good definitive advice. i'll probably a)spin the wheel, b)throw the dice, c)close my eyes, and d)pick one. i'm doin lots of reading of descriptions, reviews, etc, right now. i'll try to narrow the field down to 3 or 4, and see which is available when i'm ready to buy. have had a NB 767 for two years, well past its supposed useful life, and it's still doing me good for just walking on the road. but it's not real stable on an uneven trail. there's nothing up front, and too much under the heel. i'll check out the new balance trail running shoes, maybe even buy a pair next month. i'm going to do a new topic, on my backpacking goal for this year.