Customer Reviews

New Balance Men's MX608V2 Training Shoe

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

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 Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently was adopted by the furniture industry.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.

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?

I've been wearing these black New Balance trainers for years. They have changed a few times but the quality was high. The last pair I bought will be the last pair I buy. First the dye bled and turned my white socks blue. Within a few months the shoes began to split at the seams. It's sad to see a decline in quality this rapid.

I have been shopping for a couple of pairs of the MX608 to give as a Christmas gift to someone who has been wearing that model for several years, but after finding out that the company has cheapened the design with faux materials ruined that plan. I wonder, can anyone recommend another shoe comparable to what the MX608 *used* to be?

I was a little leery after seeing some negative reviews to purchase this shoe for a long vacation with a lot of walking in Europe this past summer. But the reasonable price and my past experiences with New Balance products swayed me to make the buy. This shoe performed great in every terrain with lots of walking and hiking every day all over Europe. They were the only pair of shoes I took and their comfort, traction and resilience to foul weather were beyond my expectations. We must have walked an easily 12 miles a day for the better part of a month mostly on hard surfaces and the comfort of my feet were never an issue. I have only owned the shoes 5 months but they are holding up wonderful and competed the task I asked them to.

I am on my second pair of these. The first pair was purchased about 6 months ago (also the v2 version). I noticed that the soles, in particular the right sole was separating from the shoe at the back. I believe this was caused by driving, the right heel rests on the floor of the vehicle to push the accelerator. I think that they should last longer than that, even if you wear them for driving.

Anyway, that pair was worn out, so I ordered a new pair from Amazon. After wearing the new ones less than a month, the same thing happened! I couldn't believe it! The back part of the sole has separated from the bottom of the shoe. This creates a "flap", which besides being really annoying, is unsafe for walking and driving. By the time I got around to investigating, I'd exceeded the Amazon return window, so I called New Balance. The person I spoke with was very helpful. Bottom line, I shipped the shoes back to them a few days ago (I paid for shipping), and they will send me a new pair (they pay return shipping). The customer service person said that a month was really too short, the shoes should last longer. He said they usually tell people to think about replacements after 8 months of use. That seemed really short. I had expected these shoes (any shoes) to last at least a year.

Simply put this MX608V2 is not an improvement, it's a drop -off in quality. I want the original MX608 back. I still have the last one I bought way back in 2005. It looks beat up after 5 years of course, but it is still holding together and apart from the worn sole it is still comfortable. To refer to the MX608V2 as the 'MX608' is misleading. This V2 is no where near as strong and sturdy as the original MX608. It's not even leather even though it's said to be. I guess the standards in New Zealand and UK are genuine compared to what is being referred to as leather here.
I'm most diappointed in New Balance here, they messed up what was once a quality product. I loved the original MX608 and believed in the New Balance Brand for quality and comfort as I need Wide fitting shoes. Now I have my doubts about New Balance quality. I'm now consdering other brands for wide-fitting athletic shoes. Five years ago this would not have been the case.

This product says it's a training shoe but cannot be used as one because of no arch support. If you buy this shoe you will have to buy your own insoles unless you want to have knee and back pain. Plus it looks like an orthepedic shoe so you'll get some funny comments from your friends. Look elsewhere for an athletic training shoe.

Shoe was not exactly what I was looking for. Explanation: New Balance recently changed "lasts" & quality for certain shoes such as the 608. However, Amazon has suppliers tht still have the original 608s in stock. The newer 608 is referred to as MX608V2. Older models(the ones considered by a number of us to be the higher quality shoe) are just MX608.

Amazon marketed this shoe as a MX608 but it is infact a MX608V2.

I have worn New Balance MX608 as my all around every-day tennis shoe for years. The new version 2 is not measuring up to the previous version. The sole is hard and without shock absorbsion.

I will have to find another shoe to fit my every-day needs