The New Balance 1906 family is pretty squarely the brand’s most significant franchise, seen heavily on metropolitan streets in its usual 1906R built, on social media feeds with the viral 1906L, and in the hands of “if you know, you know” collectors as offshoots like the 1906A or 1906W. Landing somewhere in the middle ground between those three is the 1906U, a just-adjacent composition that brings extra ventilation and durability to the beloved tech runner. For its latest showcase, New Balance doesn’t need to go far from home, enlisting Boston’s CNCPTS to unveil the New Balance 1906U “Utility Pack.”
While this editorial “CNCPTS for New Balance” style unveiling is unquestionably its biggest spotlight so far this year, note that we’ve caught two of the shoes on display before with our own 1906U seasonal preview. The entirely novel edition here is the grey/purple/teal, edging up against a 90’s “Hornets” theme in its accent shades that crash over a reliable greyscale base.
To that end, the other two editions similarly embrace the neutral aesthetic home base of New Balance, pinning using extremely slight pale blue accents atop a smattering of grey and cream, while hitting faux-vintage off-white soles on a far duskier jet black pair. Indeed, that ends up being the true tie that binds between all of these looks: an unevenly tinted midsole that drives home the archival vibe for all three pairs.
The New Balance 1906U “Utility Pack” will release via CNCPTS on April 25th, retailing at $160 a piece. You’ll be able to grab yours via CNCPTS.com and their instore locations. To help parse through which colorways to scoop up, catch detailed looks at all of them below.
Written by
Matt Varga, Junior Editor
Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.