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Review by J. Kelly:

These shoes are very comfortable. I walk 4 miles a day in Florida. The mesh on them keep my feet cool. The only problem I had was that within two months I had holes on both shoes from my big toes. The mesh material around the toes is not durable and easy to wear through. If they put a little more vinyl around the toes they would be perfect. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn but I dont want to buy a new pair every two months.

Review by Goldtooth:

This is the best damn shoe I ever put on my feet.

Nike sucks, too narrow, and the heels are too high for real training.

4points 2 is comfortable, flat, great for engaging more than just your quads and calf when you run. These shoes allow you to land flat on your foot the way your body was designed. I find all these gadget shoes today bull. High heels, springs, molded heels, air in the heels. They cause more injuries and harm than good.

If you are like me, and like to be connected to the ground for good leverage, balance during you entire weight training and running routine, buy these things.

I'm stock piling as many pairs as i can before they are discontinued, because I'm afraid I will never find a shoe that is close.

Someone told me the plush shoe is close but I'm married to these right now.......

Review by Donald Leighty:

I've worn New Balance shoes for walking since the late '80s or early '90s. They lasted years. Last fall I bought a new pair that started to fall apart within a few months (since I haven't been taking daily walks for almost a year now, this was brought about merely by walking the dog and pushing a lawnmower around the yard). Another pair did the same thing, so I started hassling NB a couple of weeks ago. Told them the shoes looked like they had a bad sunburn, with a thin, rubbery white coating peeling and shedding from the synthetic foam underneath. It's completely gone from the toe and much of the sides. Where's the leather???

After getting several conflicting stories from the girls who answer the phones (and sending one pair of MX608s back to their laboratory for an 'examination'), I finally received the following explanation from someone higher up:

"Thank you for contacting New Balance Consumer Support!

The tip, vamp, entire heel area and the quarters of the MX608 are all leather. It is called split leather because it is "split away" from the top layer, which is called full grain. The 2-3 layers you can split away from that are called split leathers. The surface of the split is treated with a pu coating and painted. Splits are real leather.

The mudguard area of the shoe is a synthetic material. This is the area along the sides directly above the midsole. If this area of the shoe is abrading, then what you are seeing could be the backing of the synthetic material which is made of compressed fibers.

Additionally, very few athletic shoes are made of top grain or full grain leather anymore. It is just too expensive. All of the 608s are made this way, so there should not be a difference among different pairs."

This gave me enough information to start digging into the realities of "split leather" (or "bicast leather" as it is more commonly known). This is from Wikipedia:

"Bicast leather (also known as bycast leather, split leather or PU leather) is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently was adopted by the furniture industry. The resulting product is cheaper than top grain leather and has an artificially consistent texture and is easier to clean and maintain.

The use of the term 'leather' in relation to this bicast treatment is considered a misrepresentation and therefore not permitted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Furniture made with bicast exhibits none of the characteristics associated with genuine leather; it will not develop a patina or suppleness nor otherwise "improve with age". With constant use the polyurethane layer will crack and split free of its backing.

Modern technology permits up to 3 or 4 horizontal layers being taken from the one hide. The leather used in the backing of bicast is a thin, otherwise worthless, layer remaining after better quality layers have been removed for traditional leather work and contributes nothing to the look and feel of the end product."

Nice.

That's Wikipedia's take, but the conclusions match those of professional leatherworkers as well. New Balance has changed from a durable real leather upper to a bicast "leather", the use of which several countries have already ruled is deliberately misleading.

Review by T. Moore:

I have bought the same mx608 shoe from amazon for 3 years.. finishing up my third pair now. I ordered these thinking I'd be getting the same thing.. I thought wrong. I guess the "v2" on the label should have tipped me off. Anyways, the shoe feels like a piece of cardboard now. There is no support on the soles anymore (feels like you are walking on concrete). Nothing like the last 3 pairs of mx608's I've had. Now I have to search around for another good supporting shoe. Why NB did you screw this up?