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New Balance MT910GT Joggers Review

Great review Roger.
Been using these on winter backpacking trips since mid. January and have held up great.

Can confirm stiff sole is pretty solid on snow/ice. Have about two hundred trail only miles on them and just switched out for mesh since GXT was a bit warm and pruning effect was getting annoying/causing blisters.

One thing noticed was GTX membrane seemed to almost collapse on a very wet 4 hour trek, have not experienced this before with that type of fabric, guessing conditions were pretty challenging for any footwear.

I know this isn't an exact science, but I just can't figure out why this shoe gets a recommended rating. I'm not familiar with the MT875 that the reviewer uses as a comparison. What else should I compare these shoes against? Is a $130 a good value for the performance these shoes give? Should this be considered a specialty shoe for those with wide feet? With all the mentioned downsides, I don't understand how it would beat other shoes in its class.

When you boil it all down, I guess it gets a Recommended rating because that's what I thought it deserved.

> I'm not familiar with the MT875 that the reviewer uses as a comparison
The URL to the Review is in the article. Read it?

> Is a $130 a good value for the performance these shoes give?
Hum, well, it seems about 'normal' to me.

> Should this be considered a specialty shoe for those with wide feet?
Not at all. It comes in a D fitting and a 4E fitting, so it may not suit someone with a B width. But I can't test those!

> I don't understand how it would beat other shoes in its class.
A Recommended rating does not require that it beat all the other shoes in its class. I found it a bit above Average, but not at the Highly Recommended level.

Yeah, objectively grading shoes is almost impossible. But better a Review of some sort than none?

Cheers

I'm curious and confused. Why not rate it 'Above Average' if you found them a bit above average, especially if value is only normal?

Yes I read the review, haven't held or tried them on though. What are other competitors to the mt910?

I don't expect a Recommended rating to signify best in class. But again, 'Above Average' would mean that similar products should also be considered. Shouldn't 'Recommended mean that these shoes have a little extra mojo over at least some of the competition. I'm really just curious as to what that is?

Also, how much heel lift is there?

Edited by xavi1337 on 04/13/2010 23:08:17 MDT.

Hi Ross

> What are other competitors to the mt910?
Hum, well, many I would think. We now have 4 reviews of new balance, plus reviews of other footwear. But given how fast the industry changes models (Herblock's Rule), it is impossible to keep up. I wish they would slow down a bit!

Recommended, or Above Average? Good Question. Quite definitely well above Average though. Maybe borderline between Above Average and Recommended, tending upwards? If I don't have an urge to take the shoes off as soon as the tent is up, I tend to look very favourably upon them.

> how much heel lift is there?
Ah. I was not able to detect any significant heel lift on my feet. There is always a bit of movement - otherwise your feet would be really jammed, but my Darn Tough Vermont Full Boot Socks meant I felt nothing.

Cheers

I've praised these shoes before on this site.

These aren't even my preferred shoes, and yet, through this last winter of mostly California desert and LA local hills backpacking/hiking, I keep reaching for them first. Extensive sand/gravel in desert washes posed no challenge for these, with a low gaiter. Heavy, cold, albeit brief rain in Joshua Tree soaked the uppers, but my feet remained very dry and comfortable.

I've come to think of these as pretty much the ideal southern California winter backpacking/hiking shoe, where there is the possibility of some rain, but mostly, it's cool and dry, verging on cold, with nights hovering around freezing in the deserts. I've never really used them in truly warm weather, so perhaps they would get a little sauna-like, but for cooler, drier conditions, they're great.

On desert off-trail scrambles, the stiffness is a plus. I've done plenty of class 3 in these, and they work okay, although there's definitely too much deflection in the sole. But, that's no fault of the shoe; in that regard, it's wrong tool for the job. The onus is on the wearer to pick good lines and use good foot placement.

Too, the cheese-grater rock of Joshua Tree is certainly chewing these up, but not as quickly as I expected.

Personally, for the conditions I use these in, as stated above, I'd consider them highly recommended. YMwillcertainlyV.

Would you consider wearing these as your only hiking shoe on a week long John Muir Trail hike? I'm concerned about ankle support and stone/root bruising through the sole. Comments?

FYI - The MT910 is available without Gortex (which I prefer). I purchased a pair from Zappos. Look for the version without GT in the name..

Edited by DBthal on 04/15/2010 10:46:33 MDT.

Hi Steve

I wore lighter shoes (MT875OR) than these on 2-month long trips in Europe. See Review.

My ankle support is my tendons. Hard-line!

No bruising through the sole at all.

No worries!
Cheers

Edited by rcaffin on 04/16/2010 05:50:51 MDT.

I wore Nike running shoes on my jmt hike. It's not that tough of a hike on shoes. MHO

On your recommendation, I purchased the Vermont Darn Tough full cushion boot sock. I wore them on a training hike (6 miles half woods trail half subdivision street) and I really liked them based on that brief trial. I thought they would be much thicker and that they would be mostly good for hunting in the winter. To me they are a medium thick wool sock and take up about 1/2 size up from a thin nylon sock when fitting with runners. (I wear 9.5 with thin socks and 10 with thick socks) I have some thicker wool socks that I have used while hunting, so I'll be anxc
ious to see if these are as warm when used in that capacity. I have some NB 8505s I picked up at Ross for $25 that may not be perfect but at that price I will compromise a bit. They have very good comfort, cushioning and reasonably light weight. They have a strange gap in the heel sole that some rocks stick into and traction has not been tested in difficult conditons, but did I mention they are comfortable, cushiony and reasonably light at that $25 price? Works for me.

Edited by toomanyarrows on 04/17/2010 12:24:42 MDT.