Adidas Terrex Kids' Sneakers vs. New Balance 680V5 / 860 V11 Kids' Running Shoes

The Terrex fits wide feet reasonably well — parents with hard-to-fit kids do recommend it. But 'reasonably well' isn't the same as standard, wide, and extra-wide with half sizes across every age range. New Balance built a sizing system that actually matches how kids' feet are shaped, not just how long they are. One reviewer fit a leg brace without sizing up — that's not a minor detail, that's a life-changer for some families.

New Balance makes a great running shoe. It does not make a shoe you'd wear through a puddle or on a muddy trail without regret. The Terrex is water-resistant by design — light rain, mild snow, wet grass — and it's rated for actual trail use. For kids who don't stay on the sidewalk (which is all of them), that matters every single week.

The New Balance is lighter, better cushioned, and designed around running mechanics — shock absorption, stability, reflective tape for visibility. The Terrex is heavier and more rugged, which is exactly right if your kid is destroying shoes on a gravel playground but wrong if they're running laps in PE. These shoes have different jobs, and the New Balance is the better athletic performer.

Nine purchases of the same shoe over six years from one parent isn't a review — it's a verdict. That kind of repeat buying only happens when a shoe solves a real problem consistently across multiple kids and multiple years. The New Balance has strong repeat-buyer sentiment too, but the Terrex's documented loyalty is the kind of real-world data that beats any lab test.