Story time. So the reason this blog post is called "Merrell: Slippers for the Trail" is an interesting story. Back in 2018 my boyfriend and I were hiking the Alum Cave Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains for the first time. I was taking pictures of salamanders when a couple walked past us. We kept finding this couple on the trail the whole time, and actually sat with them at Alum Cave talking about past travels. The husband noticed my boyfriend was wearing the same shoes as him and made a remark. They were both wearing Merrell Moab hiking shoes, and the husband made the comment that they were like slippers for the trail. That comment has stuck with me ever since, especially now that both of us own a pair of Merrells.
Let me step back a few months from that moment. My boyfriend was having trouble finding a shoe that would fit his large, wide feet. Being a 6' 5" man and having 12-13 wide feet it can be difficult to find the right pair of shoe. He had been wearing a pair of Keens, but upon wearing those he ran into the problem of having an ingrown toe nail. He thought maybe it's because the shoe was just a tad snug. In comes the Merrell Moab. We had stumbled upon a pair of 12 wide at a store and the rest is history. Every time he finds a deal on them he buys them for back ups. He's very hard on shoes in general, and these seem to have lasted a lot longer than previous pairs from other brands. Seeing him enjoying his pair of Merrell shoes made me consider getting a pair of my own.
If any of you have been following my blog posts way back last year I wrote about my Timberland hiking shoes. When I wrote that post I had just bought a new pair because my old reliables were losing tread and the leather was starting to crack. Working at the school (and wearing a pair of men's shoes) had caused my feet to get wider. Sad part with Timberland women's hiking shoes is that they don't sell their wide hiking shoes in the waterproof option (now they do, but when I wrote that blog post they hadn't). So I bought a pair of regular waterproof pair thinking I could stretch them out enough to work.
It didn't work. I wanted to cry when I wore them sometimes. I had bought them during my last months at the school. Hiking in a pair of boots that are too snug is a little scarring in my opinion. There were times where I tried to my foot around to relive the pain. Those days I was happy to take off those boots and put my Chacos on for the evening. After my outdoor school days I had to give them to a friend because I just couldn't wear them. I felt defeated when it came to wanting a good hiking shoe still.
Since my boyfriend had had such good luck with Merrell I thought I would give them a try. The first pair I got were my Siren's (purple pair in the first picture). Let me tell you what. I was in heaven. They may not have been waterproof, but they have been an awesome summer hiker to me. I took them with me back in October to the Grand Canyon and Zion. I hiked 22 1/2 miles in those shoes in that week, and my feet were fine. I actually almost bought another pair in Tennessee when my cheap Red Head hiking boots killed my feet after hiking Charlie's Bunion. I even just use those shoes to ride on the motorcycle, especially when it's really hot in the summer time. But I needed a pair of hiking shoes that were waterproof for those rainy Ohio days.
I ended up getting a pair Moab hiking shoes myself (the Blue pair in the first picture) for Christmas. The trails in Ohio can get muddy and slick during the spring and fall. I needed something that could withstand all the wet, but give me traction when the trail got slick. I haven't owned those shoes for a year, and they look like a mud mess already. They have not disappointed me when it comes to water proofing. I come away from the trail with dry happy feet every time. The great part is I still have that comfort I had in my Timberland hiking boots, which has been hard for me to find.
Is there any cons I could say about the Merrell shoes? I can't think of any. This has been the only brand of shoe that I can order the same size in any shoe they have and it will fit perfectly. I have a pair of their shoes for winter to go to work in, and just a regular leather pair for work as well. I don't have to order the shoes in a wide because the medium works. I still get a comfort I would have gotten from an anti fatigue insole in a Timberland boot. I've owned other brand of hiking boots in my years and only two brands have ever made me feel great after working/hiking in them for hours. This has actually caused my boyfriend and I to buy extras when we find them on sale because we love the Merrell shoes so much. This is now our go to shoe brand and probably will be for a long time.
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