Merrell Men's Proterra Mid Sport Minimal Trail Shoe,Castle Rock,11 M US

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Price: $109.97    

Product Feature

• Strobel construction
• Merrell StratafuseTM Fabric upper provides a glove like fit for lightweight durability and natural movement
• Low cut upper
• Bellows tongue keeps debris out
• Protective TPU rand and toe cap

Product Description

Providing hiking performance in its purest form, the minimalist Proterra Vim Sport from Merrell with Stratafuse technology has an ultra-breathable upper that molds to your foot for an unprecedented natural and durable fit. Geared for women, the low profile and superior ground connection of these hiking shoes transfer your natural power to help you amp up your workout. The close-to-the-ground design of these minimalist hiking shoes allows for the greater ground sensitivity, responsiveness, control and stability you need for quick day hikes. Get outside and explore with these revolutionary new quick-drying, minimalist Proterra Vim Sport hiking shoes from Merrell.

Merrell Men's Proterra Mid Sport Minimal Trail Shoe,Castle Rock,11 M US Review

I was so excited to hear that Merrell was putting out a minimalist style of hiking boot, that I bought these as soon as I saw them listed on their site. Ever since I started running in barefoot/minimalist style shoes, I've been looking for a boot that would give me a little more ankle support for long distance hiking/backpacking while still allowing my feet to contact the ground naturally without a big drop from heel to toe. Only one other company I've found makes a similar boot and after trying it, I was disappointed with the quality, so I was super excited to see Merrell offer the Proterra boot, as I've always been a big fan of the quality of their products.

First Impressions:
--Very lightweight and good looking. I got my boots in the "Brindle" color which was a little lighter than I expected, but still looked good.
--The 4mm heel to toe drop was not as noticeable as I thought it would be. I thought I would prefer a 0mm drop, but found that the slight heel lift was not concerning to me. I've only been a barefoot runner for about 8 months now, so the veteran barefooters out there may disagree with me on this.
--Toe box was slightly narrower than I would have preferred, but still better than most hiking boots that I've worn in the past. I wish it were slightly wider.
--Insole is removable and I've worn the boots without the insole to get a little more contact with the ground, I've had to wear thicker socks to keep the boots from sliding in my feet which negated removing the insoles in the first place. For my first big hike in the boots, I ended up putting the insoles back in place and work my thinner Injini toe socks.

This past weekend, I wore these boots on their maiden trip to do a 9 mile day hike at Pinnacles National Monument. This was a mostly flat hike with a couple of fairly steep inclines and descents tossed into the mix. The terrain was varied and included sand, soft earth, gravel, and granite. The boots did very well on this hike. I definitely felt much more in contact with the ground than any hiking boots I've ever worn before. Keep in mind that these are boots - you won't get the same feel of the ground in these that you will in the Vibram Five Fingers or even the Merrell Trail Gloves, but still is much better than other boots. I really enjoyed having more ankle support in the granite and gravel sections of the hike. I also really enjoyed how light these boots were. They were extremely comfortable and I had no issues at all with rubbing or blisters, whereas I normally have a terrible time in normal hiking boots.

After this trip, I feel that Merrell has almost hit a home run with this product. However, I do think that there is one very significant flaw that people need to be aware of when purchasing. The sole of these boots is too slick! When hiking on granite - especially granite that is moist or wet, you need to be VERY careful in these boots. I had a couple of close calls that could have ended very badly for me. I do a lot of hiking and have worn a lot of other boots, and none have had the types of issues with traction that these had on this short trip. I'm not sure if the issue lies in the design of the soles or in the type of material that they made the shoes with, but I sure hope they address this issue in newer versions. I'm not sure that I would feel comfortable taking these on a major multi-day trip with steep and narrow trails.

Final assessment 1-5 scale:
Comfort - 5
Looks - 5
Weight - 5
Quality of build - 5
Fit - 4
Stability - 3
Traction - 2

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