Hiking \ all around shoe - Merrell Moab Gore-tex, Anything better? (1 Viewer)

[phatairman]

The Merrell's have treated me very well. I'm probably on my 4th pair, but wanted Mud's opinion if there is a better shoe out there. I really like the gore-tek, comfort-ability and the durableness of these Merrells.

What say you Mud?

 

[MANUCHAO]

I been using Merrell's (one pair of shoes) for the past 4 years...
I couldn't get the same model any more tho'.
So, Im trying out the Five Ten-Camp Four shoes...
Reviews seem to be better than average...... I love the sticky soles on these.....

 

[Frankencruiser]

About a year ago I started wearing Vibram five fingers shoes. They look weird, but they eliminate my knee and back pain, and I don't sprain my ankles anymore. I recently picked up a pair of the Merrel Trail Glove shoes, and they are great for my knees and back also. This type of shoe are different, and take some geting used to, but they are the best shoes I've ever had.

 

[Tapage]

I was loking for something like those ones ..

Columbia Mens Outpost Hybrid 2 Oxford Sz 12M | eBay

 

[Woodsman]

I've had numerous Merrell's from hikers to casual shoes and they generally treat me well.

I do avoid buying them from companies that fund efforts to prevent our motorized access to the great outdoors.

 

[slickrock]

One word: Asolo. I bought a pair 2 months ago and have not put on another shoe/boot since. Asolo Boots: Men's Waterproof Hiking Boots OM2066-635 - 11W

 

[e9999]

you guys buying shoes online? never done it. Wondering how you handle potential bad sizing, poor comfort, surprises. Trying and returning several would seem to be not fair / time-consuming / costly / hard. Trick to this?

Or -as I assumed- shoes are one thing that one should buy locally?

Of course my wife buys shoes online but I never dared to find out about that...

 

[77cruiser77]

e9999: yes I have once and here was my experience...

First off I did not just buy a plain shoe to walk to the corner store in but a highly specific mountaineering/ice climbing double synthetic boot. These types of boots are found in the $600-$1000 range.

When it comes to outdoors my footwear is of the utmost important piece of gear so I try to be able to try on the gear and several competing brands as well as not to cheap out. Over the years I have found that La Sportiva seem to fit my foot the best. Another nice thing is that brand seems to fit my foot with the same size for any style of boot they carry. This gave me confidence on the size to buy and that it would fit.

The next part is I got them from Sierra Trading Post which has a great return policy. Normally I would go to a store and buy my boot but when it came to specialized boots my local stores do not carry them and if they order them in for you must purchase it so that was not an option. The nice thing about that site among others is the deals too. My boots were replaced for a newer model (the latest has a thermomoldable liner, mine does not) so I got boots that would cost me $700 with taxes in town that ended up costing me $255 shipped to my door. Sure I took a risk in the sense of never trying on this model of boot but for the price and knowing what the brand is about and how they have been in every other pair boots it was a worthwhile risk and after a season of fantastic snow and ice I'm glad I took the plunge. They are far better than the overpriced single hard to get on in the cold Nepals.

If I did not trust the sizing and have not had the experience in several boots by La Sportiva nor did a site have superb return policies I would never do it. One thing you can do, even though it's not a supportive thing to do to your local stores, is shop around and try on all the boots and figure out your sizing and the brand that suits you best. Next search the web for the best deal.

 

[Woodsman]

you guys buying shoes online? never done it. Wondering how you handle potential bad sizing, poor comfort, surprises. Trying and returning several would seem to be not fair / time-consuming / costly / hard. Trick to this?

Or -as I assumed- shoes are one thing that one should buy locally?

Of course my wife buys shoes online but I never dared to find out about that...

Some places like Zappos, Shoebuy and Altrec offer free return shipping and if you are lucky you can avoid sales taxes too.

Sizing, IMO, is usually pretty consistent as long as you stick with one brand. For example, Nike, Columbia, Reebock and Merrell 10 1/2 fit me great. Others such as Keen run small.

Think how much time and gas you can waste running from one store to another checking out shoes. I consider my time worth $50/hour so wasted time adds up quickly.