New Merrell walking boots from Fitness Footwear

I was recently given a pair of Chameleon Wrap GTX Mid Synthetic Merrell Walking Boots to review by the guys at Fitness Footwear. The boots are made from Gore-Tex, and are relatively lightweight, but with good ankle support and solid Vibram soles. And I can say that I was pretty impressed with them.

Their arrival was great timing, because they came just before our trip to Scotland last month, when we spent two weeks in the Highlands and on Skye. Other than a day or so wearing them around the house, I hit the hills with them straight away. I have to say that the first thing I noticed when I put the boots on is how comfortable they are. Don't get me wrong, the other boots I've owned are not uncomfortable, but these things felt a bit like slippers on the inside! This might be something to do with the air-cushioned insoles which make them feel similar to Merrell trainers.

So, up in Scotland I gave them a bit of a baptism of fire by asking them to take me up Ben Nevis after just a short walk the day before. They didn't disappoint. Their comfortable fit and good ankle support meant that they were ideal for the trudge along the well-made path up the Ben. For ankle-supporting boots with good soles, they're pretty lightweight too, especially compared with my other boots, a pair of Raichle Mountain Trail GTX's, which are pretty heavy to be honest. The Merrell shoes of course, are built for a different kind of walking than the Raichles, and the weight difference is in part made up by the lack of a steel shank in the Merrells. This is fine for a trek along a long track, but a few days later, when we were up and scrambling around on the weird rock formations of the Quiraing in Skye, though the Merrells were fine, I think I'd have preferred to have been in the more supportive Raichles.

The Merrell Chameleon’s Gore-Tex upper is very waterproof too. I have to admit, that though I'd have trusted Gore-Tex to be waterproof when made into a jacket with taped seams, I was never quite convinced about the idea of Gore-Tex boots, with all the flaps and laces and whatnot. So when we set out for a very wet walk along the coast in southern Skye, which involved fording a few rivers, I was wishing that they were made of leather instead. How wrong I was. I think I forded three or four rivers, at one point standing still to provide a helping hand, with my feet submerged in about four or five inches of fast-flowing water. Not a drop got in. In fact, my feet only got wet at the end of the walk, when I got so overconfident on that I was just wading through the rivers recklessly. Needless to say, the water came in over the top of the boots. Apart from having to dry off from my carelessness, the only other slightly annoying thing was that the boots took a good couple of days to dry out completely after their soaking.

So, all in all these are good boots. They're comfortable, lightweight and waterproof, with good ankle support. The soles are as good as any I've used on a regular hiking boot. In my view they're ideal for long hikes on trails up hills and on the flat, though don't quite have enough support to make scrambling as easy as it could be. However, this is a trade-off with the weight, and I think given what the designers are aiming for, they've got it about right.