New Balance Preps the 2002R for Winter With Gore-Tex and Olive Green
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The 2002R has been one of New Balance’s most popular models in the brand’s ascent through the 2020s, and it’s now getting a robust treatment ideal for the fall and winter.
The New Balance 2002R Gore-Tex will release before the end of 2024 in a seasonally appropriate “Olive” colorway. A ripstop base bolsters the upper’s durability in olive, while matching overlays are rendered in suede. A black toe tip and heel stabilizer appear to be rubberized as another reinforcement, and the sole unit mies white and black with a green-tinted off-white .Gore-Tex heel branding then denotes the waterproof membrane giving the sneaker utility of a boot.
New Balance first introduced the 2002 as a running sneaker in 2010 with a robust sole unit borrowing the the 1906’s full-length N-Ergy gel units and a eye-raising price tag of $250. The model was then brought back and reconfigured in 2020 as the 2002R, now featuring the midsole of the 860v2 that had relaunched a year prior and N-Ergy targeted at the heel.
With the price brought down to a much more accessible $130, the 2002R rapidly took off the lifestyle space and was one of the major driver’s of New Balance’s spike in popularity. Most of the brand’s key collaborators have delivered their take on the 2002R at some point, and the in-line “Protection Pack” (officially referred to as “Refined Future” has also been a hit with panels cut to look they’d been aged like a monument.
The New Balance 2002R Gore-Tex in “Olive” doesn’t yet have a firm release date but is expected to release before the end of 2024. Pricing is set at $180.
About the Author:
Ian Servantes is a Senior News Editor for Footwear News specializing in sneaker coverage. He’s previously reported on streetwear and sneakers at Input and Highsnobiety after beginning his career on the pop culture beat. He subscribes to the idea that “ball is life” and doesn’t fuss over his kicks getting dirty.
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