new balance 609 shoes

[donj]

i found out that converse whistles have been discontinued and i have orderd the new balance 609 shoe as a replacement.

anyone purchased these shoes and if so, how do you like them? also, do they polish up well?

[ronny mulkey]

Never wore the Converse but I love the 608. I had tried the Nike Air Down Low before Christmas and my legs were hurting. Went back to the 608 and things have been fine since.

Mulk

[cmathews]

converse is re issuing the shiny version again...check out theofficialschoice.com

[nine01c]

I ordered the New Balance 609 before the season began. From day one, they have been the most comfortable ref shoe
I have used. NO BREAK-IN phase was needed at all. No blisters, no chaffing of my ankles, etc. They are superior (for me) to the Converse Running Ref and Whistle models I have used in the past.

[Grail]

Originally posted by nine01c
I ordered the New Balance 609 before the season began. From day one, they have been the most comfortable ref shoe
I have used. NO BREAK-IN phase was needed at all. No blisters, no chaffing of my ankles, etc. They are superior (for me) to the Converse Running Ref and Whistle models I have used in the past.

I have to agree. I switched in mid season and my legs feel 100% better than they did in the beginning of the season with my Converse Whistles.

[chayce]

I have worn both the 608 and the 609 and like the 608 much better for cushioning. It is a discontinued model but can still be found on the internet. I occassionally get shin splints with the 609's. In both, I wear SofSole AIR insoles which are fantastic! I also bought a pair of Nike Air Max's this year but they do not take Leather Lustre very well and have quite a bit of white that has to be covered up. The 609's look great with Leather Lustre and the 608's don't hold it quite as well. I am always shopping for the perfect pair but haven't found them yet.

[Luv4Asian8]

Great Shoes!! and since i have shin splints, these shoes were very accomodating to the Dr Scholl Dynastep Sport inserts, haven't had any leg/back problems since!!

[DownTownTonyBrown]

I like mine quite well. They have good cushion and shine up well.

Surprisingly the are a little more narrow than I thought they would be. NewBalance is known for their wide shoes but my 609s have a relatively narrow look. They accomodate my wide foot quite well but they do have a narrow appearance.

[Larks]

Originally posted by donj
i found out that converse whistles have been discontinued and i have orderd the new balance 609 shoe as a replacement.

anyone purchased these shoes and if so, how do you like them? also, do they polish up well?

Best shoe I have had in my short career. I kind of thought the whistles soles didnt last very long.

With the 609's, if you get a shine on them right away, yes, they shine up very well.

I'm starting to see NIKEs out there but with a silver swoosh and some silver along the bottoms. Is it cool now to have a little color on the shoe besides black?

Larks

[devdog69]

I also love them. Getting ready to buy my second pair though the first ones are holding up after a season and a half of hard wear.

[nine01c]

Originally posted by donj

I'm starting to see NIKEs out there but with a silver swoosh and some silver along the bottoms. Is it cool now to have a little color on the shoe besides black?

It might be cool, but not allowed in my association, nor any others in the state (that I know of). All HS and college officials here use black only.

[Back In The Saddle]

I've been wearing the 609s for a season now and love them. I just got some Spenco inserts for them (after the recommendations from others here) and they're great too. The 609 takes a shine nicely and the EEEE width fits me well. My only issue with them is that the little panels near the toe box have torn out. Since I have not heard of that happening to anybody else, I'm assuming I just got a slightly wonky pair. But a little bit of shapie covered it just fine. I'm waiting until the season ends to buy another pair for next year.

[blindzebra]

I found some Adidas a3 leather cross trainers that are by far the best shoe I've ever worn.They have 3/4 of an inch of foam padding and shock absorbing on the heal.They shine up great,but they do have a lot of grey on them that needs to be touched up every 3-4 games.The best part is I got them on sale for 2 for $89.00!

[dblref]

Originally posted by nine01c

It might be cool, but not allowed in my association, nor any others in the state (that I know of). All HS and college officials here use black only.

Used to sort of be that way in my association. If 1 wore black, then all wore black. Same with white star/swoosh. For the past couple of years, I have noticed a lot of "different" shoes. Nike fits me better, but a lot of the guys use NB. Tried them on a couple of times, but could not find size. They seemed to come either "D" or "EEEE", but no "EE". Called NB (about 2 different types) and they said they didn't make them in "EE". So, it's either wide or super-wide.

[donj]

Received and wore the NB 609's tonight for the first time doing a JV/Var boy's game and have to say that the shoes felt great. Both teams played up-tempo ball. Lot better feel and more cushion than the converse whistles. Put regulare block polish on them and they shined up pretty nice. So far I have to say they were a good investment.