Customer Reviews New Balance WR840

I researched these shoes on many websites and I am not alone with disappointment. Why oh why do they make changes when the shoes are highly rated. The shoes are narrow and short. My feet are killing me. I wore the 882 and 883 with no problem and now I have come to a brick wall. I tried a wider with in a store and they come off the back of my foot. I measured these shoes against the 883 and there is ¾" difference across the top and enough of a difference in the length to really hurt a person who needed this shoe in a large toe box. I am disgusted, really I am. There is nothing else to fit me. The guys in the New Balance store said I was right, they make the shoes over to redo them just for that reason and they do not take into consideration just how much the old shoes meant to so many of us. I now have no shoes to wear that fit my orthodic and my poor foot. Thanks a lot, New Balance foolish manufacturers! I have to send two pairs back.

I have size 9 wide feet that complain a lot, bunions, 2 Mortons Neuroma surgeries, broken 5th metatarsal bone, etc. I have worn this model New Balance shoe, because of its wide toe box, for many years and it remains the most comfortable shoe, for me, allowing me to take long walks in comfort with no aching feet after the walk.

I was trying to replace my wonderful 883s, and the 840s were recommended. I have a high arch and instep, and prefer the SL2 last, with its roomy toe-box. The 840s are good, and conform to the aforementioned requirements, but they lack the cushioned ride of the earlier version. I kept them, and I run my regular 3 to 4 miles in comfort, but they do not quite live up to their predecessors.

I needed to replace my 882s, which I loved, and this is the newer version. I'm not sure why, but they aren't as comfortable and I'm having a hard time breaking them in. Never had this problem with New Balance before. It's mainly the top of the shoe. The tongue is hurting the top of my foot and I can't seem to get the laces adjusted properly. I have to make them really loose and then my heel slips. I think they lined the tongue with a different, thicker fabric, which might be part of the problem. This is the only shoe that accommodates my orthotics and I've worn versions of it for years, but may have to search for something different.

After ordering 4/5 pairs of running or cross trainers in a double wide, finally I found these! They are so light and comfortable and accomidate by bunions! Can't wait to try them at Zumba Class.

Excellent fit with my 3/4 orthotic. I usually wear a 9N but need a 9 1/2 Med. to accommodate the orthotic.

I bought these for running and they have worked out great. They are very supportive and I think they look good as well.

I have terrible feet- dropped metatarsal, neuromas and falling arches. Shoes will feel good the first 45 minutes, and then the pain and numbness starts, but these shoes were very comfortable and cushioning under the ball of my foot. I was able to take my dogs on a fairly long walk on pavement/sidewalks with them. They weren't a cure all, but they were more comfortable and serviceable than others I have tried.

I love this shoe! It is probably the most comfortable sneaker I have ever purchased. There was no break-in-period. Total comfort from walking around campus to the gym 3X a week. I have a very wide foot and an 8.5 EE is perfection. I usually wear an 8 but the 8 was a little to snug to accommodate a well cushioned sock and swollen feet at the end of the day. Comfort and style come together to make this a great purchase!

I can always count on Zappos to have my size and width. And with free shipping both ways, it's a win for everybody.

I love these shoes. The size was true, I'm a size 9 and need extra room for the toes. Yet the heel fit just great. Wonderful support and comfort.

I had to buy this from a different place because I waited a while and Zappos did not get my size. The shoe is running narrow now and hurt my foot from the outside bone to to the front. New design more tapered toe than the old one. Affects fit. Some say getting extra wide helps. The trim in front may hit your bone wrong and hurt. Do not ignore it...it won't get better!

I had worn the WR883 for a little over 2 years now (2 pairs) and they were life changing for me. I am an athlete who happens to have extra wide, high arched supinating feet from having been born with club feet that were surgically repaired in infancy. Before the 883 I ran only when I had to as training for rugby; it always hurt my ankles and feet both during and especially after a run - even to the point of a stress fracture once and tendinitis multiple times. When I found the 883, suddenly my feet felt like what I'd imagine normal people feel like when they run...and I started running 3-6 days a week, lost 50 lbs of baby weight, entered multiple mud runs and local races, and am now in some of the best overall shape of my life. And so of course the 883 gets discontinued. It was time to retire my current pair of 883s, so I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of 840s. I read the (overwhelmingly negative) reviews, and got a 7.5 EE instead of the 7.5 D I'd worn in the 883. And the width is indeed fine (the same, if not a hair narrower, than the D was - strange right?). But the whole rest of the fit and feel is totally different from the 883. The instep/toe box is nowhere near as deep, and the shape is more uniformly wide from toe to heel, where it used to be decidedly wide and deep at the ball of the foot and much narrower at the heel - that is the whole point of the SL-2 last isn't it? In short, it feels like my foot is riding on top of a thick flat sole rather than having the depth of fit where is used to feel more like riding "in" a molded, concave, thick sole. And as I've now done 4-5 runs in them, my right foot (which tends to supinate far more than the left) is rolling out more and more as I run, with all the pressure on the outer edge of my foot - never a problem with the 883. In short, this is not the same SL-2 last as the 883. I know that NB customer service says it is. But it's just not, and clearly, I am not alone in this assessment. My options are of course limited - I have an extra wide forefoot with super high insteps and need a cushioning shoe - there just isn't a lot out there. So I'm trying to make the 840 work for me - may add a tilted insert to keep my foot from rolling out so much. I've looked into other brands also, and will continue to do so...unfortunately, not many others have the extra wide widths that NB does. But if NB brings back the 883 and I will buy a lifetime supply.

