New Balance Men's MC996 Lightweight Tennis Shoe

I have never had a pair of New Balance shoes and thought I would give these FuelCell Propel v4 a chance. They have the same FuelCell foam as New Balance’s Supercomp race lineup, but have a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) plate in them rather than the Energy Arc carbon fiber one like the race shoes. They also don’t have the steep price like a race shoe which was attractive! I ordered them in my normal size of 10.5 2E US and they feel nice and roomy in the toe box. The upper looks nice and airy based on my basic light testing. The midsole foam had an average of 25 HA from my Shore A Durometer over 6 datapoints and the outsole averaged 55 HA over 6 datapoints. The toe box measured 100.2 mm at the widest point and 78.8 mm at the big toe area. The heel upper measured 79 mm at the heel cup. The midsole forefoot measured 119 mm at the widest point and the heel at 96.1 mm. My normal daily training shoes are the ultra plush cushioned Hoka Bondi 8 which has an average 34 HA on my Shore A Durometer in the midsole foam. The foam just agrees with my feet and legs unlike some others. The shoes at 10.5 2E US weighed in at 307 and 311 grams each which is about 35 grams less than my Bondi 8’s! The one thing I noticed was an irregularity in the logo on the upper. I jumped on the treadmill for a quick minute to see how the Propel felt and there wasn’t anything I could feel that concerned me, so I headed outside to get a 5k jog in. I’m not a fast runner and really only started jogging last summer. I was surprised to look down at my watch to see that I was at just over 4 minutes at the first half mile. I ended up backing down and recorded a 10:02 first mile. The New Balance FuelCell foam has a great feel! It feels a lot like the foam in my Bondi 8’s. I can’t say that I feel much feedback from the TPU plate like I feel from the carbon fiber plate in my Puma Deviate Nitro first gen shoes. That said, it makes the Supercomp Trainer v2 with more cushioning and the Energy Arc carbon fiber plate even more interesting as a next shoe possibility since they are about 35 grams less than the Propel v4. 6-18-24 update: I am more impressed with these shoes more than a month in and about 75 miles on them. You can see how the outsole is showing very little wear on the Propel v4 against my go to Hoka Bondi 8’s in the latest pictures. The Hoka’s have just about 12 miles more on them than the New Balance. 8-4-24 update: I have two minor knocks against them. One is a knock on all white shoes and that is they are hard to keep clean. The second is that I’m starting to see some wear from my big toe in the right foot toe box as you can see in my latest picture.

I bought them as my first running shoes and have worked great. I think they fit bigger than casual new balances shoes, so I’d recommend going a size down. Very reactive, comfortable and wide in the toe box.

I was struggling to find a decent pair of Kource shoes I can use to play pickle ball. My struggle was in that I wanted a comfortable pair that had a wide toolbox and was easy to put on and takeoff and was reasonably durable and wouldn’t wear down after only a couple weeks. I’m a casual player about 1 to 2 sessions per week. I play mostly on hard services outdoors, but also on gymnasium floors in the cold months these shoes have surpassed my expectations. They’re incredibly comfortable very easy to slip off. They provide great balance and stability and there’s plenty of room in the tow box for my big wide feet to spread out in and not feel crammed. I’ve had them for about eight months and the souls have worn down at this point, which is pretty good. I didn’t expect them to last more than six months. I think I can get another four months out of them unless my place give me increases. I’ll be looking to replace them with the same pair this spring.

