Merrell Shoes

[Jayboflavin04]

I have been wearing Merrells for a few months now and freaking love these "Ventilators"....Love them for everyday use, but want some reviews on trail use..

[bpitt]

I'm interested in the Ventilators as well. I've a pair of their hiking boots and swear by them. Would like a few reviews on general wear/trail use.

[topshelf]

I had a pair of ventilators I wore everyday teaching and loved them. Got a pair to take on the trail, they wore down faster than anything. The tread wore and became slick fast. When I bought the shoes I got them tight and could barely slide them on. The shoe stretched out and no matter how tight I tied them they were always loose. Not a good thing to run into while on a section hike. I am still healing from the heel blisters they gave me, and I got the blisters in early August.

I'll never wear a pair of merrells to hike in again.

[brotheral]

I've had very good experiences with Merrell / Wolverine products. Going back at least 12 years ago when I was using their Merrell Eagle and then Ultimate hiking boots. I have 2 pairs of Merrell Convertible Sandals. One is brand new which I put up knowing they'd stop making them. Glad I did :)
My work boots that I've used for many, many 12 hour shifts on concrete floors are 6" Slip Resistant Wolverine Durashocks. Very comfortable.... The pair I had before them were also Wolverine Durashocks. No blisters or sore feet EVER.

[Danielsen]

Which Ventilators? There's the chameleon ventilators, the moab ventilators, and possibly some others... "ventilators" basically just means they're a variant that breathes well.

The Moab ventilator seems to be very popular among backpackers, I know several who own and love them though I've never had them myself.

I've owned Pulse mids (quite old now!) and chameleon wrap GTX and still have my all-leather chameleon wrap travellers, and I found all of them to be very comfortable and durable pieces of footwear. I have since become addicted to sticky rubber (like 5.10's stealth rubber) so I probably won't buy any more Merrells (vibram just ain't doin' it) but if you're not a traction freak I'm sure the Moab Ventilators have perfectly competent outsoles.

[Kaptain Kangaroo]

I used Mesa Ventilators on my thru-hike. They were fantastic. Super comfortable & I got good mileage out of them. I replaced them about every 1000 miles only because the sole was getting a little soft & would start to feel the rocks through them. When I did replace them there was still plenty of rubber on the tread & the uppers were still in good condition, with only a small amount of splitting near the small toe area (this happended on both pairs that were replaced on trail)

Unfortunately Merrell discontinued the Mesa Ventilator in 2009, so now I wear the Moab Ventilator, which is virtually the same shoe with slightly different design s on the upper. I have done probably a couple of thousand miles in the Moabs & found them just as good as the Mesa's.

The best thing about the Ventilators is how fast they dry. Sure they get wet easily, but a couple of hours of hiking in them & they are dry again. Fantastic for long distance hiking.

[perrito]

My daughter loves the Moab Ventilators. She says they are the best hiking shoes she's ever used. She outgrew her size 7 and preferred them to the Chameleon version so we got new Moabs but tried the Gortex version this time for the cooler months. Anyone looking for a pair of size 7 women's?

[Torch09]

I used a pair of Moab ventilators on my 2009 thru hike attempt. They lasted the whole 1600 miles I did (everything except Virginia). I'm certain I could have continued using them, but my mom made me toss them out because they smelled horrible (she bought me a new pair that i plan on wearing on my 2011 thru)

[SMSP]

My first pair of Merrells were Mesa Ventilators in regular. My second pair have been Moab Ventilators in wide and I love them. I wear them non-hiking and hiking. I plan to buy another pair once I need another.

SMSP

[Rocketman]

I bought a pair of Moab Ventilators frm Merrill for use on the Superior Hiking Trail.

I found them too soft in the torsional mode. In other words, rough trail would twist them uncomfortably. After about 25 miles on the trail, I hitched into a town that had an outfitter and bought more suitable footwear.

Merrill DOES make some models that are very stiff in torsion, but perhaps none of them are in the Ventilator series. In fact, I subsequently bought some stiff Merrill trail runners.

[Old Grouse]

I've worn the Moab Ventilators all summer. They aren't bad but I prefer a little bit stiffer sole. They're also a touch too wide, or rather, too voluminous for my foot. I put orange Superfeet in them and that helped on both counts.

[malowitz]

I thrud this year in Moab vents. They are my everyday footwear and I took my regular pair to start the trail. I was getting about 700 miles per pair. I ended up the black toe cover in Maine and bought a new pair for delivery to Monson. 12 miles in I had the same type of tear - right along a line of stiching. I finished in them w/no problem and Merrell replaced them after the hike. I still wear them as my everyday shoes. I would wear them again anytime.

I had tried some other shoes beforehand include Garmont and Montrails. The Merrells fit me the best, by far.

[Jayboflavin04]

Thanks for the replys folks! I really love these shoes so I bought my son a pair. I bought him the Moab Vent Mid. He didnt like the Z-strap on the low cut. One of my concerns (that someone mentioned) is torsional roll, and rocks. Think I am just gonna wear my montrails for this hike and retire them after this hike. My son however has had foot issues with every pair of shoes he owns. It sure is difficult to find a pack shoe for kids. Wish weeman's feet luck :P

[Chenango]

I've worn the Moab Ventilators all summer. They aren't bad but I prefer a little bit stiffer sole. They're also a touch too wide, or rather, too voluminous for my foot. I put orange Superfeet in them and that helped on both counts.


Ditto to much of what Old Grouse said. I am on my 4th or 5th pair of Moab Ventilators. They seem to last about 500 miles or so. I also always wear Superfeet inserts ... mostly for the stiffness they provide. These shoes dry very, very fast. I love that. Also, they are very comfortable. Before I bought my Moab Ventilator mid highs with Goretech I even once used my regular Moabs for snowshoeing. Although not the best choice for wearing with bindings, I want to point out that my feet were always warm and the shoes went on nicely when frozen in the morning. Moabs really do not hold much water in the fabric.

These shoes are wide, especialy in the toe box. Fortunately for me, I need that little bit of extra room.

I give these a thumbs up!!

[malowitz]

I'll add I wore the lows the low-top version. There were a couple of days w/a slight high ankle sprain but the rolling didn't cause me any problems. I also went with the non-goretex.

Also, I went through 4 different branded insoles and ended with Sole. The supperfeet didn't provide enough arch support according the podiatrist in Palmerton, PA.