MT101 picks up where the MT100 left off

The MT101s are the follow-up to the MT100 trail shoe. As a huge fan of new Balance minimalist trail shoes, I was very excited to learn more about the newest release from the company, and better yet, put them to test on some good ol’ rugged trail.

Thanks to a really cool dude at New Balance, I got my hands on a pair of pre-release MT101s just in time for the Laurel Valley Whitewater Run in the Foothills of South Carolina. Laurel Valley is a self-supported, 35-ish mile trail race and is known as one of the most rugged, toughest trail races in the Southeast – the perfect venue for putting the kicks to a serious test.

What’s different in the MT101?

In an email from New Balance product manager Bryan Gothie, he offered a summary of the shoe modifications:

The 101 is an upper only update that incorporates a ton of Anton’s [Anton Krupicka] feedback.  He was looking for more stability in the upper, especially on the downhills, and some added lateral support as well.  We also added a little more protection to the tongue and found a way to manufacture the heel EVA collar so that it finishes with a cleaner lip.  Those are the big functional updates, cosmetically we decided to step it up a little.  There is a little more pep to the materials on this version and the color choice, as well as the amount of, is also enhanced.

And once my pair arrived, I found all of this to be true, …along with a few other surprises.

The MT101 seems to be a wider shoe

The pair of MT101s that I received are exactly the same size as all of my MT100s (10.5) but the 101s are noticeably wider and roomier, and especially in the toe box area. Check out the comparison below between a pair of MT100s and MT101s, both size 10.5 — by the way, {click} any of the images in this review for a larger, 900px screen-filling view.

The MT101s are green, and the MT100s are the gray shoes. It’s tough to really see the width difference, but notice the different positioning of some of the support pieces, including the additional upper support at the bottom of the laces. The toe tip has also been changed to a tougher material that softens the blow when kicking a nasty root or rock. I welcomed this improvement often during the Laurel Valley race.

More side upper support doesn’t mean heavier

Notice a complete restructuring of the side support, and especially the upper. The material used for the lateral support feels like a tougher, more rugged plastic, as opposed to the cloth-like support materials in the MT100s; however, that new “fanned-out” support piece does utilize a sort of firm cloth and feels really snug around the top of the foot.

Here on the outside of the New Balance shoe you can see stronger attention to support in the upper. Again, {click} for a larger view on any of the shoe images.

Who doesn’t like a little more tongue?

Ok, that was bad, but I bet it got your attention. {wink}

The 101 has a slightly thicker tongue. Why? I really don’t know. The change is so slight, so I really can’t tell whether it matters or not. Still, the tongue is very lean and as minimalist as I’ve ever seen in any other shoe, and is still one of my favorite features of both models.

What about the achilles issue of the shoe back?

For one, I’ve never experienced the “digging” issues that others have reported. I believe this has a lot to do with heel striking, but regardless what I think, it’s a popular complaint in the comments of my MT100 review. New Balance has lowered the back a little (as you can see in the side comparisons a couple of images above). I thought the rubber might have come back a little softer this time, but it seems to be the exact same material.

Still smells bad. Hey New Balance – why the stinky rubber?

Putting the MT101s to the test at Laurel Valley

Let me just say right now that I am sold. I love the shoe.

Because of the new width, I probably could have tightened them down a bit more for the race as I found my feet jamming into the toe box during steep descents and I slid around in the shoe when negotiating some gnarly rocky sections. I didn’t get any blisters, though, so it must not have been too bad.

I ran Laural Valley hard, chasing some time goals, and the shoes  performed perfectly, carrying me to a PR on the course.

The good:

• So very, very light. Under 7 oz.
• Good grip on the climbs. We got caught in a couple downpours and the shoes handled muddy climbs beautifully.
• Quick-dry. There are lots of water crossings at LV and the shoes excrete water very quickly.

The bad:

• Like the 100s, the shoes let in more dirt and debris than others. I found myself having to stop and pull crap out of them from time to time.
• Those lame laces. I’m just not buying into the New Balance sure lace™ concept. The laces come untied more frequently than, say, my road racing flats which are just simple, thin light laces.

The bottom line – the MT101 is an excellent minimalist trail shoe.

Period.

It’s light, rugged, grippy and fits like a glove. The new upper support feels nice and snug, and the increased attention to rock and root protection is noticeable and makes a real difference out on the trail.

I’m proud to report that I had one of my best days ever at Laurel Valley, scoring a 31 minute PR and 5th place overall, and I attribute much of this success to the MT101.

Would love to hear other’s experiences, so comment away!

Update: $59.95 + $6 shipping is the best price we’ve found thus far – Holabirdsports.com

A Four-Mile Muddy Test

There’s nutin’ quite like the feeling of coming home from a frustrating day in the world of Advertising – all grouchy and agitated, full of misdirected creativity – and finding that New Balance box sitting in front of the garage.

“My new MT100s, …yes!”

It’s like New Balance knew how badly I’d needed to hit the trails and run off all that corporate nonsense; so, I yanked on a long-sleeve wicking shirt, grabbed the step-fella’ and headed to some technical trails to get put these new bad boys to the test.

