Initial Impressions, New Balance, Sneakers

New Balance x Vu 440v2: Balitmore’s Finest

Price: $100

Why Buy?

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 is a great collab with callbacks to one of the most classic sneakers of all time: the New Balance 990v3.

Why Avoid?

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 is not comfortable and the sizing will be tough.

Specs

Model440v2
HeightLow
MaterialsSuede Rubber
Size13 [Runs Small]
Weight485 g / 1 lb 1.1 oz
ConstructionCemented
Country of OriginIndonesia

History

Saying that skate shoes are having a moment would be an understatement. With the spike in popularity around the Nike Dunk SB line, the interest in this style of sneaker has risen as well. It includes both people who want something casual to wear, as well as skaters who don’t want to pay $400+ for a pair that will get trashed in a few months.

New Balance’s efforts here come from their Numeric line. Numeric, meaning something related to numbers, is the decade old effort by the brand to develop skateboard specific sneakers. I hear what you’re saying – don’t all New Balances use numeric naming? Yes. I don’t get it either.

Anyway, with the 440, New Balance wanted to create a minimalist sneaker designed around old tennis shoes. Less padding and with a traditional cup sole. However, New Balance might have gone too minimalist – a lot of people thought there was not enough impact protection to actually skate in.

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Enter the V2, a redesigned 440 with softer rubber in the cup sole, more padding inside, and a new shape.

As part of the launch, New Balance partnered with Vu Skateboard Shop, a Baltimore-based shop that often does collabs themed around the city. With this pair, they didn’t just want to add Baltimore-related details to the sneaker. They actually wanted to pull details from a sneaker associated with the Baltimore area: the New Balance 990v3.

Did they do a good job? More importantly, did New Balance’s spell check work? Let’s dive in and find out.

Quick disclaimer, Vu Skateboard Shop is technically spelled like “Vú.” However, in the interest of easier reading, I’ll be using “Vu” throughout.


Looks

Upper

The upper of the New Balance x Vu 440v2 does a great job of balancing the 440v2’s design, the 990v3’s design, and a few Baltimore-specific hits. The upper comes almost entirely in grey, matching the classic 990 color palate. This sneaker does use a more typical cow-suede instead of the pig-suede found on the Made-in-America New Balances, but for a skate shoe I think the better durability is preferable.

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The suede toe guard (double layered), sits on top of a suede toe panel. This is then attached to a suede eyelet stay panel. All of this is double – and sometimes quadruple – stitched and should be able to stand up to at least a few kickflips.

Going further back from the leather, a mess panel covers the midpanel. A gigantic N is tucked under the eyelets, supposedly acting as another layer of protection to wear through. Both the mesh pattern and the N use the 990v3’s design, over the 440v2’s design. Nice touch.

Around back, a suede panel with 3m holes and piping can be found around the back, topped with a faux-leather panel with the Vu logo in orange on the back. Take a closer look at the 990-style labeling and you’ll find 440 on one side, and 410 (Baltimore’s area code) on the other.

The tongue – slightly more padded than the normal 440v2 option – mimics the 990v3, with the diamond patterning and font. The back is a very fuzzy felt, orange again (for, I assume, the Orioles). Inside, the insole replaces the Ortolite branding with chess pieces. The designs were actually designed by Chris from Vu.

Black Light Details

Maybe the coolest detail on the sneakers is the hidden messages. Throughout the sneaker, there are details you can only find with a black light. Don’t worry, New Balance included one for you.

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Inside, on top of the chess pieces, you’ll find Vu’s branding. Both the installed white laces and the included grey laces say “new balance numeric | 440 | Vu Skateboard Shop | 410.”

This also leads to maybe the most infamous part of these sneakers. Around back, where the New Balance branding would be, it looks to be blank white. Hold the light up, and it reads “balitmore’s finest.” Yes, Baltimore is misspelt.

Mid- and Outsole

While the upper is jam packed with Baltimore-focused references, the lower half of the New Balance x Vu 440v2 is a bit plainer.

Featuring a cup sole, looking at the sneaker from the side you’ll see the textured white walls of the outsole, held on with black stitching. Up front the sole is shaped to look like there is an extra layer of foxing tape, but it’s all one piece.

Turning the Vu 440 over, the black outsole has herring bone up front and a hexagon pattern in the rear. In what is really the only nod to Baltimore, the NB logo is here in Oriole’s orange.

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Summary

I have to say, I’m a really big fan of the changes to this New Balance x Vu 440v2. Though, as a person who grew up around Baltimore and a fan of the New Balance 990 line that probably is no surprise.

