NEW New Balance Plate Shoe

[MikeSafari]

2 hours ago, LittleBlue said:

Probably has to do with the angle of the metatarsal plate and how far back it is compared to the current shoe.

Yeah but when I say low-cut I mean like the Reebok Zigs. Those, to me, were the perfect shoe design. They just were basically impossible to get in Canada and weren't great for those of us with wider feet.

[LittleBlue]

6 hours ago, MikeSafari said:

Yeah but when I say low-cut I mean like the Reebok Zigs. Those, to me, were the perfect shoe design. They just were basically impossible to get in Canada and weren't great for those of us with wider feet.

Yeah no I get what you mean by low-cut but I wonder how low they can make these shoes with the design of the metatarsal plate. Judging from the pics already posted I'm guessing not that low.

[WES2006AG]

Is there a date for when these new Wilson plate shoes will be available?

[BT_Blue]

According to @JimKirk and @UADirOps and the Facebook daily broadcast at the end of last month. The mid top shoes are due in November or December. The low top (yes they are offering a low, and I don't think any if them have been pictured yet) will be due out some time in January.

To me though, I am more disappointed by the New Balance MRP. The low shoes will be around $140 and the mids will be near $160. And this will be across the board as NB will be the one to set the price.

[gnhbua93]

8 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

According to @JimKirk and @UADirOps and the Facebook daily broadcast at the end of last month. The mid top shoes are due in November or December. The low top (yes they are offering a low, and I don't think any if them have been pictured yet) will be due out some time in January.

To me though, I am more disappointed by the New Balance MRP. The low shoes will be around $140 and the mids will be near $160. And this will be across the board as NB will be the one to set the price.

Guys, time to go to electrician shoes, as plate shoes. I've been doing for 3 seasons. and they clean well the only thing is they are all black. 

[BT_Blue]

15 minutes ago, gnhbua93 said:

Guys, time to go to electrician shoes, as plate shoes. I've been doing for 3 seasons. and they clean well the only thing is they are all black. 

Got a recommendation for a place to look?

[Thunderheads]

This used to be called a "Nautilus", and now it's an Avenger boot........

http://workboots.com/avenger-7322-st-black

[JaxRolo]

On 7/20/2016 at 0:38 AM, ChrisUrbz said:

That plate shoe is beyond ugly in my opinion !! 

lol

 

It's a Plate shoe. Who cares what it looks like.

[ChrisUrbz]

1 minute ago, JaxRolo said:

lol

 

It's a Plate shoe. Who cares what it looks like.

LMAO... I don't do ugly Jax !!

[BT_Blue]

4 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

This used to be called a "Nautilus", and now it's an Avenger boot........

http://workboots.com/avenger-7322-st-black

Looks a lot like the old Nautilus plate shoes Gerry Davis used to sell. Didn't like that look then. Don't like it now. I remember a company called LeHigh used to ha shoes that looked like the old +POS, Honigs, Gerry Davis. But haven't looked.

I'll probably just pay the piper (the piper being Ump-Attire and New Balance for the new shoes.)

[Mister B]

They (the electrician shoes) look a lot like my 3n2 plate shoes. Which are surprisingly light and comfortable. 

[MadMax]

New Balance is setting the price higher (than previous models) for two reasons:

1. to offset the increased Design and Development costs in today's digital market. Somewhere in the process, they are likely using new (to them) design and virtualization software or resources, are employing new (to them) materials or construction techniques, or have a bean counter department holding their feet to the fire. There isn't room for experimentation in today's market any more, gentlemen – there cannot be a loss. Because the market for these shoes is so relatively small and specialized, the bean counters likely projected a target number for meager profit margin, and are holding the product managers to it.
2. because there is now an absence of like-competition. Does NB sweat anything 3N2 makes? Not at all. What about Reebok? Now we're talking... So Reebok's withdrawal from team sports footwear creates a void that would otherwise counter NB's market strategists' aims. While nature abhors a vacuum, market strategists – bean counters to their cores – love it, because they have a captive market with no check or challenge. It would take a product entry from UnderArmour or Nike or Adidas (not going to happen; Germans don't understand baseball and Adidas owns Reebok) to get that price to drop.

With that said, I'll likely get the brand-new NB plate shoes – in a low – because I've lost the (any) love for the N460's. They are heavy, cumbersome, and with their (unnecessary) height, are starting to chafe my highly-valued Force3 Ultimate shinguards. They will get repaired (the inner lining around the heel is more or less in tatters) and cleaned up, get new inexpensive footbeds put in (I took out the stock ones recently to wince at just how badly beaten they are, and replaced them with Dr Scholls Sport inserts), and then sold to a junior umpire.

The new N470's (think that's what they'll be named?) will have to do until something better springs into the scene.

[JimKirk]

18 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

According to @JimKirk and @UADirOps and the Facebook daily broadcast at the end of last month. The mid top shoes are due in November or December. The low top (yes they are offering a low, and I don't think any if them have been pictured yet) will be due out some time in January.

To me though, I am more disappointed by the New Balance MRP. The low shoes will be around $140 and the mids will be near $160. And this will be across the board as NB will be the one to set the price.

Thanks @BT_Blue for mentioning us.

I do want to clarify that the MAP price on the soon-to-be-out plate shoes will be set to $140 for lows and $150 (not 160) for mids. My southern accent may have not made that so clear, so my apologies if my fault there.

MAP price means this is the minimal price so it will be that price (or higher) in the marketplace. This is different from MSRP which is more of a max price.