This shoe is great. It fits my orthotics well with a nice flat sole that is wide enough at the arch for the orthotic to fit. And best, it doesn't look orthopedic like the shoes in the dr's office.

Great, attractive, comfy shoes for walking or exercising. The double EE wide shoes don't look wide but are very roomy and plenty of space for orthotic inserts if needed. I'll look for them again when I need another pair!

After trying numerous 840's to replace my woman's 883 13D I have finally figured out that the 840 runs CONSIDERABLY shorter and narrower than the 883. How can you say that the woman's 13 is a 13 when it is really a 12? I have had to go to a man's 12EE and it fits exactly as the 883 size 13D in woman's! I measured length of sole in 840 woman's 13D and it measures exactly like the 883 size 12. Too bad New Balance just doesn't raise the price a little and keep sizes true instead of cutting them too short and too narrow! Also, the 840 is not cushioned as much as the 883.

I wore the 883's for several years and they were perfect for my feet, one of which is a problem. I replaced it with the updated model the 840 and it is very disappointing and I am sending two pairs back. The 883's in a N 10.5 fit perfectly...the "improved" version doesn't fit even in an 11. Can someone tell the New Balance manufacturers to bring back the 883?

I have been wearing the New Balance 840's (and its predecessors) in a size 9 wide for several years (gave them a glowing report last year) and have been very satisfied with the fit until now. Not only does the new pair feel a half size too small, but the tongue is bulkier on the inside, puts pressure on the top arch side of my foot causing extreme pain and I can not get the laces adjusted right. I can not wear them for more than 30 minutes and since it took wearing them to find this out, I am now stuck with them. They were US made too which was my conscious choice so it is doubly disappointing.

I tried the 840 hoping to use it to replace my 1123's (the 1540 shoe was not my cup of tea). I had to order half a size larger than I wear in other New Balance shoes. I was disappointed that although the shoe length was fine, there is something in the design or construction that you can feel hitting your toes with each step you take. I thought I just missed removing some of the packing material, but what I was feeling rubbing against my toes was actually part of the inside of the shoe. The seams and stitching inside take up at least ¼" of the toebox and no matter how much I tried to flatten it so it would not rub, it still irritated my toes with each step. I cannot comment on the support as I could not wear them for more than a few minutes before I had to take them off. Even with my thickest socks on, there was no way to wear these shoes given how the toebox is stitched on the inside.

Great shoe for wide feet; very comfortable with a roomy toe box. SL-2 last is perfect for my 7 1/2 W feet. Would be nice to have some other colors.

This is a great shoe, but I ended up needing the next half size up. Otherwise it was perfect for an underpronator like me! The toes box is deep enough that I can fit my orthotic into it very nicely.

I have worn many of these - but they only last about 4-5 months then my feet start to ache. I walk 2-5 miles, 3-4 times a week. I have wide feet and very high arches. Nice wide toebox and they fit my orthotics. As another reviewer, I have a problem with the top of my foot - at the end of the day it can be red and burning. Overall, it is still the only shoe I can wear without heel, arch & plantar fasciitis pain. So I will buy them again! I wear with NB Supportive cushioning insoles - only insole I have found with a very high arch and great heel cup.

I was looking for a replacement for my all time favorite NB WR880's. My feet are tender and I wear orthotics. The WR840 has come as close as I can find to a replacement and I am very pleased.

I have been running for many years now and have done everything from a 5k to marathons, yet I have always struggled to find the right shoe. I've been fitted at running stores and have always had a neutral stride, but very high arches and a wide forefoot. Typically the folks at the running stores just put me into men's shoes but I still got blisters between my last two toes because the toe box was still too snug. But after a lot of online research I learned that new balance run true to size and offer extra wide sizing. This shoes is perfect. When I buy women's running shoes I usually purchase an 11.5 (regular shoe size is 10/10.5) but in these, the 11.5 was way too big. I returned them for a 10.5 EE and have plenty of room in the toe box without slipping out of the back of the shoe. I could probably even wear a 10 but I like a lot of room in my sneakers. I highly recommend these shoes if you're a neutral runner who likes a lot of cushion and needs a wide toe box. As always Zappos was great with the shipping and return.

I have bunions and need a wide width. Always like New Balance for that reason, however, the 840's are the most comfortable sneakers I have ever had. Love them!