MT10

What a great shoe. The feel is form-fitting which is what you want with a true "barefoot" running shoe. Coupled with the long lasting durability in dry, or wet conditions and grip of the Vibram outsole makes it superior to the rest of the pack. I own the Vibram Fivefinger Komodosport, Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove, and the Terra Plana Vivobarefoot Evo's. These three are considered the best barefoot shoes, but all their best features combined are incorporated into the new, New Balance MT10 Minimus Trail shoe which makes this shoe truly the best. The stability of the Minimus is uncompromised and unrivaled. This helps with posture, lessens the chance of injury, and helps you build a more natural feel to running/walking.

I bought these shoes the day they became available. I have been running for 39 yrs and have had plenty of opportunity to try a huge number of models across many brands and this shoe stands above them all. The motto on the insole, Less is More is so appropriate for today's thinking in the running shoe industry. I currently have 13 active pairs of running shoes, 6 pairs are traditional 12 OZ trail and road shoes the other 7 pairs are "minimalist" shoes weighing 7 OZ or less. I know what to expect from a minimalist shoe and I feel New Balance came in right on with the Minimus Trail shoe. Some will prefer not to have the 4mm heel to toe differential but when on the trail, this is a non issue. The trail is uneven and it is almost impossible to detect the differential. I'm sure NB's thinking was to have it to protect the Achilles and calf muscle from a potential misstep. The strap over the forefoot works fantastically. It helps keep the foot in place in a virtually non supportive shoe. In general the shoe has a great fit and is amazingly comfortable. The small amount of cushioning is welcome on rugged trails and very long runs. Finally the outer sole works great and is very grippy on natural surfaces. I couldn't be happier with this shoe.

New Balance's approach to minimalistic shoes is right on target. The new MT10s feel like small Care Bears hugging my toes with their souls protecting the bottom of my feet while I run.

Working in a speciality running store I am very critical of all minimalist shoes. So i was looking and hoping for this to fail when I field tested it this week. I am still in awe of how well it performed. I did some speed workouts on it, took it on a long run and even did a 3 miler on it in the pouring rain. This shoe will have no problem flying off the shelves and it is also very sharp looking. I look foreword to seeing how it last in the next few weeks especially with odor since it can be worn with or without socks. I will keep you posted. I will not be surprised if this shoe is in the top 5 to 7 of the bestsellers at the store.

So far this is the lightest shoe that I have ran with. Feel likes a track spike without the spikes. Has a great feel to it. For this being a trail shoe, it runs well on road surface, and does well as a workout shoe(weight-lifting, Plyos, etc) The shoe does not have great traction on smooth surfaces say tile floors if your walking around in the shoe, but its not something I would rate the shoe on. As I said its feels like a track shoe, so there really isnt a cushie sole on the inside nor ankle support. Very stylish and have already had comments on how great the shoe looks. So far I would recommend this shoe to any serious runner whether trail or road.