Earlier this month Running Warehouse posted preview videos of three new trail shoes set to be released for Spring 2013.
First, the Minimus Trail (MT10) gets an update which includes aspects of both the upper and sole. Sounds like they addressed the tendency of the upper to soak up water like a sponge, though I’m surprised to see the forefoot band still present – hopefully they loosened it up a bit.
Next is the NB Outdoor 80. The 80 is part of the Minimus collection and looks to have a much more rugged sole than the other Mimimus trail shoes – looks luggy and might be a good option for winter running.
The NB 1210 is billed as an ultramarathon shoe. It’s not part of the Minimus collection, and has what appears to be a very beefy sole (don’t know the drop data). Makes me wonder if they are going after the Hoka One One market with this one:
Finally, the shoe that excites me the most is the New Balance Minimus Road MR10v2. I was not a big fan of the original MR10 (too firm and stiff), and am happy to see that v2 of this shoe is completely redesigned from the bottom up. This shoe also proves that New Balance really likes hexagons…
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Is the NB Outdoor 80 supposed to replace the 110? Same drop, different sole. Does the 80 have a rockplate? The RunningWarehouse infomercial was less than helpful other than showing the shoe itself.
According to NB folks, they made the forefoot band more accommodating on the MT10v2 by not connecting it directly to the vibram rubber piece that extends up on the lateral forefoot. There is a small amount of mesh there that is supposed to stretch.
They should state weights in these quick vids. Exciting stuff though.
Stack heights on the Leadville are 22/30. Not near what Hoka is, but still a little bit higher then any other 8mm cushioned trainers (guide 5, ride 5…).
I cannot wait for the MR10v2. Things are looking good for that update to me.
I actually really like the original MR10. I was skeptical about the MR10v2 at first, but the more I find out about it, the more I’m looking forward to it. I just hope that it will be based on the same NL-1 last as the original. The NL-1 last seems to have a wider midfoot than the NL-0 last that was used for the Minimus Road Zero, which was narrow for a lot of people. I can wear the MR10 in the standard D width, but I take the Minimus Road Zero in the 2E width.
I get the impression from the video that New Balance was disappointed by how the original MR10 sold. That doesn’t surprise as I think the problem was that the shoe was way too minimal for traditional shoe adherents tentatively taking small steps to transitioning to “less shoe” and not nearly minimal enough for the strict hardcore minimalists. I thought it struck the perfect balance for me since I discovered it about a year ago and may have been a little ahead – or behind – of its time. I hope this new update gets more love. New Balance could benefit from doing a better job of marketing its products to the mainstream masses who may have no idea who Anton Krupicka is.
Any news on an improved version of the MT00?
Nothing on an update to the shoe yet, probably has not been out long enough.
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ok. Will wait to see if they adress the flaws. Thanks for the quick response!! :)
They did see my post on the sole delamination and indicated that it should not have happened – they sent me another pair and took mine back to look at them. Not sure if the issue has been addressed.
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Pete Larson’s Web Links:
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What’s the difference between the mr10v2 and mr20v2?
I don’t have the MR20 v2, but the 20 series seems to be sold in more of a department store type setting or big box sporting goods stores.
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Pete Larson’s Web Links:
-My book: Tread Lightly: link to ow.ly
-Blog: https://runblogger.com
-Twitter: link to twitter.com
-Facebook Page: link to facebook.com…
-Discussion Forum: https://runblogger.com/forum