midstride to forefoot.

The 1400 v6 has a stack height of 25mm in the back and 15mm up front. While the 10mm drop may seem a bit high it really works well in the shoe and RevLite.

The transition is smooth and perfectly quick and has decent ground feel. I recently competed in a half marathon in the 1400 v6 and the transition rate was ideal for my pace and the distance and didn’t feel completely destroyed at the end.

During training I also used the shoe for some track repeats and felt super powerful in them, and didn’t really have to give much thought to the shoe and could just focus on the workout.

New Balance 1400v6 – Sole

The outsole is made of blown rubber with a fairly similar pattern as v5. The small lugs provided me with excellent traction in both wet and dry conditions, and on varying surfaces from roads to crushed gravel paths.

After just a little over 100 miles they are showing little signs of wear.

New Balance 1400v6 Upper Info

Most of the updates of the 1400 v6 are in the upper. New Balance has now gone to an Engineered mesh no-sew upper. This has helped shave a bit of weight from the shoe but has made it highly breathable with exceptional comfort.

New Balance 1400v6 – Top

Also new is an internal FantomFit support cage. The dark webs of the cage can be seen from the outside of the shoe and are slid in-between the inner and outer mesh layers.

The cage did an outstanding job of holding my foot securely in place eliminating slippage or hot spots. I really appreciated the sleek look that the cage gave to the shoe by eliminating overlays for support.

Finally, the most major change is the tongue. Version 5 had a fairly padded tongue that many runners struggled with bunching up or rolling off to one side eventually causing irritation.

New Balance 1400v6 – Top

The new tongue follows the design of New Balance’s track and field spikes for a smooth, thin wrap. The new tongue laid nicely along the top of my foot and I never experiencing any bunching or discomfort.

New Balance 1400v6 Conclusions

It is a pretty rare occasion that I give 5 stars to a shoe, but there is not a thing that I don’t like about the 1400 v6.

This shoe really feels like an extension of my foot and when I think of a go-to racing flat this will without a doubt be at the top of my list. There is nothing that this shoe can’t handle, but definitely feels better at speed.

Couple it with the re-released 890 v6, as I recently did, and you will have the perfect dynamic training duo that could propel you into anything up to a full marathon.

We purchased a pair of New Balance 1400v6 from runningwarehouse using our own money. This did not influence the outcome of this review, written after running more than 50 miles in them.