I chose a section of trail near my house with lots of roots, short-n-steep ups-n-downs, plenty of muddy creek crossings, and some fun, fast sections to give the shoes as much varying terrain as possible. We’ve been pounded with rain lately in good ol’ Atlanta, so our trails are ‘G’ N A R L Y right now.

yeeee ah!

Light as a Feather

Wow, these shoes are light. It’s the first thing I noticed pulling them out of the box.

As you might know, the MT100s were created as a collaboration between Anton Krupicka and Kyle Skaggs, as a follow-up model to the New Balance 790.

At only 7.6 oz., the NB 790 is a minimalist trail shoe and one of my personal favorites for any type of trail race up to fifty miles.

The MT100s are every bit as light, if not lighter, than its predecessor; but, I still recommend that you buy up as many pairs of 790s as you can find.

Raise Your Hand If You Like a Little Tongue

Shoe tongue, that is.

If you’ve ever read Anton’s blog, you know that he tells stories of dissecting his shoes and cutting out the tongue foam to make the shoes lighter and fit his running style best. Along these same lines, the MT100s have the most unique tongue I ever experienced in a pair of running shoes.

It’s simply a piece of fabric.

No foam. No thickness at all. Just a piece of material.

Also, you’ll notice {photo above} that I had to tie the shoelaces in a knot because they weren’t long enough to tie in a bow. At first I was annoyed – now I like the idea of not having little “bows”.

Get a Grip with the MT100s

As much as I love’em, the 790s have some pretty weak tread; but not the MT100s.

It’s not the super gnarly, knobby tread that 800 and 840 shoe wearers have come to love, but it’s a very acceptable alternative to the mellow tread on the 790s.

The bottom of the shoe feels more solid and firm, bordering on hard, but out on the trails this felt sturdy and solid.

I don’t know all the fancy New Balance branded shoe jargon, but that orange that you see on the bottom of the mid-foot is a plate designed to protect the underfoot from rocks, roots and other technical trail obstacles. The 790 supposedly had the same thing, but I could never tell…

In these shoes, you can tell – and it’s much appreciated.

Because We All Need a Little Love and Support

Well, I dunno if New Balance loves me (although they should with all the shoes I buy and how much I evangelize the brand like a teeny-bopper does Hannah Montana) but the MT100s have definitely stepped it up a little in the support department.

Is this a good thing?

I don’t know.

I liked that the 790s were simply “cloth on top” and that’s pretty much it. The MT100s have some plastic supports on the outside front and back sides of the shoe, PLUS a very unique, light-but-stiff backing that I can only guess is designed to prevent friction while also adding a little stiffness in the heel. If you can think of a better reason, please lemme know in the comments section below this review.

And you’ll also notice that the material of the shoe is less cloth-like, and more like the quicker-drying mesh upper found in the 800 and 840 trail shoe models.

While the shoes feel rather stiff in your hands, once you put them on, they feel really light and comfortable.

General Observations During the Trail Run

I love ‘em.

From the first step, they felt like they were made for me.

As we ran down the first hill, I noticed that the shoes felt harder on the bottom, but that was actually a good thing. I felt less of the roots and jagged rocks. The “rockstop” plate thing actually works noticeably in this trail shoe model.

As we charge through the mud, I noticed how much grippy-er the MT100s handled the short, muddy climbs. No more energy-sucking, foot slipping.

Running through two streams soaked the shoes pretty well, but surprisingly, the uppers protected my socks and feet from getting completely soaked themselves; and at the end of the run, the shoes had almost all but dried out.

In fact, I’m sorta bummed because I didn’t want to sound like all those lame reviews I read all the time in Runner’s World or other various magazines, where it’s obvious the Marketing Department (or a guaranteed paycheck) had a heavy influence on the editor or freelance writer’s opinion.

Nobody’s paying me for this – I just dig running in the woods on sketchy trails, and finding shoes that make it that much more fun.

The MT100s fit that bill perfectly.

Light. Fast. Sturdy. Grippy.

The perfect minimalist trail shoe.

Get some!

{TinyURL link for this post: http://tinyurl.com/mt100BK}

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New Balance Product Manager Weighs In

Byran Gothie, New Balance Outdoor Project Manager, sent some great feedback regarding what went into the production of the new MT100BK.

We tried not to treat the 100 as a direct update to the 790 but instead a new shoe to our lightweight trail category. We did start with the 790 though to figure out how we could build a better shoe. In addition, we added ultra trail runners Anton Krupicka and Kyle Skaags to our Outdoor Ambassador Team around the time we started looking into an update. The first thing we did was look at shoes they ran in for high wear areas. The attached image shows how we built the outsole specifically around the high wear areas of an ultra runner’s efficient gait. The lateral mid/forefoot has been built up the most to provide support to the highest wear area. The midfoot/heel is actually ground contact so that there is a smooth transition or just a contact point. The heel has been designed specifically for braking, as we found that the only time they landed on their heels was when they needed some control going downhill. The heel and forefoot heights are the same as the 790, 18mm in the heel and 8mm in the forefoot.

Anton and Klye then came out to our sports testing lab in our Lawrence office where we ran them through a bunch of tests like force plates and motion capture. This helped to validate our theory and solidify our work on the midsole/outsole.

A big “Thank You” to Bryan and New Balance for sharing this helpful and interesting information.

- Christian