I have been a huge fan of New Balance shoes for quite a while now and when I made the decision a few months ago to pick up some new hiking and running shoes I immediately started looking at what they had to offer. In both cases I was lucky enough to find some deals on some older models and picked up the New Balance 749 running shoes and New Balance MT813 trail running shoes.
The New Balance 749 was a step up for me, this was my first pair of nicer running shoes and I was looking for a good neutral shoe for training and races that would not break the bank and I was certainly not disappointed. They took a little while to break in and started out pretty stiff but I have used these shoes for training and in several races and aside from the fact that may be just a tad heavy they are great. Lots of stability, great lacing system, breaths well, open toe box, thus far my favorite running shoe.
The New Balance MT813 trail running shoes was a newer version of what I had before, I love using trail running shoes for hiking, they often have great traction and stability without a ton of weight. The jury is still out on these shoes, for the most part I like them however there are a few issues I had, the first is that they fit a little big, I have always purchased athletic shoes in a size 9 and when buying these online I bought the same size but these ended up flitting a bit big but nothing worth returning them over (I have balanced it with a second pair of socks and at least in the cold months that seems to work well). The second is that I have used these on a few tough hikes but they are already showing signs of decent wear especially on the front stitching / toe area which worried me a little, my last set went much longer before showing signs of wear. Thus far though I like the shoes they have a great lacing system, breath well, and are not super heavy I look forward to taking them on more hikes this year.
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