Continuing with this unprecidented shoe reviewing extravaganza we have a great addition from New Balance.

Several of us bloggers here at Outdoorzy got to test out the New Balance 920. This shoe is a real treat for anyone into water sports. It also does wonderfully as a casual shoe. Unique freatures include; Synching lace system, Grippy foam inner foot bed, Vibram outer sole, Mesh upper, and gutters around the top of the sole to drain water. They come in a myriad of colors too; Black/Orange, Orange/Gray, and Blue/Yellow were our favorites. They are retailing for just under $100, and can be found in stores and online.

Here are the deep thoughts from each of our reviewers...

Me (Wade)

I love these shoes. They are as light as a feather but still seem durable enough to put through an adventure race. The lacing system works fine for me, it synches the shoe up tightly on my foot. The tongue pocket that holds the laces seems to work okay too. The vibram sole is essential for the water. They grip well on wet surfaces without having big lugs. I'll admit that I was skeptical of the gutter system. I didn't think it would work at all when I took a look at it. But when I pulled my feet up out of the creek on my last two canoe trips the water just poured right out. I also like the easy clean-up. The footbed on this shoe just pops right out, you spray them down with a hose, and a few hours later they're ready to take on a run.... or to your buddies cook out. I haven't run in them yet. They don't have much arch support, and I tend to need more of that, so I will most likely use them mainly for casual wear and on the water. If you're looking for a good trail running shoe consider something like the New Balance 1061.

BlowSnow

I really like them. I must say the best part is the attention to detail. The laces are the perfect length,
the lace keeper works. The soles are tough and good, stiff and grippy, perfect for creek bottoms. My
favorite detail is the grippy insoles! So awesome. Most of the time you get your feet wet, they slip
around in the shoe. I am so pumped on the insoles, why hasn't anyone else thought of this? They look cool
work great, I'm going to start showering in them.

Buster

They are very comfortable and I like the design features.There appears to be no seams or edges of materials that rub on the foot and cause an irritation.

I like to run around barefoot in my other shoes (no socks) and when I pull my foot out of a normal shoe, the foot bed or insert that is glued in always wants to come out. I like the design in that the foot bed is meant to come out and is not glued in.

I like the porting and mesh on the sides and the water comes out quick. There is no pooling of water in the shoe.

I like the drawstring method of the shoes, however, this is where my story turns. Upon putting my shoes on for the first time, I grabbed the grey tab on the end of the shoe laces to straighten out the laces and to begin tightening down the shoe, when one of the shoe laces came out of the grey tab and through the plastic thing that holds the laces tight. I had to find a way to pull the shoe lace through the plastic piece, then even up the laces and tie a knot to hold them together. I understand that having the plastic piece is cool new way of holding and tightening shoe laces, but how much more time and design effort would it be to tie a knot in the shoe laces in the beginning and then stitch the grey tab over the knot.

... Happy ending though. This was a great opportunity to test the New Balance customer support. So Buster did. He took them to a New Balance store and explained his situation. They replaced the shoes and only charged him $5 for the shipping. Some New Balance stores are privately owned, and not part of the main corporation. So this is why he paid shipping. But they were happy to do it, and were very friendly and understanding.

---

All in all we give these kicks a 5 stars out of 5. Great shoe that uses New Balance running technology and blends it with the basic shoe idea Salomon crafted. The result is a shoe that is extremely versatile yet stylish.

Similar Posts:

• The Shoes of Summer-Women's Merrell OverDrive II
• Shoe Shout Out
• The Shoes of Summer-New Balance 920 Women's
• Gear Review: Patagonia Bushland Shoe
• New Balance 811 AT
• Water Shoes - Hi Tec MutliTerra Targa HPi
• Gear Review - Chaco Ecotread Flips

Links on Outdoorzy.com:

• Join Outdoorzy.com Today!