简介：

2017年开始就是这么的惊喜，New Balance Numeric提供了他们最具科技性的鞋款NB Numeric 868来让我们进行测试。一提到New Balance Numeric的队伍，脑子里立马想到的就是“我的天，这支队伍非常的狠啊！”而且这种想法在他们每年推出的那么些视觉杰作后就更加根深蒂固了。自从我们上一次测试了New Balance Numeric的Brighton 344之后呢，NB Numeric项目跟着他们的滑手也是不停地搞了一些动作出来。首先吸引我们眼球的就是在Thrasher发布的Tinto de Verano片段，紧接着又是在Transworld发布了Rooks of Hazard旅行片段。乍一看，你可能会拒绝这双868而且不把它当做一双滑板鞋看待，因为它有着一双跑步鞋的轮廓。然而这双868一点儿也不是什么玩笑，售价110美元，是一款直接从NB运动研究实验室走出来的产品，从脚尖到脚跟都配备了New Balance的专利科技来让鞋子滑起来更加耐磨耐撕扯。既然已经有那么多鞋款站出来想要在“技术”领域中赢得一席之座，显然这双868就是New Balance Numeric的筹码了。接下来一起看一下868在我们测评中表现如何，New Balance Numeric最具科技性的鞋款是否配的上你的脚呢？

Introduction:

We’re starting 2017 off with a banger; New Balance Numeric hooked us up with a pair of their most technical models to weartest, the NB Numeric 868. Any mention of the New Balance Numeric team, an immediate thought pops into our heads, “Holy shit, this team is stacked”. This thought is only further reinforced with the visual masterpieces they put out each year. Since our last New Balance Numeric review of the Brighton 344, NB Numeric’s program has been steadily churning out content from their riders; grabbing our attention by putting out “Tinto de Verano” on Thrasher, and following it with a “Rooks of Hazard” tour video on Transworld. At first glance, you may be turned off by the 868 and dismiss it as a skate shoe due to it’s running shoe inspired silhouette. But the 868 is no joke. Running at 110 bucks, it is a direct product of intensive research from NB’s sports research lab and is equipped from heel to toe with New Balance’s patented technology to make skating in the shoe more resistant to wear and tear. There’s been a numerous amount of shoe models to come out that try to win the “technical battle”, and the 868 is New Balance Numeric’s take on it. Read on below to see how the 868 did in our weartest, and whether or not New Balance Numeric’s most technical shoe proves worthy for your feet.

尺码：

New Balance Numeric 868偏小半码，我们建议比你平时穿的选大半码。

Sizing

The New Balance Numeric 868 runs a half size small, we recommend going a half size bigger than what you usually wear.

耐磨性：

我们最想看的就是鞋子的耐磨性测试。这双鞋也很是让人印象深刻的，大多数鞋子在我们测试的10小时后都会在脚趾或是kickflip区域出现一些破洞，或者说在整个测试结束后也没什么寿命了。但是这双868一点破洞都没有，只是留下了一些痕迹，而且这双鞋的耐磨性并没有随着鞋子的穿着和摩擦而受到什么影响。鞋子的鞋面采用了New Balance的Fantom Fit科技，这是一种类似骨骼设计的鞋面，是把两种比较薄的材料通过高温融合到一起从而创造出的一种轻型、结构化的鞋面，同时这种鞋面又有着非常适合滑板的特性——耐磨。在滑板的时候，首先受到摩擦的就是你可以在图片上看到的那层灰色的鞋面，第一层的防范就是用合成皮革材料来包裹鞋身，其底下更是融合了一层厚一点的高质量麂皮。尽管第一层比较薄，但是也不要低估它的能力。在鞋面不断地经受砂纸的摩擦之后，仅仅是某些地方磨下来了一小块，从而露出了底下的那一层，不过要磨穿的话还是远远不够的。鞋面的无缝线结构也是一个加分点，因此就没有缝线被撕破而导致开裂的风险了。最后要说的是，第二层的麂皮不仅仅起到了防范作用，在结构和稳定性上也起到了重要作用，kickflip和ollie区域虽然饱受摩擦但是结构依旧保持得非常好，并且更加加强了几个点之间的联系。然而其他鞋子的鞋面也许就会开始变得更加脆弱，那些脆弱的地方很快就被磨穿了。

