Merrell Chameleon Gore-Tex XCR

Parky Again
Reviewed: 25 February 2004

WHO DESIGNED THAT SOLE?

Comfortable good support straight from the box. Excellent in the dry. Well made.

Octogrip sole is probably good if you are an octopus. Whoever designed this needs a good dinking with a stout stick around the head. The soles are "lethal" in the wet. Any smooth wet surface and your feet are everywhere. You end up concentrating the most on whether this bit of ground is going to slide you closer to heaven. Useless on mud.

These could have been absolutely fantastic shoes, being extremely comfortable - then they go and put this sole on them. I also have another pair of Merrell's with the same sole and it's just as bad, if not worse.
Peformance in the dry is excellent, in the wet, terrible.

Paul Watson
Reviewed: 23 February 2004

GREAT SHOE FOR WALKING IN THE DRY!

Very comfortable, nice design ( upper)good cushioning/ against jarring.

My main gripe with this shoe is the sole. I expected 'Vibram' to develope a sole far superior to this one. It is treacherous in the wet!!!! Indeed almost dangerous. It also collects mud like its going out of fashion.

A great dry weather approach or multi activity shoe. Very limited in the wet- its the equivalent of driving in the wet in slicks ( dodgy unless your name is Schumaker).

The Voice of Costley
Reviewed: 22 January 2004

VERY COMFORTABLE, GREAT SUPPORT, BREATHABLE, WATERPROOF!

The Goretex XCR liner does a great job of keeping your feet dry. An excellent grip in the dry! Good in the wet, until you encounter mud...
or slippery man hole covers! The sole very supportive, very rigid.

The biggest pain with these is the time taken to break them in. Took around 10 miles for the sole to start to flex, then another 10 miles before they stopped rubbing. After that :) The sole cushion is quite soft, so can be scraped on rougher terrain. The soles do clog with mud quite easily - so grip deteriorates. Could do with a bit more protection against wear and tear. Other than that...

Could you ask for a better shoe? Wear them in well and they'll fit like a... a snug fitting shoe. An ideal waterproof all rounder trainer!

Danny Eagen
Reviewed: 02 November 2003

GOOD ALL AROUND SHOE, NOT A GREAT WALKING SHOE

Very waterproof, more so than expected.

Uncomfortable out of the box, took a long time to break them in.

Make sure these are comfortable when you buy them and take them home and wear em around the house so you can take them back if need be. The tongues on mine rubbed quite badly untill they were sufficiently thrashed.

Nick Brain
Reviewed: 12 May 2003

Supremely comfortable but no grip on wet surfaces

Excellent foot support, sturdy construction, very comfortable for walking, Vibram sole cushions well.
Gore-Tex XCR is very waterproof and comfortable.

Slippery when wet due to knobbly tread.
Brown and boring.

These would be great if they didn't have a daft knobbly tread on the soles. I can honestly say that they felt fantastic as soon as I put them on and the guy in the shop assured me that grip was excellent.

In reality, they slide on a wet pavement and I feel a bit unsure walking round the corner in them. Designed specifically for the wet, I've tried them out on a wet walk and they would have had Torvill and Dean guessing. Also, if the soles clog with mud, they stay clogged because the tread pattern does not give the mud anywhere to go.