Customer Reviews New Balance MW965

Good Walker - not so waterproof - I bought these shoes to walk my all-weather dog with. They were comfortable right out of the box (after I got the size and width right). One small gripe is that I experienced a small bit of water intrusion through the tongue seams when walking in moderate rain (not over the top of the shoe). Other than that these are very comfortable and appear to wear well.

Too hot for South Florida - I always buy New Balance for work and basketball. This shoe is comfortable and fits great. But...my feet get too hot in the Florida heat and I just started to wear them in January. Must be the waterproofing. I'll stick to the 747,748 or 749 in Florida and use these up north.

Nice Shoe - Wanted to find another 975, which by the way I cannot find any longer, so I bought these 965's. Very nice shoes, comfortable, and best of all, waterproof. I would definitely recommend them and sure wish they were offered in black.

Praise for Zappos - The shoes are fine (as noted by others, a little narrow, but ordered accordingly). The real star is Zappos: Ordered at 4:00 p.m. PDT, and they were in my hands by 11:00 the next morning. Other providers should take notes. I wonder if I happen to live next door to the warehouse?

Great walking shoe - I wanted a mild trail shoe, and something to kick around town in. While this doesn’t really have trail qualities, (don’t think it was meant to) it does a great job at support and comfort in walking.

Narrow Fit - This is much more narrow (both in the body and the toe box) than other NB shoes so fit and sizing were difficult (although Zappos was great about this). They tend to cut into your ankles a bit unless you adjust the lacing and they are hot compared to comparable shoes. On the other hand, they look great, have a nice insole and feel very sturdy.

Tricky fit - I usually wear 11.5, but when I received them they felt too small. Seeing that lots of folks found the size 1/2 size too small, I traded up for size 12 that felt like a good fit... at first. Unfortunately, once the padding around the heel and ankle compacted a bit after about 2 weeks, the shoes began to feel truer to size and half-size too large. My heel now feels like it slides around in back. Otherwise, I have no complaint with the shoe.

Support for Tender Forefoot Area - I bought this shoe for support and it works well. I may buy another pair. I would recommend it.

Nice shoe but didn't work for me - I love new balance shoes. Most fit me well but these just didn't work for me I have a wide foot and a very narrow heel. The heel of these shoes was not narrow enough for me. If you have an average foot these would be great.

A very nice shoe. It is not a true 9.5, but is a little short. For the way I am going to use the shoe, that is fine, but for sustained down hill, it would not do.

Toe heavy - I was a little disappointed with this shoe, since it feels very toe heavy and heavy over all for an anklet shoe. I realize that with durability comes weight, but I feel I have to pay attention to lifting the toe so it doesn't catch on the carpet.

Hate that short tongue! As another reviewer noted the shoe fits a bit too high under the ankle bone, which is giving me some mild discomfort on one foot only. Either I will break in or the shoe will conform to my ankle's size, I don't know which! WHY does NB insist on cutting the tongue so damned short?? Another 1/4 inch would provide so much greater instep comfort (yes, I have a HIGH instep). I wish that they made this in 12.5 because 13 is just a bit too big, causing the shoe to shift a bit in the heel. I will be keeping them, albeit with some reservations.

Looking good - My wife is amazed that these shoes look so good and are so comfortable. They broke in fast and give me the needed support (my work is in retail merchandising and I am on my feet 90% of the day (10+ hours). I almost gave them an overall rating of 5 but since I had a problem with my last pair of New Balance (eyelets broke off) after only 2 months I am reserving a little room for longevity. So far so good. Tom from New England

Love my new MW965's. These shoes are COMFORTABLE and good looking. My only complaint is: For my comfort I feel the top lacing hooks are too high, so I just do not use them. I have a big foot (14 EEEE) which is attached to a big ankle and it would be too uncomfortable with it laced all of the way up. They seem to offer tremendous support for my arch and have felt "broken-in" the first time I wore them. Looks good in shades of brown...dressy.

I think this shoe looks great and I was hoping to wear it for my commuting (4 mi round-trip). Unfortunately, it rubs the front left of my right ankle most uncomfortably, and I'm returning it. The shoe feels nice and stable, although it feels perhaps a bit firm in the heel for my plantar fasciitis. The tongue is ridiculously short.

Not the usual New Balance fit - I bought these shoes because a friend who is on his feet outdoors most days recommended them. Also, I've had good experiences with New Balance previously. They fit pretty well but aren't what I'm used to from New Balance. The EE width is a bit tighter than anticipated and I'm experiencing some heal lift which has never been an issue with other size 10.5 New Balance shoes. Overall, I'm satisfied and use the shoes for long winter walks and such... I like the look a lot in the men's version. My wife bought a pair and was disappointed they didn't look the same as mine.

Comfortable but not durable... I got these shoes just for long dog walks on a mix of asphalt and wooded trails. They do seem about a 1/2 size less wide as others indicate. They seemed to stretch to fit quite nicely though. The first thing I noticed is that they are not 100% waterproof, on rainy days my socks at the toe did feel a bit damp but they did not get soaked. I kept them because they were comfortable. After less then 2 months the material inside both heels wore out and started scratching holes in my socks and causing discomfort. I have seen this problem with Rockports before but never with NB sneakers which is why I purchased these. They are on their way back now due to the heel issue.

Too narrow - Great looking shoe and I'm sure I would have loved them, but I could tell they were too narrow as soon as I took them out of the box. I have another NB shoe and they are plenty wide enough. I ordered a 15 EEEE and they looked like a normal or even a narrow width. They instantly hurt my toes, I didn't have them on for more than 2 seconds. Don't mean to bash the shoes, just want people to be aware, in this size, they are NARROW!

Best fit - So far, this is the best fitting backpacking, waterproof, sneaker. It's not going to win any awards, but it's pretty comfy and durable.

Not a replacement for 964, I hope. Great LOOKING shoe! That’s where it ends for me. Thought I had found a gem after being a loyal 964 wearer. The shoe is supposedly built on the same AL-1 last as the 964 but it doesn’t fit the same. The arch feels lower & doesn’t give me enough support. Shoe feels slightly shorter. A 12-1/2 might fit me better but it doesn’t exist. (I still don’t understand that-and my shoe selection would quadruple if it did!).

Defective and no arch support - My first NB buy - disappointing. The tongue on the left shoe is shorter than the one on the right by about 1/4 of an inch. There is no arch support.

Not the New Balance I'm used to - These should be called Country Pinchers. There's virtually no padding underneath the grommet eyehooks, so the shoes rub the top of the foot. Nothing else in the design makes them particularly comfortable (i.e. support, shape, treads). I wear NB's at the gym and they're great. If I hadn't used these in wet, snowy weather, trying and hoping to wear them in a bit, I'd return them. Maybe I'll forward this review to New Balance.