New Balance Numerics Pro Court 212 Shoe Review/Wear Test

New Balance Numerics Pro Court 212

Words by: Syd Walters

Edited by: Jason Lee

First impression

My first impression of the shoes was that it was not a different or avante garde shoe. Basically, it did not stray far in terms of being what is considered a “next step” shoe, it is very simplistic in a sense. I was not too excited about it due to the ollie pad design and how its toe cap looked less than effective. Frankly, after seeing Flo Mairtin in his Tricolor part and his Welcome to Habitat my perspective on the shoe changed. The 212 is one of lowest priced shoes New Balance Numerics(NBN) offers; the lowest being the 210’s. I bought a marked down pair at my local shop for $45.50. Right out of the box, I noticed that majority of the shoe is canvas; there is double layered suede on the side panel. The toe cap reminds me of the Nike Blazer XT but thinner, implying it’ll break in quicker. The tongue on the shoe does not have a booty system, elastic bands preventing the tongue from moving around. The tread on the shoe isn’t like most of the other New Balance vulcanized shoes; it features a herrington bone based tread, usually these shoes have a hexagonal patterned sole. The pattern for the tread looks promising so I expect to not have any problems with the shoe slipping around. The shape of the toe is very round with not much for a point at the end of the shoe. The shoes insole are very promising. It’s the same insole from the New Balance 255 so I know it’s going to be a good insole. The laces on the shoe go all the way past my pinkie toe on the shoe. I’ve made a prediction that if I don’t shoe glue the laces at the bottom eyelets they’ll more than likely rip. I’ve been wearing the shoes to school for about two weeks now; I’m unable to let one know about the break in point for the shoe itself, but I’ll be able to let determine when the toe cap breaks in.

1 hour of wear

First Session

I was disappointed with my first skate sesh with the 212; my hopes for the shoe weren’t high either. Getting used to the toecap resulted in either underflicking or over flicking my kickflips. I noticed a bit of wear on the toe of the shoe within the first couple hours. It took a couple minutes to get used to ollies as well because the toe cap went back so far my foot did not grip the board properly. I was able to hit some decently high drops in the shoe for a while before I started to feel it thanks to the insole. The NBN logo on my right foot started ripping due to nollie heels. My laces have not wear as of yet but I plan on shoe gooing the laces when it begins to rip. The laces seem to be made out of a sturdier material implying that it will last longer.

1 Month of Wear(20+ hours)

1 Month of Wear(20+ hours)

Final Session

Skating this shoe was a disappointment; I wish the other shoes like Huf or Adidas shoes could take a beating like the NBN shoes. I couldn’t count how many times I’d text my friend saying this shoe wouldn’t get a hole. I simply couldn’t like the shoe just because of the shape of the toe cap. I could not feel comfortable doing a kickflip without changing the way I positioned my feet every single time. Everytime I did a kickflip the positioning of my feet was seemingly different from the last. The laces felt sturdy and for me they lasted until about a week before a hole tore through the entire shoe. In part this was due to me changing the lay out of my laces so that they would experience the least amount of wear from flip tricks. If I had not moved the laces about it is likely that they would have ripped much faster due to the fact that the laces were relatively close to the toe cap of the shoe, increasing the likelihood of wear. The shoe got a hole in the side panel long after the sole of the shoe, this is in part thanks to the canvas backing underneath the toe cap and double layered suede. Having the shoe mostly canvas besides where one needs it was a great idea; I hardly noticed the difference. It is possible that this enhanced the breathability of the shoe as well. The grip on the sole of the shoe was doing an effective job based off the idea that I never actively questioned the grip of my shoe. The insole was great and I never had a problem with my foot feeling too much impact. Although I never tried to jump off something big, I jumped down some decent sized stuff and it felt pretty great in that my feet did not hurt after a skate session. One problem I had with the shoe was I’d end up over tightening the shoe and my pinky toes would start to rub against the shoe. I had to stop for the day after a long skate sesh because it squished my toe so much.

  Overall, it was a decent shoe if one is into having a round toe cap and enjoy the flick of a rubber toe cap. NBN did a good job in terms of durability, grip, and comfort but the shape of the shoe was just not for me. However, keep in mind that a tight fit may not be the best way to lace this shoe in that the pinky toe will likely rub up against the toe of the shoe causing significant discomfort.