Customer Reviews New Balance W990v3

I like the look of these shoes and I have a hard time finding popular styles in narrow width. These didn't feel as "cushiony" as other brands, but they work- I needed them. I like that they advertise they are "hand made in the USA". That matters to me.

These were beautifully made shoes (note, the photos on the website make the grey look drab!), but alas, the toebox was way too tight. I should have researched the last -- this is an SL-1, and based on my wide forefoot and narrow heel, I should have gone for an SL-2. This pair was uncomfortable right from the start. Too bad. Loved the style and the grey color (with lots of reflective material, great for those pre-dawn or evening runs) and the Made-in-the-USA factor, but...owww. If you have normal feet, however, please go ahead and purchase them!

Bad arch support. Killing my feet. Use to wear and love the NB 993's but these just aren't the same. Tried multiple sizes...nothing worked. Moving on to another shoe!

I had previously purchased the 923's and absolutely loved them but this replacement,the W990, is by no means a good replacement. My feet began to hurt immediately. Not sure what was changed but I noticed the difference right away. Very disappointed because I had been so satisfied with the 923's.

I have bought several pairs of NB before and they fit great. This shoe was no where near as wide as I would expect and much longer.

These shoes are too expensive for what they deliver. Moderate arch support. The removable insole needs to be replaced immediately, if one wants the stability it advertises new. That's another 10.00 to 40.00 They lasted me about 6 months. After that, all stability was gone. They were loose. New Balance may think sell shoes on their reputation. Not with me. These are supposed to be their top of the line, made in the USA shoes. I used to buy NB running & crossyrainer shoes exclusively. That stops today. I do not recommend these at any price.

I should have paid attention to the reviews before I ordered these; they do not have good arch support and cushioning. I thought they would be like the New Balance 841's that I bought several years ago.

I bought these NB stability sneakers because I needed something in black that didn't look like ortho shoes, and my preferred brand/make (begins with an "a") does not make black ones in my size. So I've worn these shoes for about two months, and there's already a hole near the big toe. They squeak when I walk. I can support another reviewer's complaint that the toe box is narrow, even in the wide size. A wider size would have been way too big for my heel. While there was actually plenty of room for me to move my foot laterally within the toe box, the interior seams rubbed up against the side of my big toe and caused major pain. A horrible fail, except I like the construction of the shoe tongue. That sounds like a silly thing, but when the tongue is too thin, the pressure from the laces cuts into the top of my feet. So one point for getting the tongue right. Such a shame; I really want to support US-based manufacturing, but NB's materials and fit just don't work for me.

I have gotten used to Pearl Izumis but needed a solid color shoe for work. These are like standing on a very hard surface and they are not comfortable.

I am very disappointed in this shoe. It is poorly constructed and not nearly the quality I would expect for the price and NB. There is no arch support and the tongue of the shoe is so short that it slips down into the shoe. I just wish I could return them, but I have already worn them once.I do not plan to buy NB again and I have worn them for years.

This is my fourth pair of New Balance athletic shoes, and I've always been satisfied before. I don't know if the pair I ordered is defective, but the tongue on both shoes keeps sliding down to the outside of my shoe. I've laced three rows of laces through the loop thingie on the tongue, to no avail. They are essentially unwearable, and I'm out money. No more New Balance for me.

Very disappointed in these shoes. I was looking for a replacement for the 993s, which I have worn for about 4 years. These have very little padding, almost no arch support, and they feel narrower in the toe box. Nice going, New Balance.

I HATE these sneakers! I tried to love them because I like the way they look. But they are so uncomfortable that I never wear them. I would love to return them to Zappos, but I've had them for too long. I'll never make this mistake again!

1-Star since: I Purchased these W990v3 in Jan. 2016. See image showing sole wearing after about 2 years of use. All of the "grid" on one side of both soles is completely worn off. Compared to other NB walking shoes I've had,toe box is narrower, and insoles quickly sink. Paying $160 for NB doesn't pay. This is my 4th pair of NB and my last.

Super cute, love all the gray. Only problem is just trying these on around the house gave me terrible shin splints. Maybe the shoe was too stiff and would t bend, making me a heel walker? Whatever it was, not good.

As a person with flat, pronated feet, I've been wearing Brooks for years. They are great shoes but I am just tired of them and the bright white color (geez, my feet are not my best asset, why would I want to draw attention to them?) I read up on recommended shoes for flat, pronated feet and these came up. I like the gray color, so I gave them a try. I really wanted to like these shoes but I could tell as soon as I put them on they would not work because they are tilted towards the inside. I have found over the years that some brands of shoes are made on a last that has an inward tilt and they just don't work for someone whose feet are already prone to tilting inward. In my view it is not appropriate for a stability shoe for flat feet! Very disappointing. Guess I'm back to the drawing board.

When I purchased this shoe, I loved it. It fit well and felt great. In fact they still look, feel, and fit great. After 10 months of strictly gym and treadmill activity, the shoe still looked brand new. However, after a spontaneous walk with my wife on a damp, not wet, road, the smell nightmare began. When the sole (not upper) got wet a pungent urea smell developed. The smell is chemical in nature and the few times I tried to take them to the gym, my wife and I got headaches from the smell in the car and fellow gym members asked me to stop wearing the shoe to the gym. This is not an inexpensive shoe and it appears inferior glues were used well past the date of problem discovery. Make certain any review or input you receive comes from shoe owners that got the soles wet. Additionally, make certain if you purchase this shoe that you get the soles wet prior to the 30 day warranty to see if the smell develops because it is a strict 30 day warranty no matter the issue or condition of the shoe. It is shameful this is labeled made in the USA when there is a hidden material defect that doesn't arise until the sole gets wet. but the shoe feels amazing.

These shoes are not comfortable at all. I love the 993, but this one tried for more support and lost the lovely cushioning feeling. I hope new balance does better with the next version.

Like some of the others, I think that this shoe was overpriced for the quality. There was absolutely NO arch support.

These shoes were recommended by a podiatrist for use with orthotics that he was making me. He measured my feet and said this style would be the best one. He suggested I try 9½D and EE since I have wide feet. I could not wait for them to arrive but boy was I disappointed! First - they felt way too wide - I did not even try the EE. Then I wore them for a day or two and found one foot pronating way too much. The shoes were loose and there was no way to tighten them. I had the laces as tight as I could make them without cutting off my circulation but that only worked around the lace area, not the forefoot or toes. My feet sloshed around and slipped down to the toebox when I walked. After a month I had to double-up on socks just to take up the slack in the shoe and after six weeks, when I went back to the doctor for a check, he looked at the shoes and was astonished that they had practically disintegrated in that short time. The sole is worn down, the uppers stretched out. He was disappointed, too, since he was counting on these shoes for other patients with similar feet. Something must have gone wrong at New Balance in this production line because so many people have had good experience with it - but be cautious because it looks like there is a bad batch floating around.