New Balance XC-72 Sneaker
Which New Balance XC-72 gives off the strongest hype signal?
The Hypescore reads the signal strength of every New Balance XC-72 colorway. Community votes, resale movement, search demand and scarcity together decide how much hype a sneaker gives off, expressed in GSv. On the left the strongest hype signals, on the right the colorways just being picked up and rising fast.
About New Balance XC-72
New Balance XC-72: cross country in a showcase jacket
The letters XC stand for cross country, and that explains the oddest feature of this shoe. Look at the forefoot and you’ll see chunky, pyramid-shaped studs jutting out of the sole like teeth. You need such points to get grip in grass and mud, just like with cross-country shoes. Only here they sit under a model that otherwise wasn’t made for the field.
Above that, the XC-72 is pure 1970s retro, but enlarged. The upper stacks suede, mesh and metallic panels in sharp angles, with an N slanting across the flank. The midsole extends rearward into a ribbed wedge that rises like a staircase, making the heel higher than any classic New Balance model. It’s a shoe that mixes two eras: the profile of a cross-country runner, the shape of a track racer.
That makes the XC-72 the most pronounced model in this cluster. Where the 237 and the 574 keep the classic shape restrained, the XC-72 pulls out all the stops. Collaborations with fashion labels therefore pop up here more often than with the rest of the block.
Anyone who wants to see New Balance’s off-road side without this theatrical styling should look to the 610, which takes the profile seriously and keeps the silhouette restrained.
On this page you can see which versions of the New Balance XC-72 are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, from what price they’re available and in how many shops they’re in stock.