THE COMPANY

THE COMPANY'S SHOES

• 761
• 828
• 1000
• 1210

THE COMPANY

You could tell without doing any financial research—just nosing around the literature and talking to the employees—that this was a closely held company with a strongman at the top. No public company would be this principled. Sometimes principles get you into trouble: They can force you out on a limb. Your competitors are always waiting, saw in hand, for you to get yourself far enough out there.

New Balance stands for a lot of things: U.S. manufacturing; diverse shoe widths; grass-roots marketing at the expense (and disdain) of high-profile athlete sponsorships; teamwork; integrity; customer satisfaction; and the goals of being recognized as the world's leading manufacturers of high-performance footwear and apparel and becoming one of the top four footwear manufacturers in the world. (They are fifth now, behind Nike, Reebok, Adidas, just—perhaps—getting ready to pass Fila).

Now, some of these missions are tough to sustain if you want to achieve them at the same time. It's getting VERY hard to remain a U.S.-based footwear manufacturer. It is impossible, in fact, to make the whole shoe here. The best you can do is have your sub-assemblies made in Asia and assemble the shoes here. And if NB wants to sell over a billion dollars worth of shoes and apparel—their goal this year—they've got to have a good percentage of their shoes made entirely overseas.

In fact, much of NB's worldwide growth has been financed by lucrative license agreements with offshore distributors. Their shoes have been very popular in places like Japan and Latin America, and longtime owner Jim Davis has given these foreign entities a more or less free hand in making the sorts of shoes they want to make for their intrinsic markets. That can be a scary thought for a heavily brand-driven enterprise, but the risks incurred have paid off, and Davis' company has grown from a quarter-billion a decade ago to four times that size—without going public.

New Balance has gotten religion on trade names over the years, and it's a little nerve-wracking sometimes: Abzorb®, Stability Web®, C-CAP®, ENCAP®, Rollbar®, Ndurance®, to name a few. Even their slap-in-the-face to starstruck Nike and Reebok is registered: Endorsed by No One™. That's a little over the top. And a little disingenuous when you consider that NB's star runner Khalid Khannouchi can't be running for milk money.

All that said, NB is doing a pretty good job of marketing to running's grass-roots and serving its root customer—the runner. And they're doing a very good job—in the main—of making running shoes. These people are serious about technical footwear—and you, the runner, are the beneficiary of their hard work.

761

CID -- This is simply a great training shoe that uses proven features. Its fit is superb with its narrow heel and roomy forefoot (for a D width). The heel and forefoot "Abzorb®" make it appropriate for the high-mileage runner as well as for those looking for durability. The medial EVA post provides enough stability for the mild to moderate pronator, but without excluding the more efficient, neutral runners. Finally, its $79.99 retail price tag is undoubtedly another appealing characteristic.

Recommended for:

• Neutral to moderate pronator looking for a trainer with good shock absorption.
• Runners looking for a good value for an outstanding all around training shoe.

Strengths: Fit, feel, features, and price.

Weaknesses: A bit heavy, compared to other stability shoes, at 12.9 oz.

DAN -- This is a medium-weight shoe that, at around $80, is a very good value. Of all the NB shoes I've run in recently, this shoe may have the best-fitting upper—the shoe didn't grab and hold my foot at specific spots, it gently encompassed my foot all over. I knew right away that I was going to really like the fit of this shoe.

MODEL	WT
761	13.9 OZ
828	12.8 OZ
1000	14.4 OZ
1210	13.8 OZ

I do have two problems with the 761. First, NB shoes do not generally have eye-stays—that leather part that runs along the front of the tongue where the shoelace passes through while making a U-turn from one side of the tongue to the other—and this both solves and causes problems. The tongue is sewn into the shoe underneath the top of the upper, and it is roughly sewn. On one of my 761s—not the other—I was abraded on the top of my foot where that stitch is.

The other thing about this shoe is that the forefoot cushioning started to give out—got harder—after, say, 150 miles. I suspect this might be due to the fact that this shoe has only a small patch of Abzorb® while their more expensive shoes have a full platform of the stuff.