MAP pricing will not apply to the current MU460MBK model. For those, wee will continue to offer many of the sizes through much of 2017 (and may be the only company to do so from the looks of it) for those who prefer this shoe to the new model; or prefer to grab a pair of NB plate shoes at the current price point while they can.

I agree to a great extent with MadMax on his take. I will add that New Balance takes great pride in their umpire shoes and have made it clear in the past they do not like to see retailers offering deep discounts. Doing so can cheapen ones brand image of an otherwise higher-quality product.

You may not be aware that Force3, 3n2 and Oakley also use MAP pricing. This is why you see products in these brands often having the same price regardless of retailer.

One last insight: Without thinking about MAP pricing, the cost to make these higher-quality plate shoes and cost to retailers did increase. I'm sure R&D and materials played a big part of that. Considering this cost increase and before the MAP policy was put in place, we were likely headed to prices of $129.99 for the new lows and $139.99 for the new mids.

So, another way for you to look at this is NB's new MAP pricing added $10 to your price. If it makes you feel better, you can consider that $10 as a fee for you to not have to buy electrician shoes.

[BT_Blue]

Sounds fair enough on the pricing. Wasn't a fan of the electrical shoe look anyways.

[Thunderheads]

13 hours ago, JimKirk said:

Thanks @BT_Blue for mentioning us.

I do want to clarify that the MAP price on the soon-to-be-out plate shoes will be set to $140 for lows and $150 (not 160) for mids. My southern accent may have not made that so clear, so my apologies if my fault there.

MAP price means this is the minimal price so it will be that price (or higher) in the marketplace. This is different from MSRP which is more of a max price.

MAP pricing will not apply to the current MU460MBK model. For those, wee will continue to offer many of the sizes through much of 2017 (and may be the only company to do so from the looks of it) for those who prefer this shoe to the new model; or prefer to grab a pair of NB plate shoes at the current price point while they can.

I agree to a great extent with MadMax on his take. I will add that New Balance takes great pride in their umpire shoes and have made it clear in the past they do not like to see retailers offering deep discounts. Doing so can cheapen ones brand image of an otherwise higher-quality product.

You may not be aware that Force3, 3n2 and Oakley also use MAP pricing. This is why you see products in these brands often having the same price regardless of retailer.

One last insight: Without thinking about MAP pricing, the cost to make these higher-quality plate shoes and cost to retailers did increase. I'm sure R&D and materials played a big part of that. Considering this cost increase and before the MAP policy was put in place, we were likely headed to prices of $129.99 for the new lows and $139.99 for the new mids.

So, another way for you to look at this is NB's new MAP pricing added $10 to your price. If it makes you feel better, you can consider that $10 as a fee for you to not have to buy electrician shoes.

Jim,

It would be great if you could get the folks at NB to fill us all in on what they did to the new plate shoes for the new model.  Maybe you could do a short interview video on facebook, and/or, ... post the details here of course!

Thanks!

[Aging_Arbiter]

10 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

Sounds fair enough on the pricing. Wasn't a fan of the electrical shoe look anyways.

Sorry,  You guys keep referring to electrical shoe and this is the first things that keeps coming to mind.....

 

[BT_Blue]

1 hour ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

Sorry,  You guys keep referring to electrical shoe and this is the first things that keeps coming to mind.....

 

Stupid auto correct

[JimKirk]

8 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Jim,

It would be great if you could get the folks at NB to fill us all in on what they did to the new plate shoes for the new model.  Maybe you could do a short interview video on facebook, and/or, ... post the details here of course!

Thanks!

Jeff,

Working on a blog article and more complete review and comparison to current model but top bullet points are;

-Now in Lows, too,

-Hi-gloss finish

-Higher metatarsal guard

-More coverage toward sole on inner side of each shoe offers full protection (less on outer where not needed)

-Guard releases from top to make it easier to lace shoes

-Additional mesh for greater breathability

-Improved traction

All should result in additional comfort, look and ease of use in a more athletic shoe.

[dumbdumb]

On 10/4/2016 at 7:52 AM, gnhbua93 said:

Guys, time to go to electrician shoes, as plate shoes. I've been doing for 3 seasons. and they clean well the only thing is they are all black. 

What? No red wings with golf spikes like in the old days.

Or, no Red wings with the old leather bottom taken off and a Vans bottom put on in its place.

Heard about the above from an old guy (before he passed away) from yesteryear about those combinations.

[BT_Blue]

4 hours ago, JimKirk said:

Jeff,

Working on a blog article and more complete review and comparison to current model but top bullet points are;

-Now in Lows, too,

-Hi-gloss finish

-Higher metatarsal guard

-More coverage toward sole on inner side of each shoe offers full protection (less on outer where not needed)

-Guard releases from top to make it easier to lace shoes

-Additional mesh for greater breathability

-Improved traction

All should result in additional comfort, look and ease of use in a more athletic shoe.

This is the blog post I have been waiting all at for!

[Tksjewelry]

What? No red wings with golf spikes like in the old days.

Or, no Red wings with the old leather bottom taken off and a Vans bottom put on in its place.

Heard about the above from an old guy (before he passed away) from yesteryear about those combinations.

Are they expanding their size range? Will they be available in midget?

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[JimKirk]

9 hours ago, Tksjewelry said:

Are they expanding their size range? Will they be available in midget?

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

8-15 D, 2E and 4E

[gnhbua93]

They need to make the base shoes in 15 2E.

[kylehutson]

5 hours ago, gnhbua93 said:

 

They need to make the base shoes in 15 2E.

 

Good gracious - when you step on home plate, is there any white visible???

[BT_Blue]

About two inches. Lol