New Balance Minimus TR BOA® v2 Review | Locked and Loaded To Lift

In an era of maximal running shoes, it may come as a surprise to many that minimalism is still having a moment in athletic footwear. However, anyone who has spent time in the weight room or a CrossFit gym knows that a close-to-the-ground feel can be a real advantage. The New Balance Minimus TR BOA® v2 promises to handle even the toughest days at the gym with a barefoot-friendly design.

An ideal gym training shoe provides stability for heavy weight lifting (think squats, deadlifts, power cleans) as well as flexibility for exercises common in HIIT workouts (think burpees, planks, box jumps, jump rope).

Tons of cushion is usually not something you’ll find in a gym trainer, as that impacts stability. That’s why we don’t want you lifting in most of your running shoes.

The best you can usually hope for is enough cushion to make it not feel like you’re actually running barefoot if your workout includes 100-200M sprints.

It’s often a bonus if it looks attractive and is somewhat lightweight and not clunky. Thankfully, the Minimus TR seems to do the job AND not look too shabby, either.

New Balance Minimus TR BOA® v2 Overview

The first thing you’re likely to notice is the lack of regular laces on the Minimus TR. The innovative BOA® Fit System not only looks cool, it’s functional, too. I was familiar with it from road bicycling and trail running shoes, but had certainly never seen it on a training shoe before.

This is the second version of the New Balance Minimus TR BOA®, and a quick glance at v1 reveals not much has changed except for the upper design. Both the v1 and v2 also come in versions with regular laces, if you’re not a fan of the BOA® Fit System.

I’ll admit here that I had to look up how to use it when I first went to try on the shoes, because I did NOT bother to look at the paper tags that had been attached to the BOA® dial before I threw them away.

And then I felt dumb, because they’re actually very easy to use – simply pull up/out to release, push in to secure, and turn to tighten. As you’ll see in the fit section, now I’m wishing more shoes had this!

Once I got them on, I was excited to try them out in my home garage gym.

I’ve worn several other pairs of flat-soled, low-drop shoes designed for training, but have not worn a minimal, barefoot-style shoe for anything since one brief failed experiment during the height of the barefoot running movement. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure how a minimally-cushioned shoe would feel even for weight lifting and HIIT-style workouts.

New Balance Minimus TR BOA® v2 Feel

One thing is certain – it’s hard to beat the BOA® Fit System in getting a more precise fit. And unlike regular laces, if you don’t get it quite right the first time, it’s an easy fix – all you need to do is turn the dial, no un-tying and re-tying required.

The heel collar is nicely padded, flexible and lower profile – comfortable but not particularly supportive for anyone looking for a stiff heel counter.

The tongue is thin and wraps around the foot nicely, creating a very secure fit with the help of the BOA® laces. Inside, there are few seams, so if you’re brave enough to go sockless (I’m not), you certainly could without worrying about anything rubbing.

My only initial beef with the cut and fit of the shoe was that the rubber wrap on the inner arch of the shoe (designed to protect it against rope abrasions, for those athletes ambitious enough to do rope climbs – not me) felt uncomfortable when I first put on the shoe – only on one foot though.

It seemed to press into my arch, possibly due to my flat feet. In any case, it was not noticeable once I got into my workout, and it didn’t prevent me from reaching for these for future gym workouts.

NB Minimus TR BOA® v2 Fit

This is truly a minimal shoe. Which means a couple things: they feel super lightweight and like an extension of your foot, which is a great thing for those who might prefer to lift barefoot but don’t want to do so in a public gym or want just a little protection for their feet in the event of a wayward barbell or dumbbell.

But they also may take some getting used to for those not used to such a minimal feel and low drop.

New Balance says the Minimus TR has FuelCell cushioning in the midsole, which “delivers a propulsive feel to help drive you forward.” Well, perhaps, but it’s not much.

These aren’t your super cushy running shoes. It’s just enough for most weight lifting and bodyweight exercises, and will transition well enough for some short cardio intervals.

But if you’ll be running much more than a half mile at a time, you’ll probably want to switch to a pair of running shoes.

At 4mm, the drop is the same as the Inov8 F-Lite shoes I’ve been wearing in the gym for the past several years, so my legs are used to that. However, if you’ve been wearing higher drop shoes, your Achilles may appreciate easing into wearing lower drop shoes more gradually – yes, even for lifting.

Who Tried It?

Laura Newman is a Run to the Finish coach who also. She who is also a strength training enthusiast, having lifted weights for almost as long as she’s been running. has been running for over 27 years, since high school cross country, and has raced just about every distance from the 100M hurdles to the marathon. These days, most of her runs are done with her Brittany dog, Colfax, by her side. Once upon a time, she sold running and other athletic footwear, but she is much happier to now be reviewing it for runners and athletes of all ages and paces. Follow Laura (and Colfax) @runswithcolfax

Looking fog more gym talk?

• Strength Training for Runners Programs
• 30 Day Core Challenge
• Understanding Zero Drop Shoes