I've been wearing the more expensive New Balance 926/927/928 for the last 10 years. They were great shoes until the last couple of years when their quality started going down. Now they aren't worth the extra $$ spent. I used to be able to get about a year's worth of wear on the job, but now I'm lucky to get 6-9 months from them before the soles start wearing through.
I had an issue with plantar fasciitis which is why I started wearing the more expensive shoes. My podiatrist made me a custom orthotic and recommended the 926's. The orthotics were expensive ($300) but lasted several years. When they wore out, someone recommended Dr. Scholl's Active Series insoles.
At $20-25/pair, they are a great alternative to the custom orthotics. Now, instead of paying over $100 for the top of the line New Balance shoes, I buy the NB 608's and pair them with the Dr. Scholl's insoles. Problem solved!
Let me add a tip I've found. These athletic shoes tend to shrink a little bit through the process of getting wet and drying out over and over again. After wearing them on a rainy day, I remove the insoles, insert a
shoe tree to keep the shoe stretched to original size, and then prop them up in front of a fan to dry out completely. This keeps them from shrinking.
