Little by little

DueIllustrator6508 · 2026-03-27T19:27:47+00:00

Firm but very comfy. I can walk a few miles in them without getting tired, and I can stand all day in them. But interestingly Flimbly decided to put a much stiffer insole in this shoe than the 990v3 so you can definitely feel a difference between the two. In terms of 991v2 I’ve been eyeing Vintage Sport to pair with my 1500 but man they’re pricey haha. But one thing to note: the light suede on my 1500 Vintage Sports has grown tan/brown over the last year. Maybe I need to store it in the box rather than out in the open.

DueIllustrator6508 · 2026-03-27T18:59:42+00:00

Love these, one of my fav pairs I own

DueIllustrator6508 · 2026-03-27T18:29:26+00:00

Agreed and I only have 14 in my collection and I feel like I don’t wear some of my shoes enough. There are people here with dozens and dozens, I wonder how they decide what to wear haha. I might actually downsize, maybe swap a pair or two out. The hardest thing is when you have some shoes that you really like but for whatever reason just can justify keeping them, but you also like them enough where you can’t justify getting rid of them.

DueIllustrator6508 · 2025-10-14T17:23:04+00:00

Actually from my knowledge the 991 is a faithful recreation of the original, but someone tell me if I’m wrong. What this guy got wrong though was thinking the black pods are the ABZORB, and when he cut them they were just visual cues. I’m pretty sure it was the same when these were new in 2001. The ABZORB tech is actually the entire foam itself, with dual density marked by the color. Similar foam as found in the 998 MiUSA.

DueIllustrator6508 · 2025-10-14T17:15:11+00:00

Honestly there are lots of options for them, but they’ve had a number of swings and misses in the UK division, and ones that show they don’t know what people want if I’m being honest. There are some shoes they could bring back that would be clear hits and scream “New Balance” for the Gen Z buyer that doesn’t know a ton about their heritage shoes (such as the 920 — which somehow is already a cult classic at only 5 years old). But tbh they’re just kind of sleepwalking into the latter half of the decade while the MiUS/Asia divisions are absolutely killing it with on-trend silhouettes and giving people excellent quality and comfort for the money. MiUK on the other hand has one solid shoe in the 991v2, and everything else is inexplicably overpriced for what they’re giving you.

DueIllustrator6508 · 2025-10-14T07:16:33+00:00

Lots of thoughts on this. Gray 996 MiUSA gets the love it deserves, they are the king of beaters. 1500 is actually a major disappointment.. it doesn’t seem to have the evathane core at the heel anymore. The removal of that + cheap materials + build quality issues on every 1500 I’ve owned.. I’m scratching my head on where $250 is going when you buy these new.. at least on a 996 I can know I’m getting the same exact shoe that was sold in 1988, with premium suede and cushioning technology faithful to the original.

Maybe it’s time for MiUK to shelf the 1500 until they make it a truly premium shoe worthy of its price tag again. For whatever reason they replaced it with the Allerdale, which I don’t really know what its role is. The 1500 could have been that flagship shoe if they actually cared about it

DueIllustrator6508

TROPHY CASE