New Balance 990v3 'Steel Blue' by Kith
I honestly didn't think I was going to like these as much as I do. Initially I thought they were pretty similar to the Teddy v3, but I honestly think this is one of Ronnie's nicest Steel Blue colorways to release to date.
Materials: imo, the materials are nice, but they're different from what you'd normally see on a V3. The brown suede is softer than the previous Steel Blue models that Kith has released in the past. Imo, it has a rougher feel to it when comparing it to something like the jjjjound V3, however it does have a soft feel to it. My favorite characteristic of this sneaker is the mesh on the upper. Ronnie chose the soft to touch, wiggle pattern that we have seen on the previous Spring 2 pairs & on previous Teddy pairs. Imo, this adds a very breathable and soft feeling to the top of my feet. Lastly, I will note that they added a cream hit on the Encap area which I feel meshes together nicely as compared to the grey that they have used in the past
Comfort/Sizing: imo, the 990v3 is very squishy on foot as you stand in place but also has a slight firmness to it as well. It's a very easy sneaker to wear all day without any discomfort. In my experience, I recommend going down a half size in the 990v3. Imo, this shoe fits me perfectly in a size 7.5 and definitely wouldn't recommend going any other size
Overall Opinion: As I mentioned previously, I honestly didn't think I was going to like this colorway, because I'm beginning to feel pretty fatigued by the 990v3 in general, but I can say now that I have them in hand, I will definitely be keeping these in the collection. I feel that overall this is a really wearable colorway & I personally prefer these over the previous Steel Blue models. I will say there are very subtle differences from this one & the previous designs, but I truly feel that the colorblocking meshes better on the V3 when comparing these to the previous models, but that's just my personal opinion. If you're able to find a pair for a decent price and haven't been able to grab the previous @ronniefieg designs, I would try to pick these up before they disappear like the 992's