The New Balance Furon 9 has picked a crowded summer to make its entrance.

New Under Armour Shadow. adidas F50 back in full lightweight mode. Nike Mercurial Vapor and Nike Mercurial Superfly splitting speed into two lanes. Skechers Razor 2 making more noise. Every brand seems to have looked at the 2026 World Cup summer and decided the same thing: pace is the safest bet when the whole game is watching.

Now New Balance joins the race with the Furon Elite FG v9, launched through a New Balance x Stone Island capsule built for on and off the pitch. Not a quiet knock at the door. More of a compass badge through the wall.

Compass Badge, Colour Change, Full Sprint

The Stone Island edition gives the New Balance Furon 9 its instant talking point: heat-reactive artwork across the upper. Below 22°C, the darker graphic stays visible. At 22°C and above, the print changes appearance and turns lighter, giving the boot a shifting look as the temperature rises.

Slightly ridiculous? Yes. Will everyone want to see it happen on pitch? Also yes.

Stone Island makes sense here. This is a brand built on material research, treated surfaces and functional detail, which gives the Furon 9 launch more weight than a standard colourway reveal. The wider capsule brings boots, kit, ball, apparel, accessories and off-pitch footwear together, with Endrick and Bukayo Saka fronting the campaign across pitches in Lyon and London.

The colour change gets the first look. The boot underneath has to keep the attention.

New Upper, Less Sofa, More Seatbelt

The main change is the upper. New Balance has moved away from the ultra-soft Hypoknit feel of the Furon V8 and gone with a one-piece engineered mesh upper on the Furon 9, finished with TPU film for structure.

That changes the personality of the boot. The V8 was softer, looser and more sock-like. The Furon 9 is still pliable, but it has more hold. Less melt-around-the-foot, more stay-with-you-when-you-move.

The construction also helps with weight. The Furon 9 comes in around 177g, roughly 10g lighter than the V8, with the spacer mesh sitting closer to the foot rather than relying on the same layered knit setup. It is not chasing the lightest number of the summer, and that is probably wise. The Furon lane has always been smoother than the all-out chaos boots.

This version looks like it wants balance: light enough to feel sharp, structured enough to stay with you when the run gets messy.

Laces Back In The Middle, Chaos Under Control

The big performance win looks like lockdown.

New Balance has moved back to central lacing, which gives the Furon 9 a more balanced hold through the midfoot. You lose some of the big clean strike zone from the V8, but in a speed boot that trade-off makes sense. If your foot is sliding inside the boot, the whole fast story starts falling apart.

The Stone Island edition keeps the football details clean: printed New Balance "N" and Furon logos, a welded Stone Island Compass, a knitted collar and an additional set of laces. It feels technical without turning into a lab sample.

The heel should help too. New Balance keeps that deep, curved Furon heel shape, with padding that holds below the Achilles rather than just squeezing the back of the foot. Players with slimmer heels should like that secure feel. Wider heels may want to try before committing.

Fit-wise, expect snug. True to size should suit players who like a close speed boot feel, especially with thinner socks. If you want more toe room or wear thicker grip socks, half a size up may be worth considering. The risk is extra space at the front. Football boots do enjoy making us choose.

The Plate Still Has Bite

Underfoot, the Furon 9 keeps a proper setup. The Stone Island edition uses a nylon outsole plate with T-shaped studs and a Speed Ctrl Stud, plus in-mould textured outsole finishes.

The plain-English version: it should feel sharp when you plant, cut and push off. The T-shaped studs are built to give traction in different directions, while the stiff midfoot gives that snappy, responsive feel speed boot players usually look for.

On the ball, the Furon 9 sounds direct without going paper-thin. The mesh gives close contact, but there is still a little material between foot and ball. Not padded, not plush, just enough to stop it feeling completely bare.

There are trade-offs. The Furon 9 may not have the instant softness of the V8. The upper is thin, so you will feel more through it. The spacer mesh may also need a short break-in around the forefoot while it creases and settles. None of that kills the story. It just makes this feel like a more serious Furon.

Summer Of Speed, Stone Island Edition

The New Balance Furon 9 arrives at the right time.

This is shaping up to be the fastest summer in boots, and New Balance needed the Furon to feel sharper, not just softer. The Stone Island collab gives it the image. The heat-reactive artwork gives it the group-chat moment. The boot story underneath is more useful: lighter build, better lockdown, more structure, same aggressive speed plate.

The Furon V8 may still be the one for players who loved that ultra-soft upper and cleaner strike zone. The New Balance Furon 9 looks like the better performance step: more locked in, more direct, more ready to stand next to Nike Mercurial, adidas F50, PUMA Ultra, Under Armour Shadow and Skechers Razor without politely waiting its turn.

First look verdict: less cosy, more serious. The compass badge gets the attention, but the sharper Furon underneath is the bit worth watching.