Nope. You'll have to wait until I'm at my desk. Can't find the poll on my iphone. And I've been waiting patiently for this poll!! But, gotta say, my NB shoes are discontinued so I've moved to Altra but they are sooooo squishy. I've been following this thread.

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

I have a pair of casual Lem's, and the toe box is crazy wide. I think Joe Nimble is the same (I have a local shop that specializes in minimal footwear). Many Joe Nimble also come with a 4 mm removable insole for some extra cushioning. But I have no idea how they compare to the NB.

In the post below I am inserting images of each model I am referring to just in case there is any confusion (more work, but post become more precise)

Wow....all those shoes you described it's 100% in line with my experience....I wish the MR00 was still around. The Minimus trail just is not as good for all the reasons you mentioned:



. I have a set of Merrell Bare Access and agree 100% that the arch is a bit too high. I like a low arch shoe



The Minimus Trainer I THINK will meet your criteria.



It works for me, but I don't like the funky neoprene tongue that is one sided, but I can live with it. I wish the Freshfoam Vazee2 was zero drop

I also got an email today from New Balance Canada about this Minimus Trainer option which they claim is the "most runnable yet". It seems to show a normal tongue which was my issue with the last version which put a bit of pressure on the top of my left arch:



I may order a pair of these to try them out.

On the Altra front, the One has a high arch. The Instinct, I can't really describe what is "wrong" with it, but maybe part of it is its heaviness. It is still a good shoe, it just feel like you are running with some mushy pads on. Maybe given your scenario, I'd say it's like riding a fixed gear bike but with 45 psi in 28 mm tires....your connection to the pedals is firm but your connection to the ground feels a bit 'dead'. Likewise the connection to the zero drop sole is good, but the sole to the ground feel kind of "flat"

How do we make this happen??? Anyone from NB ever come to the forum....or a zero drop Freshfoam Vazee with a tad wider toe box will get us close enough and that might be a "higher market volume shoe" making it sustainable.

I saw that same email from NB. I'll try them on when Running Warehouse gets them in stock. I liked the road version of the minimus. The trail version is ok and I've stuck with them. The little round tread things on the bottom also fall off too easy. Then there is a hole.


P.S. Ignore my fat ugly ankle. I turned it playing basketball. It just needs a few days to get better and it will look like an ankle again. Yuck. I'm not good at foot selfies.

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

Found these on Amazon. They have great reviews, are ridiculously cheap, and seem to frequently get compared to the MR00. Unfortunately it looks like there are only a few sizes available but maybe they'll stock more. Couldn't find them available anywhere else.

I don't know if anyone from NB comes on the forum but let's start by all emailing their customer service and asking for them to bring it back. It can't hurt for them to hear it from multiple people.

I just tried to order the size 10.5 Tesla's but they (Amazon.com) won't ship to Canuckistan from Trumpistan.

I had a pair of Bare Access and I got plantar fasciitis within a few runs from the high arch support.

For the record, I have a pair of Minimus trainers (the slightly older version of the ones you pictured in this post) and I don't find them conducive to running. They are clearly designed for crosstraining, lifting, etc. I saw the ones in your later post and they look better, but still way more structured than the MR00.

I they tried again with the Vongo (the FF "stability version" of the Zante) - no one bought that either...

I must have missed this poll, but I'm surprised not to see anyone in the 1400. I'm on my 4th pair and have raced sprint to Ironman in them. Forefoot cushion is a little light when it comes to longer distances but it's been a good shoe for me, with no injuries /shin splints since switching from more padded models line the 990.

If only they would come out with some subdued color options so I could bring only one pair of tennis shoes on vacation and not stand out with bright colors that don't match my casual cloths.

The mx40 (newer training shoe) does seem to mix in a bit of foam with the rubber, but it also looks significantly more substantial and potentially a LOT heavier (11oz according to Zappos). The MR00 was a bit of a minimalist unicorn: not just a sheet of rubber on the sole so it has a soft feel, a wide option so even those of us with flipper feet could still spread our toes, a light weight, and a low stack. I'll be writing to NB to ask if they would bring it back... in the meantime, I'll be trying on a bunch of shoes and hoping for a good replacement option.

Well, just got a pair of new balance mx20v5 to try out as a replacement for the mr00... they are going back immediately. They are very stiff and structured, probably perfect for weight lifting, but truly not what I wanted for running. Back to the search for my unicorn shoes.

Well, I think I found a good replacement (although it is still too soon to tell). The Topo ST-2, with the insoles removed. The toe-box fits nice and wide, like a 2e. It is 0 drop. There is no weird arch support like a Merrell. With no insole, the stack height is 11mm which is mostly foam and just a bit of rubber on the sole where you contact the ground, almost exactly like the New Balance MR00. The upper is light and seamless.

My only problem was that the shoe came with a torn lace eyelet, so I have to get a different pair. Since they don't appear to be designed to be run without the 5mm insole (exposed stitching on the footbed), I'll probably try to glue in a piece of fabric or use a super-thin insole similar to what you get in SIDI cycling shoes.

In my searching (ordering from Amazaon), the only other pair that seemed to match up to the feel of the MR00 was the Vibram FiveFinger V-run. If it wasn't a toe shoe, I'd love it. That being said, I'll probably keep it as an occasional running shoe to rotate through and see if it works out. I will probably limit its use to early morning runs, or runs where I'm unlikely to see other human beings, purely out of the shame of wearing a toe shoe.

I finally got a run in my Topo ST2 with the insole removed, and I think they work as a great replacement for the MR00. I wrote more about them on another thread here:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=6265932#p6265932

Mine just shipped out of Taiwan today, but Amazon says delivery 24 April!!!! So I am waiting now!!!

I was in the same exact place on the 890's. Been running on the Vazee Pace and love them, FWIW.

I'm not exactly sure how I missed this news, but it's definitely something I'll be looking forward to. By popular demand, it seems they're bringing back the 890!

http://blog.runningwarehouse.com/...e-890-v6-first-look/

Hopefully they haven't made too many changes.

Sorry to disappoint, but the 890 is coming back on a completely new last (same as the Vazee Pace versus on the previous 8 mm offset one). It's also a bunch heavier.

That said, it should have a unique ride characteristic within the current line-up, which should be good for sales. They killed it because they made the 880 too good!

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I figured I'd bump this thread rather than starting a new one, as there's a lot of collective NB wisdom captured here.

I'm a recent convert to the NB FF1080 from the Asics Kayano's that I've been running in for the last couple of decades. So far, I'm liking the 1080 a lot as a training shoe. Those of you that are training in the FF1080... what are you racing in? I'm looking for something with the same "feel" (drop, cushioning) as the 1080, but somewhat lighter. The NB naming is thoroughly confusing to me, and I can't make any sense of their website to understand what other shoes might be in the same family as the 1080.

I've been training in the FF1080 and racing in the FF Zante. The Zante has slightly less cushioning and 2mm less drop, but overall has a similar feel.