I had the OG pair of these in the Royal Metallic silver colorway back in 2011 and I really loved them.
I bought that amazing NB pair in 2011 in Chiangmai, Thailand, and since then I have always been looking for a back-up pair of my OG pair..
This silhouette has been one of my all-time favorite silhouettes, and I will always keep them in my shoe graveyard. I was looking for another pair in the same colorway since about 2013....but NB did not recently retro them (until really recently). I think in 2020, they did retro this colorway in ML860 V2 XD and XB but I missed that.
These shoes were super comfy and very well made, for me they were ultimate walking and airport shoes (super comfy shoes). I really loved them very much, actually I still love them like my best friends who already died of Aids in 2012.
This year 2023, they finally retro-ed these again. So, I copped this colorway and the blue silver colorway immediately and I have plan to cop a few more pairs of these when they go on sell.
I know no one in a sneaker forum or YouTube care about this type of shoes, but to me they are super special shoes, and nothing can replace them for me. I prefer them to any of my 2002R or 1906R series shoes. The upper of these is just better.
It really bugs me that all superficial temporal shoe lovers that want to just flip shoes or follow the hype trends all just care about Jordan 1s and Dunks, or 990V6, and mock those of us who do not find Jordan or Dunk cool at all.
The 990 v6, Jordan 1 and 4, etc. are nice shoes (for sure), but nothing really special to me, I prefer New Balance over any other shoe brand especially those (their) old shoes originally designed in the last decade. Airmaxes from the early 90's and some Y2K era Nike retro runners like Vomero 5 and P6000 are also super cool to me. I don't know why but I am a big fan of the big N and shiny material NB used back in the last decade and in the early 00's.
I also hate the shoes that will be crumbling in no time, say 4 - 6 years time. I really love Jordan 3, 4 and 5 silhouettes but these will be crumbling in just a few (a several most likely) years in this humid country. That's why I decided not to buy the Jordan 4 Lightening colorway, and I bought AF1 Athletic Club Indigo, NB 550 Gray and Nike Vomero 5 Worn Blue instead. I think these will never crumble at least in this decade.
I still have a few pairs of AF1's from the 90's that my grandparents bought for my 6 or 7th birthday.
If I could get my feet into them, I'd still love them and probably rock them. I think the AF1's are timeless shoes and more universally loved shoes than Jordans, sure Jordans are much more popular in NA, but not in here or in Korea or like that.
In fact, Jordan 1s are no longer very popular in most part of Asia now. I also love Adidas ZX8000. It is like their version of Nike airmax 90.
I think the saddest reality is the most durable kind of timeless shoes are usually not really comfortable (or if I were more honest, I would say these are the least comfy ones). The super comfy shoes like NB 2002R, Adidas Response CL, Nike Vomero 5, etc. will crumble due to their use of many low-grade plastic parts (TPUs). Actually, Nike Motiva and Adidas Ultraboost may never crumble even in this wet climate. The Boost is quite durable foam, and the UB unlike the Yeezys have no weak plastic parts that will be crumbling in no time.
I think Nike Motiva has React plus foam and it will never crumble anytime soon, I think it will easily last our lifetime (about 70-80 years). The Ultraboost can be very durable shoes but unlike the Motiva, they do not have tough upper or very durable outsole, so they will not last long if you actually use them. For me they normally last for just a few months, and I am not as heavy as I used to be, so they must be super fragile shoes.
Now, after NB re-introduced the 860 v2 and the Nike invented the Motiva, I am avoiding most Ultraboost shoes except some OGs, 5.0s and 4.0s (these do not have many weak plastic parts like the 21, the 22, the 19, the20, 2.0 or 3.0).
And I never buy airmax 97 more than I can actually rotate.
Also, I try to avoid over 180 US dollar shoes that will crumble easily such as the 992, the 990 V2, the 993, the 1400, etc.
That said I bought a pair of NB 920 UK a DS pair and that worked fine, but these are for walking (and not for casual wearing).
IMHO, the Ultraboost DNA series shoes are the most overpriced and least value shoes. They are weak, they are cheaply made, they are expensive just as expensive as the Jordan 4 or the NB 990 v3 but their resell value is just about 1/4th of that of the 990 v3 or the Jordan 4 or 1. So, the Ultraboost and Yeezy are super expensive and very bad value shoes. The Made or the Jordan are expensive, but you can also sell them for some good amount of money, the Boost cannot sell, if you can get about 150 US for any of Boost shoes you must be very satisfied and happy.
I guess what I wanted to say here is what Brand is in now, Name of shoes or even hype does not matter anything to me or anyone who really loves unique sneakers, just get what you actually like. It really does not matter what others think about your style or shoes, unless you are buying most of pairs of shoes for reselling.
I sometimes resell too, but never try to chase the hype at Reddit or YouTube or like that. In fact, I love all sneaker brands and if I had the money, I'd probably buy all NB 991's, 1906R's, 2002R's, 610T's and 550's ever released. I also love all airmax 1's and 90's. Anyway, I really want to get a clean new pair of the NB 860 XB and XC. And thank you NB for re-retro-ing this colorway in this year 2023.
