Dear New Balance:
I am a big fan of the 980. It's a pretty great shoe, but I have two big problems with it that has me looking for other options.
The first--why do the laces always come untied? I double, sometimes triple tie, and yet, there I am stopping to tie my shoes again. This is annoying and I suppose I could get new laces, but this isn't a problem with other shoes I've had.
The second--I'm on my third pair since June. On every pair, about 150 miles in, I start to see significant wear on the bottom of the shoe, near the toe. Again, not something I've noticed on other shoes at this point in their lifetime. Should I just assume that the lifespan of these shoes is not as long as I hoped? Still seems like I should get more miles in them before seeing that kind of wear.
Like I said above, I'm a fan, but these things are hindering my full embrace. Winter is coming and I'm intrigued by the 980 Trail (wishlist: add goretex some day!), but I'm thinking about looking at other options because of what's happened with the last three pairs of 980 road.
Thanks for listening.