New shoes

The New Balance 440 Hi held up about 2 1/2 months, not sure how many session. I skate about 4-6 times per week for 30-60 minutes each session, so must've been about 40-60 sessions roughly. That's actually a lot.

The first thing that went was the sole under my front foot. The outer layer was gone pretty quickly, within the first 2 weeks I think. The white rubber sole beneath held up 2 months until I had a full hole and could see the insole.

The side of the shoe is pretty good. I'm not doing kickflips, just trying heelflips now and then, so I guess my usage is not super intense there.

All in all, it's a pretty good shoe. I like how soft it feels right of the bat. What I don't like, I guess that's a general New Balance thing, is how wide the shoe is. The next one I'm trying, since my belove Lakai Newport Hi has still not been updated and is not available in my size, is a DC Manual Hi Top Ish Cepeda.

It's much narrower and feels more snug on the foot, which I guess I prefer as I'm finding out. It's also stiffer and needs some break-in period, which is OK.

I like the minimalist design of it, very similar to the Lakai Newport Hi, or the Converse Chucks, the grandfather of this design. Cushioning seems to be decent, not on a cupsole level, but the insoles feel good so far. We'll see how well it's holding up over the next months.