New Balance Athletics is an American company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It's been operating since 1906 - more than a century! - and supporting feet the world over the entire time. New Balance's original focus was on orthopaedics, especially arch supports. That history shows itself in New Balance's current line up of sporting and athletic shoes, many of which include features to specifically help correct under or over-pronation in your gait.
New Balance Men's Shoes
Your choice of New Balance shoes will really depend on what you want to do with them. New Balance makes a range of shoes for all sorts of sports, including running, football, baseball, golf, tennis, and skateboarding. They also make leisure shoes, which are just comfortable shoes that will give your feet some support as you go about your day, but don't provide specific protection and cushioning from the stresses of a specific activity. If, however, you're just looking for an all-rounder shoe to wear to the gym, maybe do some jogging and play some footy or cricket with mates, then you'll probably be best off with the "training' category of shoes. These are designed to give you enough stability and impact protection for general physical activity, but aren't aimed at any one sport. If you find that one particular sport grabs your enthusiasm and you want to participate in it a couple of times a week, that's when you should pick up a pair of shoes specifically made for that sport.
New Balance Men's Leather Shoes
Leather shoes can be a good choice - they're more water resistant than mesh shoes, although once soaked they will take a lot longer to dry out, and repeated soakings can cause the leather to degrade. A waterproofing spray can help with this. Because they hold in heat, they can be a good choice for colder months, too. In summer, on the other hand, you'll usually want a shoe that will disperse heat as fast as possible - mesh shoes are better at this. Generally speaking, leather is more durable than other athletic shoe materials. It's tough and holds its shape well. If you're working in industrial environments, leather New Balance shoes might be a good choice to protect you from slipping on spills, while relieving issues caused by incorrect foot posture while standing or walking.
New Balance Men's Bags
When a company has been making shoes as long as New Balance has, it sort of makes sense for them to branch out into bags as well. The materials required are similar, and the same comfort and anti-odour technology that helps protect your feet can also help to keep your belongings safe and not stinky. New Balance backpacks help you to distribute your daily load (whether it be a laptop or a collection of textbooks) across your shoulders and back to keep injury potential at a minimum. The gym bags, on the other hand, allow you to pack in everything that you need for a successful workout or sport game, and often include a ventilated section in which you can keep shoes that are in danger of getting smelly.
Women's New Balance Shoes
You'll find that there's a New Balance shoe for most of the sports you want to play. New Balance's women's shoes are similar in construction and design to its mens' shoes; the main difference is that because women's feet are often narrower and more highly arched than men's shoes, their women's shoes are generally narrower in fit with more pronounced arch support.
If you're looking for a basic athletic shoe that you can wear walking, running, to the gym, or to friendly sports matches with mates, then your best bet is probably the trainer/cardio category. These provide cushioning and support, but aren't designed specifically for the rigours of any one sport. As a rule of thumb, though, if you're playing any one sport, or running, more than once a week, consider buying a second pair of shoes specifically for that sport. New Balance carefully designs its specialty shoes to counter and protect against the typical movements and stresses found in that sport or activity.
New Balance Women's Canvas Shoes
Most of New Balance's canvas range are skate shoes. That's because while most sports require shoe uppers to be very flexible, skate shoes tend to need control instead - best found with a woven fabric or leather upper. Canvas is a popular choice for skate shoe uppers because it's inexpensive, it's suitable for vegetarians and vegans who don't want to wear animal products, and it's very breathable. Where leather will tend to hold heat in, canvas will tend to release it quickly, meaning that on hot days, canvas shoes are definitely the way to go. You'll also find some canvas leisure and running shoes by New Balance, especially older styles, here.
What to buy with New Balance shoes
There are three important items that you're likely to need along with your new shoes. If they're leather, grab a bottle of leather waterproofing spray. This will help keep your feet dry, but it will also protect the leather from losing or absorbing too much water - and either of these can cause the leather to degrade over time.
Your next requirement is replacement shoe laces. While those provided with your shoes will probably last a long time, shoe laces are renowned for snapping at the worst possible times, and having some spares on hand will significantly decrease frustration!
And the next thing you'll need is socks. The type of sock you pick will depend a lot on what you'll be doing while wearing the shoes: some socks are good at removing moisture from the vicinity of your feet, others are good at providing extra cushioning, while some others help to guard your feet against blisters. Toe socks can be an unconventional but handy choice for those who have trouble with blisters caused by toes rubbing together - like gloves, toe socks have separate sheaths for each toe, and this can improve foot health for some runners and hikers.
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