When I was looking for new trail running shoes, a lot of the reviews I found were written by people who only owned the shoes a short time. I wanted to wait until I had real experience before posting my thoughts. After putting over 360 miles of hiking, trail running, road running, and walking in my Merrell Moab Gore-Tex Hiking Shoes, I wanted to share my opinion. These shoes rock.
When I first purchased them, I could have sworn they were labeled as trail running shoes and not hiking shoes. Either my memory is off or they started calling them hiking shoes to make it clear they are not the thin, light minimalist type. For someone like me who likes more protection on rocky trails, I run just fine in them.
About Merrell
Before we talk about the shoes, let's talk briefly about the brand. I never heard of them before and you might not have either. These shoes are not cheap. The price is in line with similar options, but before spending that much money I wanted to know a little about the company.
Merrell started making outdoor boots in 1981. Backpacker Magazine called them the most comfortable and functional boots in North America.
In 1985 they started making hiking boots that were more like athletic shoes. Over the years, as trail running became more popular, they improved their designs. They have even expanded into road running shoes.
Merrell shoes have a very good reputation and a lot of glowing reviews from real wearers. Even though I had never heard of them up until that point, I felt confident I was buying from a well regarded manufacturer.
Appearance
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| Product photo for better color description. Color: Beluga. |
Why do so many running shoes have loud colors? And why do so many athletic style hiking shoes just look like low top hiking boots? That is what I kept asking myself when I was shopping for trail runners. That is not my style and I do not see the point of calling attention to my shoes.
There are more options now, but when I was looking for my first pair of trail runners I had a hard time finding anything I liked until I saw the Merrell Moab shoes.
The Moabs looked like rugged sneakers. They were one of the few pairs I found that had great reviews and also looked good to me. The Gore-Tex version comes in a brown color called Chocolate and a gray color, which I purchased, called Beluga. Call the color whatever you want, I just wanted the shoe to look normal.
These shoes look good.
Uppers
The upper is made from a combination of materials and everything has held up well over the 360+ miles I put on them. The dark gray is leather. They call it Waterproof Dura leather. I could not find much detail on it, but it may be a recycled leather product, something like a stronger bonded leather. I am not sure.
The black toe cap and heel counter are made of a tough synthetic leather. The breathable mesh lining is treated with Aegis antimicrobial solution. After all this use, the shoes do not stink and my feet do not overheat. There is padding where you would expect it on a regular sneaker and that makes them very comfortable.
A Gore-Tex Extended Comfort lining provides long lasting waterproofing that is still breathable. Together with the padded bellows tongue, a tongue attached to the sides of the upper under the eyelets, it provides very good protection from water. I have worn my Moabs in the rain, crossing small puddles and streams, and on very muddy trails where the shoes were submerged a few inches dozens of times, and I have never come home with cold, wet feet.
The material and stitching of the uppers, and even the laces, have held up well. There is some fraying near the top eyelet of the right shoe but I am still able to lace the shoes securely.
Midsoles
The Moabs have compression molded EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam midsoles and air pockets under the heel to provide extra cushioning.
Running shoes often last 300 to 500 miles. I am at 360 miles on these and there is still good cushioning left in the midsoles. The midsoles feel thick compared to some lighter shoes, but they give good protection when running on rough terrain.
The nylon arch support has not caused me any problems.
Outsoles
Merrell Moabs feature a Vibram Multi-Sport sole. Vibram was the first to produce a rubber lug sole in 1935 and their soles are used by thousands of shoemakers. You have probably seen their signature tank tread sole on work or hiking boots.
The sole provides extra cushioning and good traction. I have felt a little slipping on slick, wet surfaces like metal covers while running in the rain, but I have not had any major problems. I have been on dirt, gravel, asphalt, concrete, and plenty of stone steps.
The 5 mm lug depth has been wearing well and still provides good traction after close to 400 miles of use.
Even after a couple of hours in the mud, the soles are relatively clean. A quick hose-off and they are good as new. I do not remember ever having to pick mud out with a toothpick or a cotton swab like I have with other shoes, although I did need to use a brush once.
As you can tell from the photos, I do not really clean them often. Not even for their photo shoot.
Insoles
The insoles are not bad. When they were new they were very comfortable. They are an open cell polyurethane foam with some odor controlling properties. That is probably another reason the shoes do not stink after long hikes and runs in summer.
Last week, when I started my treadmill running program, the soles of my feet started hurting like I was slapping them thousands of times against a hard surface every other morning. That is exactly what I was doing.
I took out the insoles to look closer. It is hard to tell in the photo, but those marks are not just dirt. They are indentations where the foam has lost its loft. The cushioning just is not the same anymore.
The EVA midsole still seemed to have good cushioning, so I tried new insoles. I went to Walgreens and bought Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Sport Insoles. Merrell sells replacement insoles, but I did not want to wait and the gel ones felt great.
The next treadmill run felt better. The Dr. Scholl's insoles made the shoes feel almost new again. My only regret is not buying them on Amazon where I could get them cheaper if I buy two pairs. I like them enough that I want them for other shoes too. There is also the Dr. Scholl's Active Series Replacement Insole which seems better for running but costs a little more. I will have to try it at some point.
I read somewhere that replacing insoles to get more life out of a running shoe is not a good idea. Maybe that is true, but I see it as getting maximum life out of the shoe. At some point the midsole will compress too much and will not provide enough cushioning for longer runs and hikes. When that happens, I will probably still use them for errands in the rain or working in the yard.
Conclusion
Bottom line, I have been very happy with these shoes. They performed better than I expected.
I am not a very experienced runner and I feel silly calling myself a runner. I jog. Not always fast and usually not far. I hike anywhere from 3 to 8 miles, sometimes longer, and I run parts of the way when the terrain is flat.
They are thick and heavy. They are not barefoot or minimalist shoes. I run with more of a barefoot style, landing on the ball of my foot instead of my heel. Side note, I saw someone else running that way in front of me and tried it. All I could think was, this is so much easier.
The air cushioned heel is great when I am just walking, like on stairs and rocky terrain. There are a lot of rocks and roots along the trails as well as dirt and gravel. These shoes give me good stability no matter what I am running on. They even do well on the road.
I have been in mud so deep and thick I thought I would lift my foot and the shoe would stay behind. It never did, and my feet were always warm and dry.
The laces are even great. So many times I have had to replace laces on perfectly good shoes because they fell apart. I hate that. You can never find the right laces and it looks odd having new laces on older shoes. If the laces ever do break, Merrell sells replacements.
Sizing seems a little small. Go with the larger size you normally get. If you sometimes get a 10.5 or 11 depending on the brand, go with the 11.
The Merrell Moab Gore-Tex were a little more than I planned on spending, but I do not regret the purchase after everything I have been able to do in them. A cheaper option is the Merrell Moab Waterproof, which is essentially the same shoe with a different waterproofing method. Even cheaper is the Merrell Moab Ventilator if you do not care about waterproofing.
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