Durability

If there’s one thing we want to get right into about how the shoe performed, it would be the durability test. This shoe was impressive. Impressive in the sense that most shoes we weartest have holes in the toe or kickflip area after 10 hours, or have a limited lifespan left after the weartest. The 868 however, had zero holes come out, had a lot more sessions left in them, and the durability didn’t falter even as the shoe was introduced to strenous wear and tear. The upper of the shoe uses New Balance’s Fantom Fit technology, which is a skeletally designed upper that fuses two extremely thin materials together via high temperatures to create an upper that is lightweight, structured, and in skateboarding’s case, durable. When skating, the first layer of durability is the grey upper that you see in the pictures; this first layer of defense is made out of a synthetic leather material that coats the shoe, and is fused to another thicker layer of high quality suede underneath. Although the first layer is thin, don’t underestimate it’s strength. The consistent griptape abrasion against the shoe’s upper only wore the upper down to a few patches here and there, and at most, revealed the second layer of suede underneath, but was far from tearing open. The added bonus was that it was a seamless construction on the upper, so no bumming out on ripped seams leading to open patches. Lastly, the second layer of suede was not only a defense mechanism, but also a point of structure and stability; the area where kickflips and ollies take the most abuse was well structured and further reinforced the points of contact, whereas other shoes’ uppers may start getting flimsy and reveal more vulnerable points of abrasion to wear out faster.

缓冲性：

这双868有着两种NB Numeric专利科技以及一个聚氨酯鞋垫来构成鞋子的缓震系统，并且一起工作来吸收冲击。鞋子主要的缓震特性就是他们的C-Cap中底，这是一种双密度泡沫复合材料，从中足到脚跟区域会变得更厚和更硬从而更集中对冲击的吸收，而从中足到脚趾区域就会越来越薄，这就提供了更多的控板感。在中底的后跟区域就是New Balance的第二项专利科技，这是一个霓虹色足底材料与C-Cap中底一起提供额外的支撑来避免脚后跟的伤害。在中底的最上面就是一片闭孔聚氨酯鞋垫，在鞋垫里更是有着一些小气泡来提升鞋垫的构造和缓冲性。当所有的这些缓冲元素构成了一个三部分组成的冲击吸收系统时，鞋子本身的缓冲性也只是比较一般的。事实上，C-Cap的中底以及闭孔聚氨酯鞋垫会显得有些僵硬，尽管比世面上大多数的鞋子会好很多，但这显然不是鞋子的一个亮点。

Cushioning

The 868 has 2 NB Numeric patented technologies and a polyurethane insole that attribute to the cushioning of the model and work together towards shock absorption. The shoe’s main cushioning feature is their C-Cap midsole, which is a dual density foam composite that is thicker and stiffer from the midfoot to the heel to be focsed more on shock absorption, and thinner from the midfoot to the toe, which allows for more boardfeel. In the heel of the midsole, lies New Balance’s second patented technology, a neon colored underfoot material that is low to the ground and works with the C-Cap midsole to provide additional support to prevent heel bruises. Lying on top of this midsole construction is a closed cell PU insole that consists of tiny gas bubbles that are trapped within the insole that help with the structure and cushioning of the insole. While all these cushioning elements contribute to a 3 part shock absorption system, the cushioning of the shoe itself was only ok. In fact, the C-Cap midsole and the closed cell PU insole turned out to be quite stiff, and although much better than most shoe models on the market, it wasn’t the highlight of the shoe.

形状：

仅仅是因为它的轮廓看起来太像一双跑步鞋了，你就不由得会想这双鞋穿起来或是滑起来会怎么样呢。在第一印象中，这双鞋就感觉特别窄和短，鞋子本身的形状也是感觉从中足到脚趾区域越来越窄，只有在最前面是比较平圆的，从而避免了变成尖头。此外，鞋子本身看起来就有点笨重，但是穿起来和滑起来就不会有这种感觉了。之前也提到过，鞋面的Fantom Fit有助于加强鞋子的鞋面，这就不会让鞋面下陷从而有助于保持脚趾区域的形状。总的来说，鞋子的形状还是比较特别的，并且需要一些时间去适应的，不过还是比较有效的。

Shape

Just looking at the running shoe inspired sihoulette of the shoe will lead you to wonder how the shoe fits and skates. Upon first impression, the shoe feels quite narrow and short. The shape of the shoe itself feels like it tapers from the midfoot to the toe, only to flatten and round out in the front, instead of becoming a pointed tip. Moreover, the shoe itself looks a bit bulky, but doesn’t feel like that when worn and skated. As aformentioned, the upper’s Fantom Fit helped reinforce the upper of the shoe, which didn’t make the upper sink inwards and helped maintain the shape of the toe. All in all, the shape of the shoe was different, took time getting used to, but turned out to be effective.

