I have been wearing the New Balance Men’s Coast V4 FuelCore Athletic Shoe Running since I retired. They are comfortable and I love the slip-on nature of them. You tie the laces until they are snug on your foot and then the stretchy upper material allows you to slip your foot in and out. The first pair of them I bought upon retirement were in Techtonic Blue and I wore them out before 2018 was done. The second pair I purchased was in Phantom Gray (like linked above) and made it to this September. Not bad, a nine month life span, considering I’m averaging 2-1/2 miles a day every morning 5 days a week.
Both previous shoes were bought at Academy Sports. When I replaced the first blue pair I wanted blue again, but they didn’t have it, so I opted for the in stock gray. This replacement time they didn’t have any of that make and model shoe at all. Donna and I hunted high and low looking, but no dice. I wanted a slip on, I am basically that lazy, so my options were limited.
There were about a half dozen slip-on shoes, but of those available only 2 were were nice enough looking that I would put them on my feet. The first pair I tried on was too loose, I normally wear a size eleven and even in a 10.5 they slipped off the heel when taking a step. The next pair I tried were the Skechers Men’s Equalizer Double Play Slip-On Loafer. There was no size 11 available, but they did have a 10.5, so I put them on and walked around the aisle a bit. Not too bad, so we bought them.
It wasn’t until the next day on my walk that I realized I should have test walked them a little more in the store… They were too stretchy and too tight at the same time. My heel felt elevated forcing my foot forward hitting my toes on the front of the shoes. I didn’t end up with any blisters, but I did get a sore arch. I thought I would be alright and maybe I’d get used to them after walking in them for a few mores days. Wrong. On the next day’s morning walk after only a couple of blocks I decided to cut the walk short and head home. It was then that I pulled the badly worn pair of New Balance shoes out of the trash, placed the Skechers in the ‘Going to Goodwill Pile’ and ordered another pair NB Coast V4 FuelCore in Phantom from Amazon.