New Balance 650 Review: A High-Top Homage to 1980s Sneakers

For a long time, New Balance had a problem — well, it was the problem. Its shoes were synonymous with dads and doctors…which was, to clarify, not a bad thing, but not good, either. Simply put, no one saw them as cool.

That was more than five years ago now, though — and today, New Balance is bigger (and better) than ever, thanks in no small part to surging interest in its archival styles: the 550 and 650. They were brought back to life over the past few years by NYC fashion brand Aimé Leon Dore. (Its founder, Teddy Santis, oversees New Balance’s Made in USA line.) Using old international ads, Santis researched New Balance’s original basketball designs.

New Balance 650 History

“The NB550 actually came from Teddy. He pitched it,” Joe Grondin, the exec in charge of New Balance collabs, told Sneaker Freaker. “He found this random picture of the 550, and he was like, ‘What is this?’ We did a bunch of research and found the silhouette from 1989. The only information we could find about it was from an old New Balance Japan catalogue. We were lucky, because the Japan catalogues are super detailed. We started researching hashtags on Instagram and found this collector who had a pair. Once we got the shoe in hand we built it from scratch with Teddy.”

The duo did the same for the 650, another ’80s era release — albeit high-top, not low. It competed with Nike’s Air Jordan 1, which was also made mostly of leather but had a high foam collar. (This is why the original Air Jordan 1s crack at the collar: because the material isn’t real leather, but rather painted foam.)

“He’s so particular about shape, so everything took us at least eight to ten revisions. We were adjusting millimeters here and there just to get it right,” Grondin said.

And right they got it, even if the new 650 is slightly different from those you’ll find on eBay or Aimé Leon Dore‘s own vintage retail site, Leon Dore. Plus, the modern version goes for far less than these vintage finds: the Aimé Leon Dore New Balance 650R — “R” stands for Remastered, a clarification that these aren’t a 1:1 remake — sold for $165; the mainline New Balance 650, meaning non-collab colorways, sells for $129.

But, is the 650 worth it at either price? We found out.

New Balance 650 Review

New Balance

COLOR: WHITE

New Balance 650

• $129.99 at New Balance

What’s Good About the New Balance 650

It’s comfortable — unlike the Jordan 1.

To me, most New Balance sneakers are comfortable. No, the 650 isn’t as cushioned as one of the brand’s better-known running designs, but it’s far from flat-footed. There’s a sensible Ortholite insole insert and the cupped rubber outsole is one block of comfy foam, which you can see on the inside arch of both shoes.

These are also run true to size, at least for my feet, which are admittedly pretty flat and thin. My toes have ample space to spread out without feeling loose within the toe box. With an Air Jordan 1, I find that the upper presses down on my toes, creating friction where the knuckles are. In the 650, there’s no pinching, pressing or rubbing.

Plus, once tied, there’s no chance these are slipping off, even though I’d probably never play basketball in these.

It’s a high-top without the hassle.

The most noticeable feature on any New Balance 650 is the high foam collar. A feature original to the ’80s, when performance basketball sneakers first became a thing, it helps improve overall mobility, even at the sacrifice of stability. You see, all-leather uppers are sturdy and secure, but they’re a little bit immobilizing; some high-tops, for example, really feel like boots.

With mesh there in place of leather, you can move around — bend deeper, turn faster and, above all else, breathe easier. The foam is far more lightweight as well.

It’s fairly affordable.

The cheapest Jordan 1 is $170. The High OG, Nike’s retro rendition, goes for $180. The New Balance 650, on the other hand, is only $139 (or $165 if it’s one of ALD’s). That’s pretty damn good, if you ask me. Sure, it isn’t $75 like Converse’s classic Chuck Taylor All-Star, but the 650 is a hell of a lot more shoe.

I also feel more confident in how these will break in. Unlike even the ALD 650R, these are all-leather. On Aimé Leon Dore’s 650R, there are mesh components that stain easily and don’t age as gracefully as animal hide, albeit animal hide with a polyurethane coating.

It’s unlike other New Balance sneakers.

A quick flip through New Balance’s catalog reveals quite a few low-tops with performance-oriented outsoles: the 990, 993 and so on and so forth. The 650, however, looks nothing like these. Sure, there’s an “N” slapped on the side and “New Balance” typed across the ankle, but they’re a far cry from the footwear colloquially called “dad shoes.”

What’s Not Ideal About the New Balance 650

There aren’t many good colorways.

To be honest, while the 650 is a great shoe, there haven’t been many standout colorways — yet. Sure, the Aimé Leon Dore editions were nice — I bought the green ones — but the general release versions, which I tested for this review, are pretty par for the course. Unlike other in-house New Balance designs, none have floored me thus far, even if the almost all-white looks pretty good with most outfits.

This is a good silhouette, New Balance — be bolder.

The New Balance 650: The Verdict

For basketball fans, this is a fun find — an ’80s-era hoops shoe retooled for today. But for non-hoopers, the 650 is an excellent high-top, even if you don’t typically like high-tops. It’s comfortable even after extended periods and, so far, mine all-white pair have stayed almost as good as new. They’re easy to clean, easy to match with the rest of your outfit, and, best of all, affordable, especially when compared to sneakers of a similar build.

New Balance

COLOR: WHITE

New Balance 650

• $129.99 at New Balance

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