So many of the changes are the sort of if-you-know-you-know type of details that people love. How many people would recognize that the N is the 990 design instead of the 440? Who could tell that one of the 440’s says 410? Even the misspelling on the back is sort of fun – you can only see it a few inches away and with a black light. You get a great story to tell your friends without feeling self-conscious about the misspelling on your sneaker.

These subtle changes mean that these are also extremely wearable. For all intents and purposes, they are a grey court shoe. The New Balance x Vu 440v2 works with skate wear (obviously), but so much more. The court shoe makes them work with preppy outfits. Their slim profile means they work with shorts. Being grey with only subtle orange hits means they won’t clash in your outfits.

Honestly, from a style perspective, these are among the most versatile pairs out there, AND they are a collab with theming. A+.


Fit & Comfort

Fit

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The New Balance x Vu 440v2 is extremely narrow in it’s fit. It’s similar in width to a Nike Blazer, but because of the rubber straps to hold the tongue in place this fits even tighter in the mid-foot. If you’re just looking for a 440v2, they do make them in wide sizes, however none of the collabs come in anything but standard.

I wouldn’t suggest sizing up, however, as the sneaker is on the longer side with the new rounded toe for the v2 version.

I have slightly wide feet and can only barely make them work in my regular size 13. If you consider yourself fully in the wide foot camp, I don’t think these will work at all for you.

Comfort

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 was designed with board feel in mind. And that translates over to feeling the ground as well. While maybe a slight step up from something like Vans or Converse, the definitely have less padding than something like a Stan Smith.

All you have under foot is an OK insole, a few millimeters of padding, and the rubber.

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While I certainly wouldn’t choose to wear these all day over the 990v3 that they are based on, assuming you fit the width they would be alright to wear running errands.


Materials & Construction

Materials

Starting with the upper off the New Balance x Vu 440v2, the majority of the upper is made with a thick cow suede leather. I’ve seen these labeled as pig suede like the 990s on some websites, but they are not. While not the finest suede I’ve ever felt, it should be more durable than most suedes as well. A fair trade off for a skate shoe.

The mesh is a polyester weave, slightly more durable feeling than what you would normally find on a sneaker like this. The top panel on the tongue is also polyester, as is the lining on the back. Speaking of that lining, it feels… pretty cheap. Not just to your hand, but through your sock as well. The tongue is held on with elastic bands on either side.

The last remaining panels on the sneaker – the N, the grey panel, and the white panel on the back, are all a type of soft plastic. These don’t bother me too much. Each was part of this collaboration, so it makes sense to not do a huge run for a small number of sneakers.

Inside, the insole is Ortholite, an open-celled PU foam. While not the most comfortable thing, it should last long enough. However, if you have the space, you might want to consider a drop in insole. Under that is a thin wedge of New Balance’s Abzorb foam.

Finishing everything off, the outsole is made of a fairly dense rubber. Should be durable, though probably doesn’t help with comfort.

New Balance does include a little tag saying that if the shoes get wet from rain or perspiration the color will run. Which color? I have no idea. Just don’t sweat in them, I guess.

Construction

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 is made using a cemented cup sole construction. This is an older style of making sneakers, but is still common in a lot of retro styled sneakers. First, the upper is sewn together and stretched over a last.

This assembled upper is then glued down inside of a single piece rubber cup sole. Once the glue has bonded, the cup sole is then sewn to the upper. This style of construction tends to be a bit more durable than typical sneakers. That being said, the stitching is missing from the toe box, which is the highest wear area.

As far as draw backs, this isn’t quite as weather resistant as typical cemented construction and can be less flexible.


Price

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 comes in at an MSRP of $100, a $20 premium over a regular 440v2 low. Though, it should be said, the other 440s go on sale fairly regularly, so you’re really paying a $30 to $40 dollar difference.

Most sizes sold out initially, but there really isn’t much of a resale market for these. If you’re looking for a pair, several shops have restocked them. I have not seen stock numbers this specific make up, but other 440v2 collabs have seen a total of only around 700 pairs.

That being said, if you are looking to buy a pair and can’t find it locally, it’s worth digging. These mostly went to small skate shops. Most of whom are not really focused on google SEO. For whatever reason, when I went to buy my pair every size but mine was widely available. I ended up finding a small shop in Texas that had pairs, but didn’t show up on the first 10+ pages of google.


Are the New Balance x Vu 440v2 Worth it?

The New Balance x Vu 440v2 is an awesome collab. The sneaker has great details and a story to go with them, without being over the top. As far as drawbacks go, the sizing is going to be tough for a lot of people. Also, while I think the misspellings is kind of endearing, I wouldn’t fault anyone for being concerned over that level of quality control.

In any case, for $100, the New Balance x Vu 440v2 is a really cool sneaker, and an absolute must cop for anyone with ties to Baltimore.

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