[at-l] O(n)-Topic: anyone wear Merrell hiking shoes?

[bennettk at wfu.edu (ken bennett)]

Greetings to the list:

I am looking for a new pair of lightweight trail-runner-type hiking shoes. I
have worn out three pairs of Montrail Vitesse in the last four years, and
it's time.

I have very flat, low-volume feet, and most shoes that I have tried
(including the Vitesse) are very loose in the forefoot, or the two sides of
the shoe meet in the middle when I lace them tightly enough. I have had some
moderate success putting my Superfeet footbeds in on top of the original
insoles -- this takes up a lot of the volume, but I have to be careful that
my heel is far enough in the heel cup.

So, anyway, I was in the outdoor store today and my wife and the salesman
basically forced me to try on a pair of the Merrell Chameleon Stretch shoes.
I really didn't want to -- they look like the very common 'outdoorsy
looking' non-technical shoe that you would wear around town, but not on a
trail. Well, they fit GREAT -- much better than anything else I've tried.
They are very light weight, all mesh, have good heel cushioning, and seem
just right.

Anyone else use these shoes? I am very interested to find out about their
durability for long distance hiking. The Merrell web site has them in their
'hiking boot' section, rather than the 'multisport', which gives me some
hope that they will work.

Comments welcome. Thanks in advance. Please don't flame me for asking a
hiking-related question.

Ken
Big Cranky