[oblib]

I really liked the Merrill hikers I started buying about 10 years ago. I wore out about 4 pair over the course of about 6 years. Then they quit making them and the next time I tried to buy a pair of Merrill's none of them were near as good.

There were a lot of discussions on a backpacking forum I belong to about this and the universal consensus came to be that Merrill was no longer a shoe we could recommend. As they got more popular their quality receded and I and others really mourned that.

Before we started buying Merrill's we bought aftermarket insoles for our shoes and many of us are back to doing that again. But you can do that with a lot less costly shoe and Merrill offers no real advantages right now over some of those cheaper shoes.

Selling a cheaper made shoe for the same premium price may have increased their profits a bit in the short term, but that cost them a huge amount of good will.

You cannot fool hikers or runners with inferior quality and they don't care what your logo looks like. Reputations rise and fall with them and Merrill has lost theirs.

[ignoramceisblis]

Agreed. I've had one of their Trail Gloves and while I loved what they did with the design and fit of it, the quality was very lackluster. Holes started to appear within 2 months of very light use, and it had only gotten worse after that. Shame.

[abakker]

second to that. I had many pairs of Merrills. The last pair lasted ~6 months, and the interior fabric had torn apart and the padding was entirely ruined. I don't even exercise that hard, and I don't pronate. the sole wear was fine, but the uppers were ruined.

[dazc]

I've had linings wear through after a couple of weeks and a sole became half-detached around the same time.

Pretty shocking quality but what brand hasn't gone the same way?

[ihnorton]

I’m sad to hear my recent bad Merrills we’re not a one-off. I know people who swear by Keen, but I can’t stand the toe box. Might have to try to get used to it for the next pair.

[oblib]

I bought a pair of Keen's after I quit Merrill. They lasted a long time, close to two years of pretty heavy use and gripped very well, but they needed an aftermarket insole right out of the box and cost about $140 or more. They were good shoes but were never close to as comfortable as the old Merrills.

[kolbe]

This is the trend with all Merrell's as far as I can tell. I had the same experience with the Trail Gloves as OP had. Which sucks, because Merrell could have been a good business for decades if they hadn't moved to the model of cutting costs and fucking customers to exploit brand loyalty biases.

[aidenn0]

You can't fool hikers and runners for very long, but you can fool people who want to be hikers and runners, since the shoes mostly sit in the closet.

[Infernal]

Have you found the "new" Merrill?

[oblib]

No. There's no real consensus on that on the forums either.

My current pair of hikers are "RedHead Caliber" from Bass Pro and they cost about $50.

They're pretty close to the Merrill's I used to get as far as fit and comfort right out of the box and I was impressed with that. I didn't need to get aftermarket insoles or break them in. The soles are soft, similar to the Merrill's I liked and they grip good, and so far the waterproofing has held up after getting them wet about a dozen times (not soaked, just splashed wet) but I've only had them for about 6-7 weeks.

I don't expect they'll hold up as good as the Merrill's I used to buy but I can buy two pair and a good lunch for the same cost so it might work out just as good. So far I like them a lot.

[SauciestGNU]

Keen has been my go to for hiking and labor footwear. The quality reminds me of the Merrill gear I'd get in the early aughts. I'm not a runner though, so I can't speak to that aspect, but in the mountains and on the flats (and in snow and ice) they've been great to me.