I've been a devotee of the NB minimus trail product line for a few years now. Typically, whenever I've gotten a new shoe, like the MT110 or MT1010, it becomes both my jogging* and hiking shoe. The minimus line uses what NB refers to as its NL-1 last, which fit my feet to a perfect 'T':
As you might notice from the link, both the MT110 and MT1010 are no longer on the NL-1 list this year. In my opinion, and those of many, many others on specific running blogs, these two shoes absolutely rock.
However, the MT110 is supposedly being re-purposed on the PL4 last, along with the MT00. Well, I went down to the local NB store and tried on a pair of MT00s (the MT110 is due out in 2 mos), and like other reviewers, discovered that particular last does not fit my feet, so strike the new MT110:
http://runblogger.com/2013/08/2014-shoe-previews-new-balance-minimus.html
Also, if you search for the "New Balance minimus MT1010v2 trail", there's still a Google link to the NB web site, but it returns an error message. Searching from the NB site, since I couldn't find anything either, I'm beginning to think they've discontinued this particular shoe.
So now I'm thinking I better get on the ball and start searching for alternatives to NB, which is the purpose of this post. Question: what kinds of recommendations do people have for basic minimal trail shoes with characteristics of the NL-1 last? That is, it has a 4mm drop, wide shoebox, and practically no lateral support, but does have a thin rockplate and aggressive lugs.
TIA for any tips & advice.
* I'm a plodder – I avg 3-4 miles/day 5 days a week, then run a (very slow) personal 10k on the weekend. About once a month, I run a personal 21k (1/2 marathon). We have some great gravel running/walking trails down here by the beach, so I'm usually able to stay off both asphalt and concrete. When I hike in the S Sierra, I avg 12-15 miles/day for a few days, then 15-20 on the way out.
