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Editorial

New Balance Rainier: the perfect outdoor shoe?

February 16, 2023 10:45 AM
New Balance Rainier: the perfect outdoor shoe?

New Balance is a well-known sports brand with diverse designs. The Boston-based brand's sneakers are incredibly popular in 2023 - think of the New Balance 550 and 2002R silhouettes, for example. In early 2023, New Balance brought back another outdoor boot from their archives. In this article, we look at this silhouette; the New Balance Rainier.

Due to a previous Aime Leon Dore x New Balance collab, the Rainier silhouette is back on the scene. So we see again that the New Yorker Label has helped New Balance to bring a sneaker silhouette back in the spotlight. The 80s hiking shoe is available in several colours.

In this article, Sneakerjagers presents the Rainier shoe in the 'Raincloud' and 'Marblehead' colorways.

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The reemerging model is popular again and this is also reflected in the fact that the 'Marblehead' colorway is unfortunately completely sold out already. Fortunately, a lot of other colorways are still available. For instance, there are pairs with a leather upper, as well as some with a suede upper. The colorways vary a lot and can be combined in many outfits.

The Rainier was introduced first back in 1982. The model was named after the Mount Rainier climbing school, after student guides started wearing running shoes because they were tired of heavy hiking boots.

Re-released in 2023, the outdoor model features colours and materials inspired by the '82 original. The Rainier silhouette is known for being lightweight, which makes it the perfect shoe for hiking or climbing.

New Balance and Aimé Leon Dore released two Rainiers in their January 2023 collab. The collaboration included a dark brown version, the New Balance Aimé Leon Dore x Rainier 'Brown', and a light brown version called 'Sheepskin'.

In addition to the ALD collab, New Balance has released multiple colorways of the Rainier already. Like the colorways in collaboration with Aimé Leon Dore, New Balance's own colour schemes, including the 'Turtledove' and 'Eclipse', also have a sleek look. All these looks are available now from New Balance and several retailers.

In addition to the 'Raincloud' and 'Marblehead', which can be seen here, two new versions came out in January 2023 with predominant use of leather on the upper. Check out our release calendar to not miss out on new colorways of the silhouette in the future.

The New Balance Rainier uses Gore-Tex, which ensures that the shoe is both wind and waterproof, but at the same time still breathable during your hike or the next adventure. The shoe's Vibram midsole keeps the boot lightweight and provides to this a lot of grip on any terrain.

In short, the Rainier is perfect if you have an adventurous spirit. Whether you like climbing or prefer long hikes, you will stay comfortable and, of course, fashionable. In 2023, the silhouette is also great to wear as a lifestyle sneaker now that the gorpcore trend is making its comeback.

Would you like to cop one of these boots? Click the button below. For more news regarding sneakers, street style and more, check out our sneaker news page.

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