I have been a fan of New Balance for quite some time now and have owned numerous pairs.  I have owned three pairs of the 991/992 running shoe alone and loved them.  I chose these previous models in large part because they are made in the USA.  My family and I are looking forward to a vacation soon and in preperation I wanted to get a shoe that was more suitable for walking/hiking.  I immediately looked at what NB had to offer in this arena and decided on the 645. This is a comfortable shoe so far (I'll test it on the trails soon) and appears well made.  The one major drawback for me...it is not made in the USA.  Surprisingly, I didn't find any NB shoes that fit into the hiking/walking category that were.  Hopefully New Balance will offer more shoes that are made in America in the future.  I know I would definitely not mind paying a few more bucks for a shoe if it meant keeping more people here at home working.  NB, are you listening?