New Balance announced in November that it constructed a running shoe with a 3-D printed midsole. Its long-awaited creation is now scheduled to hit stores this week — in an extremely limited quantity.
The New Balance Zante Generate arrives Friday on the brand’s website, newbalance.com, as well as in the New Balance Experience Store on Boylston Street in Boston. The shoe, limited to 44 pairs, will retail for $400.
The 44 pairs, according to the brand, is a nod to Jim Davis, the brand’s owner and chairman, who purchased the company 44 years ago on Patriots’ Day in 1972.
“New Balance is at the forefront of 3-D printing and has been utilizing this exciting and innovative technology to customize product for our athletes for a number of years,” Robert DeMartini, president and CEO of New Balance, said today in a statement. “Our unique position as both a manufacturer and retailer allows us to bring the world’s first 3-D printed running midsole to market. The Zante Generate demonstrates the strength of New Balance design and innovation and will allow consumers to own a piece of running technology history.”
New Balance collaborated with 3D Systems and used its latest laser sintering powder, DuraForm TPU Elastomer, to create its new midsole. The brand used selective laser sintering technology, the 3D Systems’ printing process that converts the powder material into solid cross-sections layer by layer with a laser. The midsole was manufactured in the U.S. and assembled by New Balance at the brand’s factory in Lawrence, Mass.
The shoe’s upper is the same as the Fresh Foam Zante v2, which boasts a bootie construction with engineered mesh through the midfoot.
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