Comments on: New Balance MT100 Trail Shoe Review

By: Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:44:59 +0000

Hey – just to pile on. I have 200+ miles on my 100s, and I’ve been running mostly on pavement with a run or two a week on trails. Last weekend, I did a trail half marathon out at Ft. Yargo. Still completely in love with these shoes. I haven’t experienced any issues at all with the EVA heel, but I’m a forefoot striker.

One slight issue this past weekend was on steep downhills. As someone else pointed out, there is a tendency to slide around a bit. However, I just clenched my toes and forgot about it. No bruising, no blisters.

These are my go-to shoes. The only other shoes I ever use are some Asics Piranhas for simulating barefoot running.

By: ManuelRivera

ManuelRivera — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:31:53 +0000

…quick question guys..I read meters for an electric company for my day job here in Southern California and am looking for a great all around shoe to wear while reading..At first I was interested in the MT100 but from reading some posts about how fast the shoe was falling apart I became some what skeptical..I know this may be off topic but if some one could possibly help me out here it’d be great..what I’m looking for is the style of the mt100; thinner sole, not so bulky top, rock blocker bottom, heel and toe protection, lightweight..I am currently using the 749 but I don’t like the thickness of the rear of the sole which tends to make me roll my ankles alot due to the fact that i’m in and out of yards and am constantly on uneven terrain be it asphalt or rocks, grass, hills.The bottom of the 749 has a wierd tred and seems more of a walking shoe than anything..any help would be greatly appreciated and please reply to my email address…Thanks Guys!!!

By: Josue Stephens

Josue Stephens — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:10:16 +0000

Thanks for the review Christian. I am kicking up my trail training a bit and need some minimalist shoes for gnarly terrain. I have always wanted to try these out.

By: robert youngren

robert youngren — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:35:16 +0000

I’ve run quite a few miles in the NB 790s and love this shoe ON THE ROAD. The traction left something to be desired on anything but dry trails. But this was my absolute favorite road shoe for a while.

I then got a pair of the NB MT100BKs and noticed right away that this was a totally different shoe, not an upgrade at all IMHO. While it is definitely much more of a trail shoe I still had a lot of issues with them.

1. Traction is much improved, but still not great, especially on wet rock.

2. The uppers are too minimal. The tongue is just a thin piece of fabric! The overall result of such a flimsy upper is that I felt a lot of movement of my foot inside the shoe, especially on steep downhills. I ended up bruising my toes after a 50k trail race in these things. You can have a minimal upper, but you need to incorporate a good lacing system to keep your foot anchored into the heel.

3. Not enough of a toe bumper for a trail shoe to protect from rock strikes.

On the plus side, the extra rock plate in the shoe definitely makes for a better ride on rough terrain and gravel.

I’ll stick to the INOV-8 line, but nice to see that NB is trying to produce a good minimalist shoe. Will probably succeed after another iteration or two.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:50:27 +0000

I bought a pair of the NB and was really looking forward to running in them. The first run in the shoes was short, about 6 miles. I had no problems during this run. My second run was a different story. I ran about 11 miles and half way into the run the my achilles started burning on my right foot. It’s been a few days since the 11 mile run and I still can’t run in the NB 100 without my achilles hurting. I’m going to switch back to my previous shoes for a while and see if some time off will help.

By: Christian

Christian — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:53:12 +0000

Thanks Nate: I bought mine from Online Shoes as well, but I think I wore’em out fair and square. Nica was gnarly, bro. GNARLY!

By: Bikernate

Bikernate — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:52:51 +0000

Christian,
I bought my shoes from onlineshoes.com. When they ripped I sent the customer service dept. an email explaining what happened, how many miles I had on them and what type of use they had. I was nice to them in the email. I didn’t ask for anything, but thought that they might like to see the shoes. They told me to send them back. The day they received the shoes they emailed me saying they were replacing them no charge. The new shoes arrived today. I don’t know if you have ever bought from them, but their service is incredible. NFI, by the way.
Nate

By: Fuego Y Agua “Experience”

Fuego Y Agua “Experience” — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:49:52 +0000

[...] My approach to ultras is pretty minimalist, so there really wasn’t a lot to prepare. A pair of shorts, a 2008 Stump Jump 50K shirt, a headlamp, some Scaps, two hand-held water bottles, a Nathan water pack and my New Balance MT100 trail shoes. [...]

By: Christian

Christian — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:58:20 +0000

yup. My right side is shredded after the Fuego Y Agua 100k. …about the same total miles.

By: Bikernate

Bikernate — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:11:23 +0000

After 247 miles on my MT100’s the entire left side of the mesh part of the shoe has torn apart (in half!!!). I’m bummed! Has anybody else experienced this?