I'm extremely picky about running shoes. I don't like 90 percent of those I run in. So my criticisms should not be interpreted as a general dislike of this shoe. I like it a lot. And I really like it as an $80 shoe. I've tried two pairs of these, and I only had the tongue-rub on one of the four shoes, so perhaps this is an issue that will not often come up. It is quite a good shoe, especially at this price.

JULIEANNE -- This shoe is a great midweight stability trainer with a lot of forefoot flexibility and ample cushioning in both rear- and forefoot. I found that if I tried to use a "runner's loop" to draw my heel in tight the shoelaces were not long enough. But overall, this is part of a great lineup of shoes NB has sent us—all of them flexible, reasonably lightweight, yet with plenty of support, especially in the heel counter.

828

CID -- This cushioned trainer follows the successes of the 825, 826, and 827. The 828 is softer than the 827 (feeling more like the 826, which I preferred) and seems to have more forefoot cushioning. Its heel and forefoot "Abzorb®" provide enough shock absorption to be used as a training shoe, and its light weight (10.3 oz) make it appealing for some racing situations. Although the "Stability Web®" does provide some torsional stability, it is still a training shoe only for the biomechanically efficient runner.

Recommended for:

• Mild pronator to under pronator (lighter weight) runners looking for a responsive shoe.
• Triathletes looking for light-weight training shoe, to be used primarily during fast paced workouts, such as track, tempo, or fartlek.
• Triathletes looking for a more cushioned racing shoe than racing flats, to use on half-ironman and ironman distance events.
• Heavier runners looking for a cushioned racing shoe that will endure heavier striking.
• Strengths: Flexibility, cushioning, fit.
• Weaknesses: Not the most durable shoe, but it was never designed for durability.

DAN -- No-nonsense, no-frills—just a good, mid-priced shoe. (One frill: It is terrific-looking). This is not a shoe that I'd run a lot of miles in. But I'll keep this around and run in it once a week during my fast or tempo runs. It's the lightest of the shoes NB sent us and is not a motion-control shoe. But its sturdy construction and half-hearted attempt at a higher-density medial post gives this shoe enough oomph to hold my orthotic and keep my maleolus from totally tipping over and scraping along the dirt. I like the way this company makes its uppers. What I hate is an upper that has loose fabric folds in the medial arch area. That's just bad shoe-making. NB does not suffer from this, and this shoe is mildly reminiscent of how NB's racing flats fit. But if you're a pronator like me and you want an everyday runner, this is not your shoe. I haven't read Cid's comments about this shoe yet, but I'll bet he likes it. It's more his shoe than mine.

JULIEANNE -- This is another shoe that, for me, worked well as a lightweight trainer, just like the 761. But if you have any inadequacies in your footfall this is probably not the shoe for you, nor is it supposed to be. It's flexible, and for someone with a good, neutral footfall this would be a nice lightweight trainer.

1000

CID -- This new performance shoe offers heel and forefoot "Abzorb®", making it a cushioned, high-mileage shoe. Its primarily mesh upper and large flex grooves on the outsole make the forefoot flexible and the ride comfortable. It has the feel of a light trainer although the shock absorption and stability, as well as actual weight (12.4 oz.) are more in the core training shoe range. The "Stability Web®" and small EVA post on the medial side provide enough stability for the mild to moderate pronator and not enough for the severe pronator.

The addition of an extra cushioned cup inside the shoe provides a nice, comfortable fit for the heel but causes the sides of the shoe (around the ankles) to fit a little looser. In my case, using the extra rear holes on the lacing system solved the problem and I was able to achieve the desired fit. Also, the more I wore the shoe, the more accustomed I got to the heel fit.

Recommended for:

• Neutral to moderate pronator looking for a high mileage training shoe.
• Heavier runners looking for a cushioned, stable shoe that can be used for training and racing.
• Triathlete looking for a soft marathon shoe with some stability.

