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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
On 4/15/2022 at 3:45 PM, MadMax said:

My New Balance 460v3's are shot. Kaput. Muerto. When you do around 150 plate games per year, on a wide variety of surfaces that do nothing less than punish your shoes, something's going to eventually wear out. I tried to keep my 460's as functional as possible, but the heel cups interiors are shredded, the rim (around the ankle) where the shinguards rub against is splitting and fraying, I'm on my third set of footbed / insoles, the vaunted tread is starting to flatten out after sweeping the plate several hundred times trying to uncover it, or at least reveal it enough so a plate brush can go to work, I'm on my third set of laces, and there's a significant bunch of gouges and scars from catchers' and pitchers' (dammit! stop stepping on me while backing up the throw!) metal cleats on both toe boxes. Ultra-depressing, though, is the large, jagged tear in the outer portion of the shoe, right along the (fault) line that is the hinge between the shoe and the metatarsal guard. It's ugly. 

New ones are needed. And they won't be in until... October??!! 🤬

I've had 3N2's. Twice. And both times, the composite toe caps shattered, and both times, the pleather skin bubbled up and peeled and flaked off, likely unable to deal with the intense heat and sunlight that we here in the Southwest have to endure. So can't do that again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time... what the hell is wrong with me??! 

So! After searching for New Balance 460v3's across the landscape, I found some optional places to purchase them from, but decided, instead, to give these a try: 

image.png.2ab13cdcbbf140225305b8823e6b3e29.png

These are the Mizuno 11GU1601 Pro Plate Shoes, and they're being offered on eBay, via several vendors, most with Free Shipping! from Japan. 

I was skeptical about their fit and sizing, until I did a game with the Royals, and was offered to try on a pair of Mizuno turf shoes from one of the AAA players. They're excellent, and run true to size. So I ordered them in the Size 11 I need, in they came 8 days later, and I tried them on... 

WOW. 😍 I'm not usually a fan of the mid or high tops, but I re-laced them to skip using the top eyelet... but again, WOW, these things feel incredible. Solid, without being heavy. Responsive. A smidge on the narrow side, but absolutely comfortable. The metatarsal guard doesn't shake or flap all over when running with them. I will definitely be saving these for HS and NAIA playoffs and for stadium games I'll have this summer! If ya see me quick-stepping away from a pitch or throw in the dirt, it ain't because I'm worried about my feet getting hit by the ball; instead, I won't want to get stepped on or grazed by the catcher as he lays out to block the wayward ball!

 

What happen to your toes the composite toe caps shattered? 

Posted
4 hours ago, Barry Haggard said:

What happen to your toes the composite toe caps shattered?

Ready for this? The 3N2 composite toe caps shattered not from direct impacts, but from rapping them (soles down!) on the ground so as to shake loose the mud and clay stuck to the way-too-knobby treads!!! 

If they shatter that easily, then what does that say about their effectiveness when hit by a 90+ MPH pitch or foul-off? 

While I didn’t have any jagged pieces stabbing me in the toes, you could feel the pieces floating around, and the toe boxes looked visibly deformed. 

Posted
4 hours ago, MadMax said:

Ready for this? The 3N2 composite toe caps shattered not from direct impacts, but from rapping them (soles down!) on the ground so as to shake loose the mud and clay stuck to the way-too-knobby treads!!! 

If they shatter that easily, then what does that say about their effectiveness when hit by a 90+ MPH pitch or foul-off? 

While I didn’t have any jagged pieces stabbing me in the toes, you could feel the pieces floating around, and the toe boxes looked visibly deformed. 

3n2s are garbage and should never be used by anyone at any level. Hurt my soul when my CC used them a few years ago in the NWL. 

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Posted
12 hours ago, MadMax said:

Ready for this? The 3N2 composite toe caps shattered not from direct impacts, but from rapping them (soles down!) on the ground so as to shake loose the mud and clay stuck to the way-too-knobby treads!!! 

If they shatter that easily, then what does that say about their effectiveness when hit by a 90+ MPH pitch or foul-off? 

While I didn’t have any jagged pieces stabbing me in the toes, you could feel the pieces floating around, and the toe boxes looked visibly deformed. 

That's scary. 

  • 5 months later...
Posted

Maybe for the some of us with knee and ankle issues. I found these as I was looking to soften my steps in everyday use. They are pricey but I believe they have helped my aches and pains. I will probably wear them during dry games - maybe only on turf as they are not pleather, we'll see.

Brooks Adrenaline
Road running shoes.1ca992ef57260190e6624a8c147e8f32.jpg

Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk

Posted
4 minutes ago, BLWizzRanger said:

Maybe for the some of us with knee and ankle issues. I found these as I was looking to soften my steps in everyday use. They are pricey but I believe they have helped my aches and pains. I will probably wear them during dry games - maybe only on turf as they are not pleather, we'll see.

Brooks Adrenaline
Road running shoes.1ca992ef57260190e6624a8c147e8f32.jpg

Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk
 

I have these. They're pretty great! 

Posted
On 7/16/2022 at 10:20 AM, maven said:

So, this thread title (which scans, I note admiringly), and nobody has mentioned The Vapors? Shame!

 

While the band claims otherwise, the song and that phrase were widely believed to be a derogatory slur referring to masturbation.

 

Posted
21 hours ago, johnnyg08 said:

Can confirm...if it matters to anyone...ump-attire will also be stocking this shoe. Timeline is about the same. 

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