Review on New Balance Arishi Running Pigment Girls' Shoes and Athletic by John Ferguson

These sneakers are attractive, lightweight and the overall construction appears to be good. I appreciate that the entire outsole is rubber and not foam like other kids' running shoes. The sizing (like other sneaker manufacturers) is odd. I usually buy shoes a size or two larger than what my kids wear in most other shoes. My kids also tend to be "wide" even if they don't have wide feet. Those last two things are typical of my kids and how they go with sneakers, but once I figured it out we were ready. Reason for the 3 star rating: After cutting the tag off these sneakers and throwing away the box when my son gave them a thumbs up, I found that the laces are FIXED and NOT ADJUSTABLE. They cannot be loosened or tightened because the tips of the laces are glued to the shoes! After wearing them for a few days, my son noticed that they felt loose. The elastic is not strong and they have already started to lose elasticity. It wouldn't be long before they got too loose. In the end I had no choice but to cut out the elastic laces and replace them with other laces. This was still problematic as the top hole (where the original ones were glued) was unsuitable for the new laces. The shoes are still a bit loose because my son can't lace up and tighten the new laces as high as he should. Verdict: These sneakers ended up in chaos. I have been happy with New Balance in the past and will continue to purchase their products. BUT, I will definitely make sure never to buy shoes with non-adjustable fixed laces ever again!