Strengths: Forefoot flexibility, cushioning, and feel for a high mileage stability shoe.

Weaknesses: Versatility label, although accurate, may be misleading since stability provided is fairly limited. Heel fit may be a love-it or hate-it thing.

DAN -- This was my favorite shoe of the lot: Tons of features, minimum of hype. It fits great -- too great, almost. There's a lot of this shoe that climbs up close to my ankle fore and aft, trail-shoe style: it's got a weird thing they sew into upper right in front of the heel, but I sort of got used to it and eventually grew to like it. It's a motion control shoe, though, and that's how I expect they try to control your "motion": This shoe keeps close tabs on my wayward ankles. But the medial post was not quite as robust as that on the 1210, so "motion-control" should have an asterisk. But I am a heavy pronator and the Berlin Wall motion-control shoes are all supposed to have on their medial side was just robust enough to keep my ankles from climbing over into territory they're not supposed to occupy.

For me, it was the best shoe of the bunch if you consider the fit of its upper; fore- and rear-foot cushioning; and reasonably functional motion control. I dig this shoe, and I would proudly wear it as my everyday runner. All pluses, no minuses.

JULIEANNE -- If you are lightweight like me and you need a high-mileage trainer, this is a very nice shoe. A heavier runner might be able to use it for long-distance racing, but you'd have to ask someone heavier than I if it has enough forefoot cushioning. I didn't find it as soft in the forefoot as the others who reviewed the shoe; I don't know why. But I had no problems with the fit, and overall the shoe worked well for me. I still had a problem with the shoelaces being a little on the short side.

1210

CID -- This is New Balance’s most technologically advanced performance running shoe. The large heel and forefoot "Abzorb®" cushioning units provide a great amount of shock absorption. New Balance’s trademark "Rollbar®" (in this case employing graphite for strength and weight savings), the new TPU medial post, molded EVA and stability web provide sufficient motion control for a severe pronator while keeping the shoe at a remarkably low 12.8 oz (for a motion control shoe). Its new synthetic upper mesh provides a comfortable fit with the added benefit of water resistance, keeping the feet drier during bad weather.

Recommended for:

• Runners who need motion control and want a more cushioned shoe at a reasonable weight (unlike some traditional motion control clunkers).
• Heavier runners who require a lot of shock absorption and motion control.
• Pronators who are looking for a high mileage shoe.
• Runners who run in wet conditions.

Strengths: Cushioning, forefoot flexibility, and weight for a motion control shoe.

Weaknesses: At $140, make sure you fit in one of the recommended categories above.

DAN -- I didn't like this shoe as much. But that's only because it's a $145 shoe, and I like NB's $110 shoe better. Perhaps the problem was my expectations. I don't like a lot of hype, and part of what I consider hype is putting materials in shoes that God never intended. I never put leather in my wetsuits. I never put rubber in my bike frames. And I don't see why a hard plastic shim is serving as a medial post. I'll agree this thing would keep King Kong from overpronating. But God invented ethyl-vinyl-acetate just for footwear makers, and dammit that's what this shoe ought to use as its medial post—just a higher density EVA, like NB puts into its 1000.

Like I said, I'm picky. This is a fine shoe. Maybe they ought to just switch the pricetags on this and the 1000, and then I'd like this shoe better. The 1000 had a softer feel to my feet, but my wife felt the opposite way. Perhaps I'm just too big for this shoe. Maybe if I were 20 pounds lighter I'd like it better. I'll bet both Cid and JulieAnne like this shoe.

JULIEANNE -- Excellent high-mileage shoe that is surprisingly very flexible and lightweight for a stability shoe. It has ample fore- and rearfoot cushioning. I still had that shoelace problem. Other that that I have no complaints. I did more running in this shoe than the others because I just like this shoe so much. I found the cushioning fine; I don't get why Dan didn't think this shoe was adequately cushioned. I would be quite happy with this shoe as my everyday trainer and in fact it has been during the last month, with weeks up to 100 miles.

(OTHER FOOTWEAR REVIEWS)