Initial Impressions, New Balance, Sneakers

New Balance Abzorb 2000 Amine: Looks from the Future, Feel from the Past

October 26, 2025October 25, 2025 by 100wears

Price: $180 [SOLD OUT; Check eBay for Current Prices]

Why Buy?

The New Balance Abzorb 2000 Amine genuinely looks like a sneaker from the future.

Why Avoid?

The New Balance Abzorb 2000 Amine doesn’t have the comfort to match the looks.

Specs

Model	Abzorb 2000
Height	Low
Materials	Nylon / EVA / Thermoplastic / Rubber
Size	13
Weight	505 g / 1 lb 1.8 oz
Construction	Cemented
Country of Origin	Vietnam

History

The New Balance Abzorb 2000 is something I think we all wanted from New Balance, but nobody thought we would get. While other brands release new midsole offerings so often we constantly forget about them (anyone remember Nike Joyride?), New Balance basically only uses EVA and PU. Maybe, if you ask really nicely, they’ll blend in a little bit of PEBA into the EVA.

The New Balance Abzorb 2000 throws that out the window. Using a sole that is almost entirely Abzorb SBS, it might be the most adventurous New Balance released in years.

This specific pair was released in collaboration with Amine. Believe it or not, this is the more subtle of the two sneakers he released.

At the same time – while we all might have said we want big bold colors and unique designs from New Balance, the brand in Boston knows what sells better than any of us. Let’s dive in and see if these are right for you.

Looks

Upper

The upper on the New Balance Abzorb 2000 is surprisingly modern for New Balance. Made up entirely of a mesh sock with plastic overlays, it’s a major departure from their typical upper made of mostly suede patches.

The one thing that will stand out from this collab – other than the very green color – is the higher gloss finishes on all the panels. However, everything else from the horizontal lines to the diamond texture on the N stays the same.

The Amine specific details are mostly around the tongue. The typical cotton laces are swapped out with stretchy style ones. Personally, I think the laces would be better off thicker and I’m not a huge fan. One change I do like is the new tongue patch.

It has some good reminders like to return your books on time and to be quiet in the library. It’s entirely unserious – but it’s a bright green shoe. You shouldn’t be trying to be serious.

Mid- and Outsole

On the lower half of the New Balance Abzorb 2000, you’ll find the crazy looking outsole. Made up of 9 Abzorb SBS pods, it is half 2000’s retro and half 2050s futurism. Unlike a lot of sneakers with this sort of design, you really are primarily standing on the pads.

There is a small stability plate to keep the sneakers from folding in half under your arch, and a little EVA carrier foam at the top, but New Balance did a great job of allowing the cool design to be both function and form.

Inside the box, there is a card that says the midsole glows, but I’m not sure I believe them. I held these things up to studio lights for a couple of minutes and took them into a completely black room and maybe saw a hint of glow – but only maybe. There is basically zero chance these end up being visibly glowing during every day wear.

On the bottom of the sneaker, the outsole is broken up into several different sections. It’s primarily black, though there are small blue and yellow hits.

Summary

The New Balance Abzorb 2000, especially in this Amine collaboration, is not a subtle sneaker. Everything from the color to the design is supposed to be maximalist. However, in today’s fashion sphere, it surprisingly works.

Of course they work well with athleisure outfits. Sweats or joggers and a hoodie are easy. But there is something about them that makes them work with the ultrawide chino style. Will the combination of ultra-wide pants and running sneakers age well? Probably not – but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear it now.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

The New Balance Abzorb 2000 might be a lifestyle model, but it fits like a running sneaker – long and narrow. If you’re coming from the 99X line, these might feel a little restrictive, but anyone who has worn Nikes before will feel right at home.

The primarily mesh upper doesn’t offer much in the way of stretch, but the lack of rigid structure means you can probably get away with them not fitting 100% perfect out of the box.

I got these in my standard size 13, and they are ever-so-slightly narrow. I would suggest most people go true to size, but if you have very wide feet you might want to go up half a size. Though, if you do go up, expect a lot of extra toe room.

Comfort

This was the part of the review I was most excited for. Look at all that Abzorb SBS. Since New Balance usually only uses that in really high impact areas, these shoes must be the most comfortable thing out there, right?

Wrong.

With these on feet, I can see why it took New Balance so long to release these. They just are not that comfortable. I’d say they are more like a pair of Sambas than anything else with a midsole remotely this large.

Nearly all of the squish is coming from the small layer of EVA carrier foam. There just isn’t enough for it to be very comfortable. Compounding the problem, the stiff midsole plate (which is needed to keep the shoe stable) makes the sneaker feel clunky.

These sneakers may look like something out of the future, but they feel like something from the past.

Materials & Construction

Materials

The upper of the New Balance Abzorb 2000 is mostly just various forms of synthetic materials. Nearly all of the upper is just various versions of nylon mesh with plastic overlays. Really, the only materials that are not one of these two are the rubberized patch on the tongue, and the elastic laces.

Underfoot, things do get a bit more interesting. Directly under foot is a closed cell insole, which is fine if unremarkable. Below that is a small layer of EVA foam, with a plastic shank-plate along the midfoot.

Moving further down, the carrier foam is the star of the show – when it comes to style. The candy-looking sections of the midsole are New Balance’s “Abzorb SBS.” This is a thermoplastic elastomer, or in normal speak, it’s basically soft plastic. The key difference is that, since it doesn’t have a cell structure like foam, it compresses in a more uniform way and tends to have more durability after repeated compression.

Below that is another thin layer of EVA foam, and then a healthy amount of rubber on the outsole.

We will have to see how these hold up in a longer term review, but I imagine the Abzorb SBS and thick rubber outsole means these should last a very long time.

Construction

While the midsole of the New Balance Abzorb 2000 looks like it requires crazy construction, the long carrier foam at the top mean these are made using standard cemented construction. Basically, it’s all just glued together.

This type of construction offers great weather resistance and flexibility, but does mean the sneaker can’t be repaired. Once the outsole is done, the sneakers are too.

Like most of New Balance’s non-MADE line, these are manufactured in Vietnam.

Pricing & Value

These originally launched at a $180 price point, a $10 increase over the standard New Balance Abzorb 2000. At time of writing, most sizes are going slightly over retail.

$10 over retail is a very reasonable bump for a collab. For those 10 dollars they had to create the very nice box, the tooling for the tongue, and pay Amine. Hard to complain there.

As for the base $170 price – as annoying as it is to admit, that is really the going price for a sneaker with any sort of unique tech in it in 2025. However, New Balance is planning to release a bunch of different colorways of this model over the next several months. If you don’t happen to want this specific collab, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these on sale during Black Friday.

Are the New Balance Abzorb 2000s Worth It?

Let’s sum up everything here and see: are the New Balance Abzorb 2000s worth the price?

To answer that question, you need to understand what these shoes are. These are not going to be the comfiest sneakers in your collection, and they won’t be your work horse sneakers either. If you buy these with that expectation, you’re going to be very let down.

What these sneakers are is another effort by New Balance in the fashion forward space. Much like the 1906L, you’re paying more money for a less practical product because if it was any more practical it wouldn’t have that look.

More foam for comfort? That means the SBS pods wouldn’t be so in-your-face. Bigger pods for stability? That would ruin the bubbly look, just use a stiff shank plate instead. New Balance didn’t skimp on things to try and save price.