New Balance Men's MW812 Walking Shoes

Not Quite What I Had Hoped
November 11, 2011

I bought the New Balance MW812's hoping that they would be an adequate replacement for the old pair of New Balance 426W's I had. My main concern was that the MW812 had a synthetic upper while the 426W was made with a leather upper. Truth be know, I am hard on my shoes, and they have got to be able to "give" if I am climbing up and over rocks or pounding down a mountain trail. I should add that I am 6'3", weigh 225 pounds, and give shoes a devilishly hard time. Unsure about the MW812 model, I called Altrec and talked to one of their product experts. (Don't you just love Altrec for having experts on hand? I do.) I asked the fellow I spoke to if the 812 model would "give" since it had a synthetic upper. He said it would a bit. I also asked that if I bought the 812's and didn't like them if I could return them under Altrec's Lifetime Guarantee. He said it would be no problem. So that sealed the deal for me and I ordered a pair. Within about a week I received my new shoes and tried them on. I am used to walking shoes being a little tight when I first get them, but the MW812's were a tab too tight for me. I wore them around the house a bit and they didn't loosen up as might as I hoped they might. Still being scared about the word "synthetic" I called Altrec for a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization), got it, and mailed the shoes back. It was as simple as A, B, C. And the woman who issued me the RMA also helped me order a different model of New Balance shoe as a replacement. All in all a very painless return procedure and great service to boot.