控板感和抓板性：

New Balance 868的抓板性是需要一些时间去适应的，作为一双杯状底的鞋型，刚开始鞋子的C-Cap中底会觉得相当的僵硬死板。但是，在一段时间后，鞋子的鞋底和中底都开始慢慢适应后，控板感就有了很大的提高了。有一个缺点就是，在几个小时的滑板过后，鞋底后跟处的胶水就会脱落，图中也可以看出会变成一片松散的皮瓣。要说的是，鞋底的抓板性非常的出色，New Balance在鞋底上用上了他们专利的Ndurance橡胶封口胶，而这就使得其抓地性变得相当好，鞋底上也绝对没有要磨平的迹象。更何况，鞋子的整个外底用的也是这种胶制成的，也是非常的耐磨，抓地性也很好。

Boardfeel and Grip

The boardfeel of the New Balance 868 took some time getting used to. As a cupsole model, initially the C-Cap midsole in the first third of the shoe proved to be quite stiff and inflexible. However, after a few sessions the sole and midsole of the shoe broke in and the boardfeel greatly enhanced. One downside was that after a few hours of skating, the glue on the heel of the sole came apart and became a loose flap as seen in the pictures.  With that said, the grip of the sole was exceptional; New Balance used their patented Ndurance rubber compound for the tread of the sole, and it was extremely grippy, with absolutely no blow out spots on the sole. Not to mention, the overall outsole of the shoe was also made out of this compound and proved to be extremely durable and grippy.

舒适性和稳定性：

这双鞋的另一个亮点就是它的稳定性了，鞋子本身就比较舒适，再加上各种不同的因素结合起来为了你的脚创造一种更紧实的感觉。刚开始，由高质量透气网面材料以及泡沫复合材料制成的鞋领可以稳定脚踝和脚后跟。鞋子的鸭舌也是由相同的材料制成的，不过会有两条松紧带来固定，脚的上面就也可以得到很好的稳定。鞋子的侧面着实突出了其舒适性和稳定性，它的侧壁用的都是一种非常透气的面料，并又一种叫做Fantom Tape无缝线材料覆盖。这样就可以允许其拥有最大的透气性同时又不会牺牲其结构性支撑，而且也不会有缝线会被摩擦到。整个脚在鞋子里面能被很好的稳定，这就避免了打滑，做起翻板招起来就可以很连贯。整个测评的过程中，透气性是非常出色的，这就让鞋子穿起来很是舒服。868所用的高质量材料的确是比较不同，能有助于水气的排出而不是将其困在鞋内。通常来说，鞋子的良好稳定性会容易被忽略，并不是那么被重视，但是这双868，确实是一个比较意外的惊喜。

Comfort and Stability

Another highlight of the shoe was it’s stability. The shoe itself is a snug fit, with a few different factors working together to ensure a tight and compacted fit for the feet. For starters, the shoe’s heel collar consists of a high quality breathable mesh stuffed with a foam composite that stabilizes the ankle and heel into a deep pocket. The tongue of the shoe is made of the same material, but is held in place by two flexible straps that work to stabilize the superior surface of the feet. The sidewalls of the shoe really highlight the comfort and stability of the shoe; each lateral sidewall is made of an extremely breathable mesh panel that is held up by a seamless imprinted overlay called Fantom Tape. This allows maximum breathability without sacrificing structural support and leaving seams vulnerable to abrasion.  The feet were completely stabilized within the shoe, which eliminated slippage and helped with the consistency of flick tricks. During the whole weartest, breathability was exceptional which made the shoes quite comfortable to wear. The high quality materials used in the 868 really do show a difference and help wick away moisture rather than trapping it. Often times, good stability of a shoe is overlooked and not really focused on, but when it came to the 868, it was an excellent surprise.

总结：

New Balance Numeric 868的跑步鞋外形可能刚开始看起来不怎么习惯，不过滑起来适应了鞋子之后就又满是惊喜了。耐磨性、舒适性和稳定性都是鞋子的一大亮点，不过其控板感和僵硬的感觉还是有待提高的。对于那些充满好奇的人来说，这双鞋绝对值得一试，也是不会让你失望的。

Summary

The New Balance Numeric 868’s running inspired silhouette may seem unsettling at first, but the skate adapted shoe was full of pleasant surprises. Durability, comfort and stability were the highlights of the shoe, while boardfeel and stiffness could be improved. For those who are curious, these shoes are definitely worth trying out. You won’t be disappointed.