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The very low-cut Australian-made Dunlop KT-26 joggers, which I often wear when out walking, are very light (327 grams or 11.5 ounces each shoe) and have superb friction on rock. But, they have a very thin flexible sole as well, and in some country it is useful to have a shoe with a firmer sole and bigger lugs. For instance, slithering around on muddy farm trails in France (the cows had used the track as well...) proved a bit difficult as the light tread on the KTs just could not grip. The same problem happened on snow-covered granite scree.

Where I run into a problem with so many brands of joggers is the width. I have wide feet - EEEE width in fact, and many brands only go up as far as EE. Actually, many well-known brands don't even tell you what the width is, which really irritates me. And if anything is going to give you sore feet at the end of the day, it is shoes which are just that bit too narrow for your feet. Yes, there are other factors as well, like the width of the heel and the height of the arch, but the width at the front of the shoe is what concerns me most of all.

Fortunately, the New Balance company not only makes shoes in several different lasts, but also makes them in several different widths, and the company states the available widths on their web site. This is quite unlike so many other well-known shoe companies which give you no idea at all what the widths are. In addition, their SL1 last in an EEEE width suits me fine. So, I rather like the New Balance shoes. But please note: the last and width which suits me may not suit you: select your shoe fittings carefully.

I recently reviewed the New Balance MT1110GT joggers and found that they may run just slightly larger than some other brands. For the MT1110GT shoes I tested in the winter, I had a US size 11 EEEE, and found that they were big enough for two pairs of socks. This was good in the snow. With another well-known brand the US 11 was only big enough for one pair of socks, but the width fitting is only an EE on those. For these MT875R shoes, I dropped back half a size, to US 10.5 EEEE, and wore them with one pair of Darn Tough Vermont 'Hike Trek Boot Sock Full Cushion' over a thin Gobi Wigwam nylon liner sock. This is a very reliable and quite popular combination among experienced walkers.

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  • Field Testing
  • Specifications: Manufacturer:, Year/Model:, Manufacture:, Materials:, Last:, Size:, Weight:, Colour:, MSRP:
  • What's Good
  • What's Not So Good

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