I love New Balance shoes because I have wide feet and NB graciously makes almost all of their shoes in a wide version. But they also make excellent shoes, and that goes pretty much for every NB shoe I've worn. When I find a NB version I like, I usually buy several pairs and use them for a couple of years. I think I've gone through six pairs of 442 TF shoes for soccer. As for running shoes, I'm not much of a real runner, but I do it to keep in shape. I got the NB FuelCell Propel v4 to replace a pair of 890s. The 890's were fantastic--so light that it felt like I wasn't wearing anything. I also really liked how the uppers fit like a sock. The FuelCell Propel V4, even though it's a version behind now, is a more modern running shoe with more modern cushioning. Yeah, we've gone from the sort of minimalist phase to running on marshmallows. But I'll tell you what, the Propel's feel pretty damn amazing when you put them on. The cushioning is amazing, like you're walking on clouds. But not just regular clouds; very springy clouds. That's where the FuelCell technology comes in with the TPU inserts in this shoe. I have to tell you, the energy return is pretty fantastic. The first time I put these guys on, I felt like I had to learn how to walk again--boing, boing, boing! I've probably put 30 miles on them now--treadmill, pavement, trail--and they run great on all surfaces. Super stable, super comfortable, and I love them. So why only four stars? Two reasons. First, there is no gusseted tongue. Okay, this isn't a major thing and I haven't had any issues with the tongue coming out of place on either shoe. But I really loved the feeling of the 890s with their gusseted tongue. The uppers just made it felt like the shoe was a part of my foot. NB really missed the mark by leaving this feature out. Second, these shoes are just a little bit on the heavier side. I'm not a marathon runner so it doesn't really bother me, and it's not like I'm thinking about it while I'm running. I'm just pointing it out. Really, I'd give these shoes 4.5 stars. If they had the gusseted tongue, they'd be a 5 stars all the way.

I’ve been through many running shoes and have either tolerated previous pairs or thought they were decent at best. My buddy recommended New Balance to me so I gave these a go. Needless to say I’m never going back to another brand for running shoes. They’re well built, have great cushioning, large souls, and fit my feet nearly perfectly. The second I put them on they felt comfortable, and when I ran I felt like I had springs assisting my run. Immediately hit a PR, and now 3 months later, I ran my first half marathon. GOATED shoes and I’ll definitely try their other models once these begin to age. Note that these do seem to run slightly smaller than other shoes I’ve tried. I ended up getting half an inch smaller than my usual fit, but that could very for each person.

These only lasted about 6 months and new balance won’t honor their warranty. The inner soles and lining of the shoe have ripped and show moderate worn for just 6 months use. Worn out a lot faster than other tennis shoes. I will definitely be switching to a different brand after this

Love these shoes. For context, I average about 90 miles a month running. Prior to these shoes my rotation was: Hoka Mach X (124.8 miles), New Balance Rebel v3 (133.7 miles), and Adidas Duramo Speed (91.6 miles). Depending on what I am doing that day, I rotate accordingly. Wasn't really in the market for a new pair of shoes, but I couldn't pass up the deal on these. I am not a fast runner by any means. 51M, PB 5k 28:49, 10K 58:47, 15K 1:31:02, Half 2:19:05. Now down to the review. The upper is great. It is a knit type material and really soft. The shoe fits snug without being uncomfortable. The laces lock in really well and the shoe fits TTS. The foam is exactly what I expected from fuel cell. Having the rebel v3, I knew I was going to have a comfortable ride, but I was a little worried about feeling the plate. And while I did notice the plate, it was not a bother. I had planned on just knocking out a comfortable 6 miles when I laced them up, but found myself running closer to race pace than I had intended without putting in any more exertion than I did the day before for almost the same run. I have read the reviews talking about this shoe being a little heavy, but truly I did not notice that. It is supposed to be 0.2 oz heavier than the Mach X, but on my foot it feels lighter than the Mach X. I plan on slotting this one in as a race day shoe and alternating with the Mach X for longer 80% runs. Overall, this is a great shoe that I would highly recommend.

I use the shoes for walking, it's my second pair so clearly I like the performance of them. My only drawback comment and why I gave it three stars is for this price I would have expected the shoes to being good shape for longer than four or five months. At the 6-month mark they were showing visible wear in the shoe itself (upper), the tread was normal wear but the shoe just started giving out. The second pair that it's happened to. I typically walk about 12 to 15 miles a week. So perhaps 250 to 300 Mi over that length of time. The average should be 350 to 500 miles.

Son como se describen, muy buena sensación de transición, obsorcion de impacto,

Finally found a pair thats comfy, light and fits well! Definitely recommend

Top Schuh.

Tênis com ótimo custo benefício. Confortável e estiloso, aparenta ser durável e de qualidade. Corri 8km com ele e amorteceu bem. Como no momento não estou correndo acima de 10km não tenho como eu saber se é bom para maiores distâncias. Estou satisfeito com o produto. Entrega foi no dia seguinte a data da compra e valor excelente, comprei 1 número a mais do que calço e ficou bom.

Muy bien diseño, el color es el mismo que se ve en la foto, cómodos y muy bonitos. A mi hijo le encantaron