I have owned many pairs of NB running shoes over the years and have mixed feelings about them. Their lightweight neutral road shoes can be excellent, but my one pair of trail running shoes has left me less convinced that they know what they are doing in this area.
For those of you that haven't tried to navigate the nightmare of numerical shoe models in the NB range, they tend to have a series number and then the edition is the last digit. So the 1520 is the first in a new line (152x). My NB trail shoes are 872s I think - the 87x series being a lightweight trail shoe that is sufficiently cushioned to cope with a bit of road use. But the outsole composite isn't very sticky, the lugs aren't deep enough for real mud and the 'stability web' on this version is covered in a nasty plastic that slides like ice on any surface it comes into contact with. Still; the absorb works... the Nlock lacing is very good and they are well built.
NB have been making walking shoes for (mainly US) fitness walking market for ages. And their entry-level 60x series is one of the most popular general outdoor leisure trainers in North America. I'm not sure what the tweaks are that they have introduced for this hill walking range... but I fear that they aren't in their strongest territory...
The 87x series have improved since the model I bought, but I'd still consider them a good TRAIL shoe rather than a true off-road shoe. Still, I've had several hundred km out of them and they show little sign of wear so I'll give them credit for knowing how to build a shoe.
Now the 83x series (carried over from the 82x series)... there's a shoe I'll continue to buy... or at least I would be if the fools hadn't cancelled the line at 834 !!!
The 87x series have improved since the model I bought, but I'd still consider them a good TRAIL shoe rather than a true off-road shoe. Still, I've had several hundred km out of them and they show little sign of wear so I'll give them credit for knowing how to build a shoe.
Now the 83x series (carried over from the 82x series)... there's a shoe I'll continue to buy... or at least I would be if the fools hadn't cancelled the line at 834 !!!
but I haven't seen this shoe anywhere... so I guess it has finally come to an end.
One good thing about NB is that they tell you which last they use for each model of shoe. So if you find one that fits you can translate this over to other shoes in their various ranges. Not 100% perfectly, mind, but a great help to the prospective buyer.
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