Initial Impressions, New Balance, Sneakers

New Balance x Museum 272: Box ‘em Up

July 14, 2024July 14, 2024 by 100wears

Price: $85

Why Buy?

The New Balance x Museum 272 is incredibly affordable for a collab, and is a step up in comfort compared to other vulc-soled shoes.

Why Avoid?

The New Balance x Museum 272 doesn’t wow compared to other collabs, and you might be better off with a standard 272 for half the price.

Specs

Model	272
Height	Low
Materials	Polyester / Rubber
Size	13
Weight	528 g / 1 lb 2.6 oz
Construction	Vulc / Cemented Hybrid
Country of Origin	Indonesia

History

A few weeks ago, 100wears took a look at the New Balance x Vu 440. As far as sneakers go, I’ve worn that pair more than any other pair this year. The amount of thought that went into making that pair of sneakers special absolutely blew me away. When I saw that the team over at New Balance Numeric was at it again, this time with the Los Angeles-bases Museum, I knew I had to take a look.

The base for this model is the New Balance 272, one of the more affordable options in the Numeric line up. Introduced to offer the board feel of a vulcanized rubber-based sneaker with a bit more comfort behind them, the 272 is a classic design for the world of skating.

The other half of this collab – Museum – is a smaller skateboarding brand from Los Angeles California. The company is best known for having their own skate videos up to show off products. This sneaker is no different, you can check out the launch video here.

Together they combined to make a sneaker that looks like a shipping box. I’m not entirely sure I make the connection with them. However, if you’re a big Museum fan and this is an important connection, please let me know below. Does this collab align with the high standard set by Vu on the other side of the country? Let’s dive in and find out.

Looks

Upper

When you take a look at the New Balance x Museum 272 the first thing you’ll see is an upper made almost entirely of a polyester-based corduroy. The color, as you can probably guess, is light brown similar to the color of most shipping boxes. Funnily enough, unlike some numerics, this pair comes in the grey box instead of the brown.

This corduroy is highlighted with lighter tan accents between panels and the light wrapping paper-like pattern on the N, heel, and tongue. While I’m not sure if this is supposed to be tape or packing paper, I’m not sure, but it looks great. It’ll also rip off almost immediately – though that is by design.

Speaking of tear away, New Balance advertises these sneakers as having a tear away upper. I promise that I will skate this pair, and will provide an update on what it might look like underneath at the 100 wears update.

The tongue of this pair has cobranding with both the NB numeric logo, museum, and 272. Around back, you’ll find the only real color pop: a red “Museum” hit on the heal.

Inside, you’ll find a similar corduroy pattern. The insole, on the other hand, is a speckled blue with “Enter the Museum” and a box logo under your heel.

Mid- and Outsole

The New Balance x Museum 272 looks like it has a foxing tape outsole at first glance, though as you look closer you’ll find the brown sidewalls are part of a cup sole construction. The hard(ish) rubber comes up and acts as an additional heel cap.

Museum desgined the outsole to look like packing tape. If it does is a bit more up in the air, but I like a story. One complaint I have – while I know the outsole will get dirty on the very first wear, even out of the box the rubber is extremely yellowed. I almost don’t want to touch it.

The pattern is nice and grippy. You’ll find herringbone with a pivot point up front, a scalloped section surrounded by block grip in the back. A hard rubber NB logo is inset into the scallop.

Summary

The New Balance x Museum 272 doesn’t carry the same amazing level of detail that some New Balance collabs have. Other than the soft paper on the tongue, heel, and N, I honestly wouldn’t have any idea what this sneaker is supposed to be based on if I didn’t receive the marketing materials. If you’re trying to find the next Vu 440 or Adidas Shell Toe, this probably isn’t for you.

However, what this sneaker does well is take you back to a time when corduroy was basically a required component for skatewear. You can tell the owner was skating in the 1990’s. The look of the materials feels right out of a CKY concert. However, the sneaker shape is much more modern.

The brown color does limit the versatility just a bit. In the time I’ve had them, I’ve found they pretty much only work with blue pants – jeans, chinos, etc. Tans and browns are too close, while greens and olives don’t have enough contrast. Maybe red or burgundy would work, but I don’t own any pants in that color to try out.

