New Balance MT20 Minimus Trail review

Price Paid:$99.00
User rating:

(4.3)
Would buy again from this company: Yes
Used product for: 2 months
# of logged workouts:

"I would recommend adding these shoes to your collection. Be cautious in building up - like many men out there I thought the cautions about slowly building into these shoes was a bunch of legal hoo-haa, but it really is an adjustment getting used to these shoes. I'm still not an every day convert yet, although they rode with me to my 50k last week. I've run up to 12 miles in them and felt great, and I plan on wearing them most of the time for training in the long term."40isnotold

(5)

Quality of Construction

Well made shoe, as I would expect from New balance. Nice soft liner material.

(4)

Fit

Fits well, very comfortable in bare feet and with thin socks. Would be a 5 except a little room at the ankles that lets small pebbles, etc. occasionally get in.

(5)

Comfort

My initial impression was that these shoes are extremely comfortable; after multiple runs, I found I prefer to wear thin socks just because I tend to have sweaty feet and the interior felt wet after a while. But overall comfort for the upper is awesome. Only downside I see is that the "pod" configuration of the sole leaves some spots more vulnerable to rocks, roots, etc. I have had some sore spots on the bottom of my foot due to landing on hard things that stuck between the pods. That being said, it's the exception, and I have worn these shoes for up to 12 mile runs on varying terrain.

(4)

Durability

Haven't had long enough to make a great assessment for the long term, but seem well built and have stood up to a lot of muck, dirt, and rocks so far.

(2)

Value

Very expensive for what amounts to a slipper...and they are cheaper than the Merrell's and Five Fingers

(5)

Appearance

Love the orange, although it is now more of a burnt sienna from all the mud and rain this fall so far.

(5)

Performance

Great performance in terms of making my feet, ankles, and legs stronger. It was a much bigger difference running in these shoes than I thought it would be (for the positive). If you get these shoes, take the time to build into them; I ran 4 miles the first time I wore them and my calves and quads were shot just from the lack of drop. I wore them on every other run, except for my long runs building up to a 50k this fall and loved them.

Strengths

Comfort, positive effect on all those muscles that have been asleep for years wearing traditional running shoes. I enjoy running in these shoes and I have noticed less heel and foot issues than in the past.

Weakness

Gaps between "pods" on bottom offer potential for sharp rocks/stumps to hit on sensitve spots, at least on my feet. Have noticed this less as I got used to the shoes, my stride got better, and my feet got stronger..

Buyers clubMT20 Minimus Trail

11 people use
160 workouts logged
1353.23 miles / 211.28 hours logged