NTS Invites: Daniel Simões (Tuga) - Review of New Balance 997DLSR Made in USA “Ski Pack”

Debuting the segment where we invite people from various fields to write collaborative posts, the Portuguese resident in Brazil Daniel Simões (a.k.a Tuga) does a detailed review of the New Balance 997DSLR "Ski Pack".

When NottheSamo invited me to write an article for the page, there was a small debate about which sneaker to cover in the review. In a year when I decided to focus on my collection, this 997 was one of the last models I had ordered from abroad and was about to be delivered by the post office. What a surprise it was when, after we decided this would be the sneaker to have a review, I passed by an NB store in the Morumbi area and there it was, just arrived in Brazil and within everyone's reach. Even better, this way I could write about a sneaker that is now available in the country and, who knows, help someone with their purchasing decision (I'll be politically correct and not even comment on the retail price it ended up having here).

As I mentioned above, 2016 is a year in which, barring rare exceptions, I decided to focus my collection on New Balance, with the focus primarily being on sneakers like this one. It's not a limited edition (even if they want to sell it as such) but a general release from the brand, but so what? Who needs limited editions or collaborations when a simple GR outperforms most of what's out there on the market with a collab label? Here we are talking serious business, playful sneakers stay at the door to watch and learn.

The silhouette of the 997s is not my favorite from NB, but perhaps I will place it as the most elegant. It's as if they combined a bit of the robustness and class of the 1500 with the raw aggressiveness of the 998 and in the end, this design of extreme elegance came out. The shape is impeccable and I believe the credentials of the factory in the United States speak for themselves (by the way, when are they going to start making 1500s in those American factories again?). The sneaker sits on an Encap sole, ensuring great comfort for casual wear, translated into a well clean midsole that doesn't steal any spotlight from the rest of the sneaker.

The construction and execution of the sneaker are brilliant. There are no visible glue marks, the seams are flawless, the finishes are well done, and the panels made of different materials have been articulated in a harmonious and classy way. Did I hear the word materials? Vish, sit down and buckle up because now things are getting heavy. Well, it's known that what comes from Flimby and the USA generally has a standard above what is produced in other factories of the brand, and even though I did not experience the golden age when it was easy and cheap to buy high-quality releases on the market, I have lived long enough to know that, in current times, it is not normal to have general releases with Horween leather details. Yes, folks, that's right, that fine detail of releases with the Horween stamp, over 300 dollars, is presented here in small portions of the sneaker, bringing a feeling of being quite premium  to this release. Between the tongue and some lateral parts of the sneaker, we are invited to experience the softness of leather that is usually only available in the grown-up world. Other than that, it's that recipe that never fails, soft and good quality suede (nothing too extravagant, but definitely above average) combined with a classic and very nice mesh from the toebox. And by the way, if you allow me, even the laces are of good quality, something that may seem picky, but that has already irritated me in some of the 998 that I have at home.

Continuing on, it is practically impossible not to talk about the colors of the sneaker. To be honest, if someone told me before seeing the sneaker that they would combine wine color (or burgundy, as you prefer to call it) with an orangish brown, I would probably wrinkle my nose and lose some of my interest, but it's for reasons like these that I'm not designing sneakers or defining color palettes ahahah.  The cw of this sneaker is simply killer! The combination that apparently wouldn’t work turned out to be absolutely brilliant, further complemented by the gray color in the collar lining area. The shades of burgundy that vary between the leather, suede, and mesh parts are excellent and gain even more life when contrasted with the orangish touches from the New Balance logo, the tongue, and a small area that extends from the top where the laces pass to the beginning of the heel area. The insoles reclaim a darker shade of gray, marked with the 997 of the silhouette and two colored lines, still sober, that traverse the insole from one end to the other.

Hardly spoken about, perhaps because it is a GR and does not have a partnership stamp with a famous store, this was a sneaker that went somewhat unnoticed and that, in some stores abroad, will end up being leftover for the sales season. I had been itching since December 2015 to buy it, and now that I have it, for me, it was by far the best general release of New Balance in 2015 (debatable in the opinion of many, but that’s what’s great, having our own opinions to discuss). Don't be swayed only by the names of the big stores that do a thousand limited editions per year. More and more “collabs are the new GRs” and, in some cases, as in this one, it is practically vice versa.

Thank you Notthe Samo for the invitation and opportunity to relive the nostalgia of writing about sneakers, and keep up your excellent work. Stay fresh!

- Daniel Simões

Instagram: @limpa_vias