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  1. #1
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    Default review: New Balance 510v4 trail runners.

    You can tell this isn’t an affiliate link because it is a 1 star and would be zero stars if it were only possible.

    https://www.amazon.com/review/RH3PC4NIVY5DP/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
    4

    the problem is that New Balance has attempted to fit every possible niche. It looks like they sell over 40 different trail runners (some just different colors). Often each color is made at a different factory in a different country.

    Quality control for many lines is non-existent. One factory might produce the shoe with the proper last and cushioning technology. Another might make them with injection molds that are rock hard and inserts that provide nothing. As a result, there is no consistency and no reliability even in the same model year. (They are also making trail runners and trail walkers). One result is I am probably writing off every shoe they make as a possible shoe to wear in the future.

    and I hate these. Did an overnight trip and only have one pair of shoes. I’m in pain everywhere I walk today.

    Anyone have ugly ugly experiences with New Balance the last couple of years?
    Last edited by Ethesis; 06-20-2018 at 16:29.

  2. #2
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    Anyway. Brand new. Rock hard. No give. Insole is basically a bit of cloth.

    They don’t even breathe well.

  3. #3
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    Did I mention how much I hate New Balance right now?

  4. #4
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    I just bought my 4th pair of 910v3 trail gortex cause I love them so much. One pair lasted me to mile 860 nobo on the AT this year, thought that was pretty good. Wore a pair out hiking all last year and I know the PA rocks are gonna tear my ***** up so got a new pair ready to go.

  5. #5
    Registered User Elaikases's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LazyLightning View Post
    I just bought my 4th pair of 910v3 trail gortex cause I love them so much. One pair lasted me to mile 860 nobo on the AT this year, thought that was pretty good. Wore a pair out hiking all last year and I know the PA rocks are gonna tear my ***** up so got a new pair ready to go.
    Good to know that they are taking care of business with the high end products.

  6. #6
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    I have worn nothing but the WT610v5 since early 2014. Each time a pair starts to wear out, I order a new one. Since I changed to NB I have absolutely no issues with my feet. Personally, I think the shoes are ugly, but they feel good on my feet and leave me without any foot worries.

    Having said that, each person's feet are different. Sometimes even one person's two feet are different! We all must find what works best for us and hope they don't stop making it!

  7. #7
    Registered User Elaikases's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Riocielo View Post
    I have worn nothing but the WT610v5 since early 2014. Each time a pair starts to wear out, I order a new one. Since I changed to NB I have absolutely no issues with my feet. Personally, I think the shoes are ugly, but they feel good on my feet and leave me without any foot worries.

    Having said that, each person's feet are different. Sometimes even one person's two feet are different! We all must find what works best for us and hope they don't stop making it!
    Too bad that isn't available in a men's shoe.

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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elaikases View Post
    Too bad that isn't available in a men's shoe.
    It's called the MT610. I've worn through multiple pairs of v2, v3 and v4.

    The factory insoles are worthless but nowadays I wear prescription orthoses (or at least Superfeet) so I'll be getting rid of the factory ones anyway.

    I had one pair with a manufacturing defect - which I didn't discover until after I'd got them all muddy. REI, of course, took them back anyway, particularly since all I wanted was an equal exchange for a non-defective pair.

    Some people love NB. Some hate them. It's all according to what fits your feet.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  10. #10
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    I’ve loved NB in the past. Had great experiences. But recently not so positive.

    A lot of it has to do with the manufacturing changes it seems.

  11. #11
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    I.v had 2 pairs of 610 and felt like you onthe 2nd. First pair felt good on feet, even recommended to people. 2nd pair felt like iwas walking on concrete. Also destroyed my knee on 20 mile hike. That spurred my transition to altra

  12. #12
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    I was really liking the Leadville's, but once my first pair wore out, they discontinued the line! I'm currently wearing some older Nike Wildhorse's I had from trail running and they're good. May get the new Wildhorse's once they wear out as I hear they're even more cushioned than the previous model.
    It is what it is.

  13. #13

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    So happy with my first pair of the model the OP described, I just got a replacement pair off the academy website for $39. NB has never struck me as quality, I've been brand faithful for about 15 years, getting about 2 years out of each pair before retiring them to yard work or muddy hiking. The 410v5 was the first design I've come across that worked extremely well for PA hiking, with most other 'all terrain' models lacking an aggressive sole.

    Alternatively, I've bought a pair of highly recommend other brands and had very bad comfort experiences. So like location is everything in real estate, fit is everything with shoes. My wide duck feet with low arches seem to like NB, which I haven't found in any other manufacturers besides Birkenstocks. I'm hoping that they don't lower the quality in the future of what I already recognize as mediocre.

  14. #14

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    I wear size 13 4E so my options are limited. I have been using NBs for years and havent seen a decline in quality, but NB has lightened up the construction . I hike in the whites most of the time so its not easy use. The insoles are crap and anyone using them deserve what they get. They are not forever shoes, I get one to two hiking seasons off them and keep a spare pair in the closet. No real need to break in new pairs.

    I use Montrail heat moldable inserts. I have a low volume and high volume pair. They last longer than the actual runners do so I swap them out to new pairs and pick the volume that fits the best. Not cheap but worth it, I have one set that are close to 10 years old.

  15. #15

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    All running shoemakers play the exact same game.
    Change shoes frequently, make them cheap, so that consumers constantly are buying shoes trying to find one that they like. And price the latest models ridiculously high.

    There's no other explanation. It's a business model.

    I run on the road in New Balance, and wear them as everyday shoes , but I've never found a NB trail shoe that my feet thought were as good as the shoes I prefer to use.

  16. #16
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    Yeah, you're right that NB are temporary. I figure 5-600 miles on a pair, which means that I buy a few pair every year since I walk just about everywhere when I'm in town. (Certainly to work and to the nearest grocery store.)

    They're inexpensive enough that I don't shed very many tears when I retire a pair of old stinky trail runners. My orthoses last a lot longer than the shoes, and they're the expensive part. I have the athletic orthoses that have the hard plastic shell running almost the whole length, so I don't need a good rock plate in the shoe.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

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