I have both these and the Merrell trail gloves. Size 12's and both in an orange color scheme. 12's are what I normally wear so I felt these NB's ran true to size. I picked both up on sale and the price paid was similar. In the hand, the NB's feel and look to me to be a bit better built. The soles on each are both Vibrams and probably equally well made, but I thought the NB upper was better made and fit nicer. I also have a pair of the NB 730's and the fit and finish on the MT10's is noticeably better.

The sole on the NB's seems to be a bit more flexible as well to me. Both are comfortable to wear and have nice wide toe boxes. On my foot the NB's fit better in the heel (a bit more snug) and I have had some blistering with the Merrells. Relatively low heel to toe drop of 4mm for the NB's which match the Kinvara 2's I also wear and is a drop I am comfortable with. Also very lightweight. When worn on trails and when running on your mid to forefoot, these work well. I am a 205 pound runner and prefer a bit more cushioning than these offer on hard surfaces. I can wear them on the treadmill but generally don't as the tread pattern is designed more for the uneven terrain of the outdoors.

Update: These developed a vertical crease in the inside center of the heel near the achilles. There is stiching that runs up from the bottom of the shoe centered in the heel. It stops at the midpoint, but in my shoes led to a crease above the stiching. I can only wear them with moleskin at this point. I did get a pair of the V2's and have noticed they changed the stitching in that area.