New Balance Levato 1 Review

The Lerato is a unique shoe in the Fuel Cell line from New Balance. It is seemingly the new take on one of the most quinessential New Balance shoes, the 990. While its commonality with RC Elite and Rebel v2 is the carbon plate and foam, the shoe itself feels and looks very different. My initial impression was that this was "a lot of shoe." The collar of the shoe around my ankle went up high. This hasn't caused any sort of rubbing or irritation but I don't love that feel. Compared to the other shoes in this line up, this is not going to be your performance go to. It felt heavy and bulky on the run.

You absolutely still get the benefit of the carbon plate. On the spectrum of carbon plated shoes, this shoe very much feels more "normal" (i.e. like it doesn't have the carbon plate). This is absolutely something someone could wear everyday for easy miles. I would avoid this shoe for any type of workout or race. The foam is still light, responsive, and bouncy. There is a marked difference here between the Lerato and a regular training shoe. I liked my runs in the shoe for these reasons, but certainly didn't love them.