Comments: I like this shoe and received it as a replacement for my 1 year warranty for the 1005's, which were hideously bland. But, those were the best wearing shoe I had ever worn, as they lasted 7 months, and I play 3 times per week, and I'm a toe dragger when I serve. The durability in these 996s were short, I'm not even sure how long they lasted, maybe just 2 months? What shocked me is the left toe was wearing out as well, that has never happened to me before. I think the cushioning is a little poor, as I slammed my foot down on my final step to reach a drop shot and promptly bruised my heel. I like the cosmetics, the speed and the comfort of this shoe, but the cushioning and durability are poor.
From: Matt, 5/13

Comments: Just a follow up from my previous review below - I contacted NB customer service and found out that they will only replace the shoe. They don't do credits like Asics and others do. This is disappointing. Also, the 12 month "guarantee" only works once per customer. They won't stand behind their product after that. More disappointment. The only good thing that came from this is that rather than sending me a replacement of this same crappy shoe, they are sending me the new 990 running shoe instead. And the customer service guy, was super nice. Bottom line - good customer service, crappy shoe, crappy guarantee. Recommend avoid NB for court shoes, especially if you burn through shoes quickly like I do.
From: Eric, 4/13

Comments: Comfy shoe. Extremely poor durability in the toe and poor lateral support from the mid-foot rearward. I have burned through the rubber soles on the toe all the way to foam in about 25 hours. My Asics Revolutions lasted about 4 times as long. Ankles are now pronating severely due to lack of support. These shoes look nice and are comfy at first, but you will be sending them back way early. Thumbs down.
From: Eric, 4/13

Comments: I love NB shoes, my favorite shoe ever is the black/green NB CT820 from about 7 years back. These looked similar so I decided to get these. I'm torn. They are lightweight with great stability which I love and why I bought them. But they lasted me 4 weeks. Sent them back and the next pair lasted 4 weeks. I coach a DI tennis team and only play twice a week hard, so I was expecting more from a 1 yr warranty. It's just in the toe area though - it entirely splits open so you can see your toes. I recommended them to others on our team, and they also love the performance, but again, they wear through the same area in the front toe box in a few weeks. too bad.
From: Mike, 4/13

Comments: Just received these shoes last week. I played 8 sets (in 1 day) and the right toe is showing wear already. Very surprised a shoe that is backed by a 1 year warranty would do this. Tennis Warehouse had no problem taking them back in as defective. Maybe this was just a bad batch. I have enjoyed New Balance shoes for many years and will continue to use, just hope this is a one time issue.
From: Alan, 2/13

Comments: Definitely a great shoe! However, because of the webbing in the front toe knuckle area which restricts toe knuckle movement causing some toe knuckle skin burn, I had to modify the webbing. I heated the web to loosen it up and remolded (stretching) it to accommodate a larger toe knuckle movement. Once I fixed that, it felt great!!
From: A.J., 1/13

Comments: These are by far the best tennis shoes I've ever owned. I've owned Adidas Barricades on and off for the past 8 years and loved them. I've worn two pairs of Nike Court Ballistics recently and only had pain in my feet from them, so I switched to these when the new "cooler" colors recently came out. I literally didn't have to break these shoes in at all, as they're light weight, have comfortable insoles and the best is their one year warranty that I'm sure I will be able to use, which makes these shoes an even smarter buy.
From: Kevin, 1/13