Customer Reviews

New Balance Men's MO1520 Outdoor Shoe,Brown,10 D

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Pros

-great hiking or ultra-light backpacking shoe

-heavier and more solid than pure trail-running shoes; good stability and durability, held up well on back country trip

-GREAT traction on scrambling class 2 or 3 rock

-waterproof

Cons

-this Last seems to run smaller and narrower than typical NB Lasts: I am a 9.5-EE in all NB running or cross-training shoes, and fit a 10-EEEE in these

-would benefit from a antimicrobial footbed or lining; gets pretty smelly after 4 days backcountry

I am a New Balance believer. They fit me great. I will say that I am generally between 8 and 8.5 and these 8.5 shoes fit snug. The eeee size is more like a ee. I read this on other sites so I made sure and chose the larger size. The shoes are great looking and wonderful for hiking and just walking the street. Built really well and have a firm sole for great stability. They are built great and great looking shoes. I would definitely recommend.

I became a loyal customer of New Balance about 6 years ago and am HAPPY to wear them anywhere. I bought the 1520's (size 13, normally 12) at the New Balance Store just before a trip to Seneca Rocks WV about 5 months ago. I couldn't wait to get there and try them out. I have put 10-15 miles a month on these shoes since the purchase.

They are waterproof right up to the point you get ankle deep in water. Great for around town or campus street puddle type water, creek or stream crossing... NOT! The whole getting in a bath tub and staying dry is a LIE!

I found these very comfortable to walk in, no break in time required. No foot pain from walking over rocks, roots, or other trail dangers. Grip on the rocks at Seneca was most impressive. Scrambling across the Summit at Seneca, trailing Dolly Sods, and Monongahela National Forest was confident and rewarding.

I have wet them down, scrapped them on rocks, and scuffed the tread. They are still in great condition with no tears, no seam failures or glue issues, Gore-tex still works, netting on shoe only has one small snag on tongue, and the tread is still optimal. However, I do not wear them in the city, only on the trail. I really like the extra traction and protection on the instep part of the shoes, great addition.

The only thing I would change is the lacing system. Not a big fan of the cloth loops New Balance uses, the lacing system is the only reason I ever replace a pair of New Balance shoes. Loops fail well before the shoe ever gets close to end of service. I suggest they would re-think this design.

Over all I am happy with my purchase.

Shoe is fabulous in concept but so undersized and over-narrow as to be almost unwearable unless one goes up a size and a width minimum.

The shoe size is no longer too big. NB fixed it. I ordered one half size up and one up wider and had to send them back to get my normal NB size. I received my new pair and they fit great! I was sad to see that no one else updated the reviews as some of the reviews are years old...

Hope this helps you decide which size to get.

I love New Balance. I have a 4E foot and finding a good fit is near impossible. I got these and the fit was perfect as expected. They were immediately comfortable. No break in required. Took them all over Joshua Tree National Park. I never had to look twice at my feet, no bother, no slip, no pain. Good cushion at the heal. Nice and aggressive sole for traction. Joshua is all rocks and more rocks. My only question is, should I buy a second pair now or chance that they will be out of stock?

Revision

It is now August and I see some problems with the shoe's design. There is a lot of exposed stitching over the toe area. It is starting to fray. Other shoes have this area free of stitching for that purpose. The toe area is likely to receive the most wear and NB designers need to re-evaluate this approach.

Another problem is the shoe string. I wish they would use a mechanical tighten device. I finds that the string is often coming undone. This is a hazard when climbing/hiking over rocks and uneven trails.

Otherwise, it is by far the most comfortable shoe I have to date.

I wear New Balance exclusively for athletic shoes, and my size is 8.5 EEEE. Based on other reviews, I purchased the 9 EEEE, but this seemed too large for me. There was ample toe room, but when I buy an active hiking shoe, I prefer a snug fit. Even with a pair of light hiking wool socks, the 8.5 EEEE fit me better. If I were wearing heavy wool socks (I don't plan to winter hike with these shoes), there would still be enough toebox room, but the mid-foot would fit tightly.

The snug fit is not because the shoe seems smaller, but rather because there seems to be significant lateral support and bracing due to the intended use of this shoe. This results in less flex and stretch on the sides of the shoe.

The shoes perform great. In my mind, the size issue was overblown. A lot of people complain of the size of this shoe because they cannot fit orthotics into the shoebed. I don't think that's what this hiking shoe was designed for. This is another winner from New Balance.

Very good alterrain running shoe. There is only one hard ball road where I live everything is rock and dirt. Shoe is very durable and very stable. Have had for a few months now. Very pleased. Only issue is if you have wide feet make sure you get a wide or a half size larger than normal, they are a little to snug.

I tried many times in raining days, however, my feet was wet and uncomfortable. Definitely, this is not waterproof. I don't like it.

This shoe is awesome. I've waited till I had this shoe for a year till I wrote a review so that I could determine the longevity of the 1520. I originally bought it thinking I was just going to try it on then send it back. I heard a lot of bad reviews about it's fit and such, and I thought for sure I was going to go with one of the other 3 shoes I'd also bought and had sent to me. (I have size 15 feet, and no stores carry my size) Once I got the 1520 on my feet, I didn't want to take it off. I sent all the other shoes back and kept this one. It's SO comfortable to walk around in. The Vibram soles give it a lot of good traction. The tongue is fully gusseted, which means that water won't be entering through the tongue. I read some reviews where people complained that the boot wasn't waterproof because water could still enter through the top of the shoe (like, where the foot goes in?). I fear these people have a bad conception of the laws of physics. So far, i haven't had any water problems with these shoes. I wear them every day, and they're still very comfy and looking great.

One thing I want to add. A lot of people said these shoes were off in size. This is the main reason I thought I wouldn't like the boot. I have 15D feet, and my shoes fit perfect. Do yourself a favor and try them on for yourselves. If they don't fit right, send them back. But if you're like me, you probably won't want to take them off.