New Balance Men's 520 V7 Running Shoe, Gray/Gray/Hilite, 12 X-Wide

INTRO (WARNING, VERY SAD AND DRAMATIC):New year, new me. That's what we all say to ourselves at the start of the new year. With promises to improve our static routine, only for our dreams to diminish far before the first few weeks.One day I woke up from my monotonous 9-5 office job routine and noticed I had gained nearly 30lbs. I was now overweight. I hated who I saw in the mirror. I looked at my bank account and saw hundreds of dollars spent on food delivery. Then something just snapped, something inside of me. I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care about being better at Microsoft Excel. I didn’t care to spend any more money on food that cost nearly an hour’s worth of my time. All I cared about was getting back into shape.So I began walking. Walking every day for 30-45 minutes on an incline, while also strictly adhering to a calorie deficit. After weeks of hard work I started to see results. I had lost nearly 15lbs. I felt lighter, and had more energy. I even felt more confident in myself. But I still felt like something was missing.I had noticed that my pair of New Balance 574’s, that I’ve owned since 2021, had already worn down to the midsole. It was affecting the way I walk, causing lower back and knee pain after my workout routine. With all the money I saved from not using food delivery services the past few months, I decided to treat myself to a new pair of walking shoes.THE ACTUAL REVIEW (START HERE, DON’T EVEN READ THE FIRST PART TBH):I have been a fan of New Balance for a long time. The 574, 990, 992: all of these shoes have such iconic silhouettes that are stylish and comfortable. However, I don’t consider these shoes fit for running. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT a runner, I shouldn’t even have a say in whether a shoe is good for you or not. But I feel like these shoes are bulky, and designed with the intention of being worn for short periods of time. More like a sneaker, per say. As mentioned previously, I had been walking in my 574’s for a long time now, so I decided to try a different style shoe and stumbled across the New Balance 520 V7.FIRST IMPRESSIONS:This shoe was incredibly inexpensive. I bought a slightly used pair from Amazon for less than $33. It had a few mystery hairs on it but I just lint rolled them off and sprayed it with a little disinfectant. Not like it was worn for an extensive amount of time by the previous owner. Also the box looked like someone punched it (perhaps a metaphor of my overindulging, frustrated self from the past). Other than that, the shoe was in perfect condition, with the tags still on it.SIZE AND FIT:A lot of these reviews say to size up. Here’s what I have to say. On paper, my foot size should fit a size 8 shoe. However nobody’s foot size is a one-sized-fits-all situation. I cringe at the phrase “true to size” because I feel like for my whole early adult life I’ve struggled with finding my right shoe size. I also have a WIDE FOOT (4”), so I opted for the wide sizing. A size that always seems to work for me now without fail is 8.5. My foot is just under 26cm long, and as you can see from the insole measurement in my photos, the insole runs around 26.5cm. I find that the 8.5 WIDE fits me perfectly, with about a thumbs length to spare at the toe box. Your foot swells when you walk, so your running shoes are typically slightly larger than your regular fashionable shoes. I really hope this information helps because it’s always a gamble when ordering shoes online.STYLE:Honestly, this shoe is not gonna turn heads. When I see this shoe I think of a general manager on casual Fridays. I think of a golfer who just changed out of their shoes to go eat at Applebee’s after hitting the course. I got the white colorway because you can make a gym outfit with your eyes closed (matches everything). I would personally never wear these out in public, (aside from the gym) but that’s just me.COMFORT:Aside from having a wide foot, I also have flat feet. Pick your battles, am I right? I have the worst of both worlds. This shoe offers okay arch support, but it made my feet sore after first use. After doing around 5 miles of walking in these shoes, I can now say that they are very comfortable on my feet. I mainly walk on a treadmill so I haven’t really gotten any feedback on the tread pattern, but judging by its design, it’s really only meant for hard flat surfaces. It also has a sort of bump at the ball of your foot that compresses downward after a couple wears. The shape of the outsole is nice because it is rounded at the heel, and the foam on the outsole is really soft. They would be really comfortable to wear all day since they’re light and breathable as well.CONCLUSION:This shoe is definitely worth it for the price. If you’re a walker I would pick these up again in a heartbeat. Sizing was perfect for me, maybe order two pairs if you’re between sizes and return one. Also remember your feet swell if you intend to use these for cardio, a slightly larger fit can be beneficial. They’re not the flashiest shoes, but they are extremely practical for their purpose: and you cannot beat the comfort at this price point. Time will tell how long these will last, but in this moment, I am a satisfied customer.Go out there and chase your dreams! It's never too late to start.New year, new me? *scoffs and looks at the camera breaking the third wall while nostalgic music starts playing in the background* Nah-New year, New Balance.

This is one of the few sneakers that comes in wide. I got them half size up from my regular 8.5w to 9w ✅. Comfortable from the get go without the extra squishy/bouncy sole that other sneakers like many under armor have ✅. Lasted more than 12 mo of daily use at work without ungluing, without holes in the mesh and almost no sole wear. (See pics) Granted, I mostly walk indoors, but I walk a lot! ✅. For the price, you can't beat these. Laces stay put and are fairly short, no slack flopping around. ✅ If you like a classic design without looking like grandpa shoes, this is it. No stick out soles, no crazy stripes and colors.The only thing that is an annoyance is you can't slip them on without 2 hands. If you try that, you'll ruin the back eventually. It 'pops' down and does not recoil by itself. Not a big deal and not an issue if you tie your laces every time (I'm guilty here)

Having worn nike, adidas, pumas, sketchers, and now new balance for running, I can say that I've enjoyed NB brand as a whole for the last 5 years in a row. I personally like their design, fits with my style. I like to run and exercise in outside in the sun and having comfortable shoes during your sessions, makes it all the better. This shoes were a tad bit smaller than what I'm used to and felt slightly tight but not too much that it affects my performance. At the time of this review, the spring has started and summer soon around the corner, I feel light and sturdy under on my feet during my sprinting bursts. I'm satisfied with the results.

This size extra wide is so hard to find in a nice looking and comfortable pair. I have been searching for a basic color navy and found it and very happy with the product and quick delivery. Love these shoes

Good shoe. Has been holding together up until last month, the fabric is torn in several spots, the bottoms are nearly smooth and have no traction on wet surfaces anymore, however theres still no holes in the actual bottom and aside of a need for a scrub theyre in pretty decent shape aesthetically. after about 200 days thats about 1.7 million steps averaging about 8k steps a day. Bookmarking these shoes performance with this review since I bought new shoes last weekend.

Bought these for non-leg day work outs and doing my hot girl incline walk. So far they are comfortable and have helped with a never paid while walking.

Amazing running shoes the most comfortable shoe ever

Even though I Ordered !/2 Size larger, this Wide Width Still fits too tight in the Shoe Length (Pressure on Big Toe). This shoe looks good and was a good price (at under $50). However, I had to buy a set of Shoe Stretchers to get the Toe Area enlarged slightly. I have been buying New Balance for years, due to the Wide Width options they have. But 2 out of 3 pairs of NB running shoes purchased in the last year, have been too small.