If you do manage to get a pair of navy pants with a hoodie, they can look great.

Fit & Comfort

Fit

Unlike most skate shoes, the New Balance x Museum 272 is not overly narrow. In fact, the 272 last might just be one of my favorite sneakers lasts of all time. At least favorite for casual wear. Nice and wide in the toe box to allow your toes to move while securing your heel. This is a great sneaker to go true to size in.

I wish that New Balance would use this last on more sneakers. I’d buy them all.

Comfort

There are two ways to look at the comfort of the New Balance x Museum 272.

If you compare it to other sneakers that use a vulcanized rubber outsole as a base, they are way better than most. A thicker rubber on the outsole, softer materials holding that outsole, and a thicker insole mean that these will not destroy your feet the way Vans or Converse will.

However, if you compare them to any sneaker that uses EVA, they are still pretty bad. There is no way to get around it: the sneaker is built around a flat board. You can’t get arch support through the outsole, and there isn’t foam to conform to your feet. The only thing left is the insole. It’s OK for the price, but it isn’t going to win any awards.

The great last shape and thicker than normal rubber does mean that these could be worn for walking around, but I wouldn’t pick them if you’re going to be on vacation.

Materials & Construction

Materials

When taking a look at the materials of the New Balance x Museum 272, it’s important to keep its affordable price in mind. I generally will knock a shoe for not using materials that will last, but you simply are not going to be getting Horween leather in a budget model.

With that out of the way, the upper on this sneaker is made almost entirely of a polyester blend cloth. It feels fine, though I can’t imagine it will last too long if you’re actually skating them. The paper-like accents look like Washi paper. It isn’t – it’s likely just plastic – but being plastic it will last at least until the first kick flip.

The red tag on the rear is a plasticky vinal, though you’ll probably never touch it so I don’t mind that much. Inside, the lining is poly but in a much tighter weave. It feels thick and durable, and I don’t doubt that the lining will last the life of the outsole.

Inside of the heel, a plastic heel cap between the upper and lining is bolstered by the visible rubber heel cap. These to a great job keeping your foot in place. The laces themselves are cotton, and the internal tongue straps are elastic.

Under your foot, New Balance claims to use ABZORB on the insole. Unfortunately, New Balance just uses the term “ABZORB” on seemingly every foam. It’s generally used on EVA, and I can’t prove this isn’t a very wide celled EVA, but it’s not like any EVA I’ve ever seen. Still, it’s not bad.

This sneaker uses two pieces of rubber fused together to act as a cup sole. Both the brown and clear rubber are extremely soft. It’s clear they were going for board feel over durability with these.

Construction

Speaking of that outsole, the New Balance x Museum 272 uses a somewhat unique form of construction combining vulcanized rubber / foxing tape with cemented construction.

It begins like vulcanized rubber – the outsole is cooked in order to get a flat, soft outsole. However, unlike typical construction where tape would be used to attach it to the upper, the outsole is placed in a rubber cup sole outline and then melted together. This single unit is then attached to the upper in a way similar to cemented construction, without using stitching.

Honestly, I’ve never used a sneaker built like this long term. I imagine you’d get a bit more feel than cemented and a bit more durability than standard vulcanized construction, but you’ll have to check back for the long term review to find out for sure.

Pricing & Value

The New Balance x Museum 272 comes in at a very reasonable MSRP of $85. This puts it at a $10 premium over standard 272’s. Though, at time of writing nearly every 272 on New Balance’s website is on sale for $59.99. These are still sitting in an almost full size run at just about every store, so if the $85 is still more than you’re looking to spend I wouldn’t be surprised to find these over at Joe’s New Balance Outlet in a few months.

Still, even at full MSRP, $85 is a hard price to complain about. A pair of corduroy Vans will run you $79, and you’ll be missing out on the nicer construction and better comfort of this pair of New Balances. When you add the cost of paying the collaborator, I think these represent a great value for what you get.

Are The New Balance x Museum 272 Worth It?

When it comes to the New Balance x Museum 272, I struggle to say this is a pair that you should definitely pick up. Don’t get me wrong – if you were already looking for a pair of 272s and wanted something a bit different these are great. Similarly, if you were already looking for a pair of corduroy shoes and wanted a pair with a story, great again.