New Balance Elips vs Rebel V5: Two Daily Trainers, One Tough Choice

Introduction

The New Balance Elips and the Rebel V5 are two daily trainer options in the New Balance range, and they are pitched at around the same price. The Rebel V5 has been on shelves a little longer, which means it can often be found for less than its original launch price.

On paper the two shoes have slightly different intentions: the Rebel line has traditionally leaned more towards speed, while the Elips focuses on cushioned comfort. In practice, though, there is more overlap than you might expect. Both are comfortable, cushioned, and stable, with plenty of foam across a broad base, and both work best as generalist daily trainers. The real question is which way you want your daily shoe to skew.

Fit and Sizing: Roomier or Leaner

Fit is where the two shoes begin to diverge. The Elips has a plush, well-padded upper with extra cushioning on the tongue and heel collar, which makes it feel comfortable and secure, but also a little more built-up. The Rebel V5 strips a lot of that padding back, which makes it feel lighter and more breathable, though some runners may find it slightly restrictive in the forefoot and midfoot.

Sizing experiences vary between testers. One ran a UK 9 (US 9.5) in both shoes and found the fit similar, with good toe room and solid heel and midfoot hold, preferring the Rebel’s leaner upper. Another, in a UK 8, found the Elips roomier in the forefoot but slightly unforgiving in the midfoot for wider feet, while the Rebel felt narrower still. A third tester went true to size in the Elips but preferred going half a size up in the Rebel V5 to get a more reliable forefoot fit.

The practical takeaway: most runners can go true to size in both, but if you have wider feet, consider trying the Elips half a size up, and be prepared for the Rebel V5 to feel a touch narrower and leaner than you expect.

Ride and Midsole Foam

The Elips uses Fresh Foam X, a foam that is soft without being super plush. Combined with a slightly higher heel stack, it delivers protective landings at the back of the shoe, which makes it feel purpose-built for easy and steady miles. The ride is well balanced, mildly energetic, and reasonably light for such a cushioned shoe, but it does not throw you forward. Turning over quickly feels laboured once you push the pace.

The Rebel V5 uses FuelCell, a blend of PEBAX and EVA foams. It is livelier on paper, but testing impressions of this particular blend are mixed: some found it compresses a little and does not give a huge amount of bounce back, especially on easy runs. Where it earns its keep is in its weight. It is noticeably lighter than the Elips, closer to the ground, and easier to pick up, which makes fast turnover feel more natural.

Both shoes sit their foam on a wide, stable base, so stability is very similar. The difference is where each shoe wants to run: the Elips at a protective easy pace, the Rebel V5 anywhere from easy paces up to quicker efforts.

Which Runs Do They Suit Best

The Rebel V5 is the more versatile of the two. It is not as fast as earlier Rebel models, and it is not the shoe for hard sprint sessions or long stretches of fast pace, but it works well for easy and steady running and holds its own when you pick up the pace for intervals or progression runs. Long runs are also a strength: it stayed comfortable over very long distances in testing, including a 90 km road ultra, providing consistent, controlled cushioning over many hours on hard tarmac.

The Elips is more of a pure cushion shoe for easy days. It is comfortable, protective, and reliable, and it does not pretend to be anything else. It is not a shoe built to ping you off your toes, and when the pace climbs it feels more conservative. Where it does stand out is in its styling: it has a lifestyle crossover appeal and looks at home worn around town before knocking out a 5k, which the Rebel V5 manages less convincingly for some tastes.

Outsole and Durability

Both shoes use a similar outsole layout, with solid rubber coverage at the front and heel and a large exposed section through the midfoot. The difference is the rubber itself: the Elips has a thicker layer, and there is more rubber overall, which suggests better long-term durability. The Rebel V5’s exposed midfoot section showed signs of wear after around 60k of testing, so be aware of that if you tend to chew through outsoles.

Which Should You Buy

If you want one shoe that covers the most ground, the Rebel V5 is the stronger all-rounder. It does the same easy and steady running as the Elips from a lighter, nippier platform, and it has the extra range to handle quicker sessions when you want them. It also tends to be available below its launch price, which improves its value.

If your running is almost entirely easy, slow, and casual miles, and you value cushioning, protection, and a plush upper, the Elips is well matched to that, and its lifestyle-friendly looks are a genuine bonus. But if you ever want to push the pace, the Rebel V5 is the more natural choice.

Conclusion

These two shoes are more similar than their positioning suggests, and both are solid daily trainers at comparable prices. The Rebel V5 wins on versatility, weight, and up-tempo capability, while the Elips counters with more heel cushioning, a plusher upper, thicker outsole rubber, and better everyday styling. Match the shoe to where most of your miles actually happen, and you will not go far wrong with either.