Hot weather, low-cut trekking and approach shoe from Merrell put through its paces on the Annapurna Circuit. Who says you have to wear boots?
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Merrell Chameleon Ventilator Low
shoe Tested
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Price: £59.95
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Weight: 1140 grammes (pair size
43)
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Features: Pigskin
Leather Upper , Breathable Defense Mesh Panels , Breathable
Padded Tongue , Injection Molded Wishbone External Counter ,
Breathable Airflow Mesh Lining , Omni-Fit/Webbing Loop
Lacing System , 4.5mm Anatomical Footbed, 4mm Tapered Nylon
Grade 4 Insole , Compression Molded EVA Footframe , Air
Cushion Midsole ,Vibram Octogrip Sole/Trek Rubber
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Stable, comfortable and nimble.
Not as durable as boots, don't scramble well.
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The Concept We bought these with our own money the day before
heading out to Nepal after our trusty Salomon Exit Lows exploded.
Why? We were after an approach shoe that would be comfortable enough
for walking and festering, but stable, grippy and supportive enough
to wear with a medium-sized pack on rocky ground.
Plus because Himalayan trekking can get hot and sticky at lower
altitudes, we wanted decent breathability too, so no waterproof
membranes. The Chameleon Ventilator Low's promised all these things,
they fitted, so we bought 'em. They're also, by the way, available in
a Gore-Tex XCR-lined low version and as a higher cut boot version,
the Chameleon.
Features There's a lot of thought and technology gone into the
Chameleon. In particular there's a massive injection-moulded external
counter at the heel end of things, a tapered 4mm nylon insole, EVA
foot frame and an air-cushioned mid-sole, it also gets a stange
looking Vibram rubber sole with little round sucker-shaped grips
borrowed from an octopus...
The uppers haven't been overlooked either. The mesh panels are
something called Defense Mesh and they're nicely air permeable - you
can blow through them - the tongue too is nice and breathable and the
lacing system incorporates two nylon counters for mid-foot support
which reminded us a little of the old Salomon XA7 boot.
You also get air cushioning for comfort on hard ground and a
rubber toe bumper up front.
In Action You can tell the Chameleons are sturdy just by
giving them a good grope in the shop. The heel with it's external
reinforcement feels good and rigid and the sole has great torsional
rigidity if you try and twist fore and rearfoot in opposite
directions, plus there's flex up front, but not too much.
The pay off is that at over a kilo, they're not the lightest shoe
out there and as heavy as some of the new ultra-lightweight boots,
but the pay-off is a great blend of stability, cushioning and
nimbleness, plus good levels of comfort.
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External heel counter ups
stability
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We eventually wore these shoes for around 90 per-cent of the
Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary Trek and we were blown away. The
wide, stable, cupped heel and sole unit give a massively stable feel
and despite having a dodgy left ankle, we never went over on it once.
It's far more nimble than boots though, and the low cut makes it much
easier to flex at the ankle and put your foot exacty where you want
it. Great for speeding down steep, broken descents where you're half
running and planting your foot precisely on rocks and edges. Plus the
lateral rigidity is enough to stand on pointy stuff.
Comfort is great too. No blisters in three weeks of solid walking,
not even a hot spot even on sustained downhills, great cushioning
from the sole unit and enough breathability to prevent a foot bath in
hot conditions. Speaking of sole units, Merrell used to have a
reputation for some pretty dodgy rubber, but the Virbram sole unti
gripped like a hungry croc in the dry, was acceptable in the wet and
theose octopus-sucker lugs even worked reasonably well on softer
ground.
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Sole bumper starting to peel
away
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Downsides? After three weeks of hard use, the toe bumper on both
sides was just starting to peel away at the top, though it hasn't
worsened since, and the pigskin suede is looking a little tired in a
couple of places. Not knackered mind, just not new any more.
We also found that the stiff ankle cuff was rubbing very slightly
on the underside of our ankle bone causing a little soreness, so
watch out for rub there when trying these on. The only other drawback
is that they don't seem to scramble well, everything feels simply too
rounded to edge on holds, so if you're after a shoe to double up for
scrambling, look elsewhere.
The Chameleon converted us to walking in lower-cut footwear. It
offers as much or more stability than most boots, but with
significantly greater comfort and nimbleness. Going back to boots
after a few days in the Lows, we were astonished how clumsy and
ploddy they felt. Great in hot conditions too in this form.
If you're after a viable alternative to walking boots and are good
on your feet, the only real downsides are that they'll wear faster
than most boots and they don't scramble well. Apart from that, the
Merrell Chameleon Ventilator Low is a winner. for dry weather
trekking and UK summer use.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Stable, nimble, comfortable and breathable enough to
hack it in hot climates without roasting your pinkies, these
are god all round trekking and approach shoes. Not great for
scrambling however and can wear quickly with heavy use, but
that's approach shoes for you.
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