Merrell Trail Glove Shoe Review

Shoes! I hate them, but I have to have them. Without shoes, I would be a lost soul, with really sore and callused soles. I’ve always been shoe resistant, for the 14 years that I did martial arts, it was all barefoot. In High School, all the sports I played were shoeless (swimming, water polo). But now, running, plyometrics, and bicycle riding are my favorites. And, they pretty much require shoes.

When I took up running, I immediately noticed that my knees were getting sore. I’ve never had a knee problem, and I just figured that it was because I was a heavy guy. But when exercising in the house, I always took off my shoes, and running in place, jumping rope, doing plyo, never hurt my knees. I eventually came to the conclusion that it was my expensive running shoes causing me issues.

After hours of internet research, I found out that barefoot-running was probably my best solution. The industry leader in these types of shoes are the Vibram Five Fingers. I had seen the Vibram Five Fingers online before, and they look ridiculous. Although, they are curiously cool. (I secretly want a pair)

Also in my research, I came across the Merrell Trail Glove. These are not ridiculous looking at all, but I also read that they are less barefoot like. At $109, they cost a pretty penny for a shoe I was unsure of buying. I tried to find alternatives first. I tried Wal-Mart’s water sock, lame idea! I also looked at modifying my flip-flops, etc. I even… hold your breath… thought about running barefoot. After running the idea by my wife, she thought that would be a bad idea. I’d probably pick up a lot of gunk like pesticides, and chemicals on my feet. In addition, one small stick, syringe, or poo pile could ruin my day. So, after much back and forth about spending some serious $, I decided to go to the local mega mall, or the Galleria, to try some different types on. Well, the mall only had the Vibram Five Fingers. They are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. They are awesome, but like I mentioned before… D-O-R-K-Y!

So… on to the Merrell Review. I stopped by my local REI who has them in stock to try on. I left my socks on when trying them on, and they felt a little weird. Okay, I have to admit, really weird. They initially felt like they were defective, odd, uncomfortable, weird. That feeling lasted a good 5 seconds (otherwise, I would not have bought them). After trotting around the store, jumping on the fake rocks in there, and pretending I was actually going to go hike in them, I had second thoughts. These shoes were really cool, and comfy, but $109!?!. I went home, then returned to try them on again, then bought them online for $89. I could live with that price.

FIRST RUN: Best Experience Evar! It was like these shoes were made for me. It was like I was 17 again. I wanted to run in dirt (they’re called trail shoes), they were flexible, and it just felt so natural. I ran, and ran, and ran. I felt so good, I even skipped in them (Only one or two skips, seriously now). It was all good, I was so happy, I am even smiling now thinking of running that day. Then came the morning after… I had trouble making eye contact with my shoes… My calves were so sore! These shoes definitely work different muscles. I don’t blame the shoes, but sheesh, I had to blame something right? It took me about a week to recover. After about a week, I was fully recovered and went running again. Not as many miles, and zero soreness the next morning.

Bottom Line: The shoes are great. They fit snug, and I would recommend wearing them without socks. At first, they might feel a little weird, like there is something under the balls of your feet, but that feeling goes away very quickly, and becomes unnoticeable after a few wears. You have to run on the balls of your feet in these shoes, and that helps with my knee soreness. They seem durable, so durable, I had thoughts that they might last too long and I would need to find an excuse to buy a new pair.

They are super light weight. The UPS box they came in felt empty. I had the bright idea of putting these in my backpack/briefcase to take to work so I can run to catch the City Commuter Bus that always drives pass my stop.

I think investing in top notch equipment, especially shoes is well worth the investment. They’ll last longer, and keep you out of the doctor’s office (think co-pay, prescriptions) and save you money in the long run. Too, when you’re getting in shape you’ll want to look good doing it. I wore these shoes to work on casual Friday, and I got 3-4 good compliments. I couldn’t tell if they were sincere or not (I’ve never received shoe compliments) but the wife assures me that they were sincere, because they are ‘cute’ shoes.