A common problem with American-brand running shoes - uppers separating from the midsole

Glue failure at the upper to midsole interface affects all the American brands that I have used (NB, Nike & Saucony, etc). The New Balance 827 which I bought in Apr '09 is showing this problem after 3 months of use (worn alternately with another two pairs of shoes). Remarkably, the Japanese (Asics) & the Korean (Prospecs) don't seem to have this problem with their running shoes. This leads me to conclude that the Americans used inferior glue!

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My experiment with minimalist running shoes - part 2

I began using the Prospec Marathon 4 in Feb '09 (alternating with two other pairs of running shoes). Within a couple of weeks of use, I noticed that the outsole durability is just "so-so" (see related post below) when compared to the gold standard - Asics's carbon rubber outsole, AHAR (Asics High Abrasion Resistance?). Six months later, the Marathon 4's heel contact area has worn through and part of the midsole has been gouged out. The sight of the exposed midsole is enough to scare me into retiring the shoe.....
What I like: price (sub RM150), weighs 8 oz. (US size 10) & no upper-midsole glue failure that generally plague all American brands.
What I dislike: poor abrasion resistance at heel-strike area.
Will I buy it again? No, the no-frill Asics Maverick 2 has better outsole durability and costs only RM10 more (also sub RM150), but at 11 oz (US size 10) it cannot be considered a true minimalist shoe :-(.

Related post: My experiment with minimalist running shoes - part 1

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