Even when I ran a great deal, it wasn't on trails. Now I confine my treks to leisurely strolls on city sidewalks. When I'm lucky enough to find sidewalks, especially ones in good repair. And for this I prefer trail running shoes, perhaps in lieu of paying higher taxes for substantial infrastructure improvements (just kidding...).

In previous years, I've purchased Columbia trail shoes, which proved to be very serviceable. When my last set wore out, the New Balance shoes proved to be the superior bargain (they cost me about $50 several months ago). The New Balance shoes have proved to be even better than the Columbia shoes. Here are some more observations, for whatever they're worth:

1. I use 11M. These shoes were sized exactly, and the fit was very comfortable.

2. The shoes have a fairly unobtrusive design with black-toned shades. The style works a bit better with darker jeans and chinos. They stand out a bit more with lighter sand and khaki tones--but they still blend in well. However, these shoes are definitely not a flashy style statement, just in case you're looking for that. If you want to wear them with a tux, you could probably get away with it. For 15 minutes, anyway.

3. The inner sole support is very good, with less padding around my toes. I prefer this, since I can feel the ground and push off better than with too much padding.

4. They don't look or feel like "old man" shoes. I suppose they even put some springiness into my step. If you're looking for shuffleboard shoes, there are probably better alternatives.

I'm pretty happy with these and will continue to buy this model if New Balance keeps its prices to the current level. I generally expect these shoes to hold up under 16 months of daily use, and I have every reason to think that's what I will get in this case.