Merrell Men's Trail Glove 2 Trail Running Shoe

I'd like to take this opportunity to complain about the shoddy quality of the Trail Glove 2 men's shoe. I purchased a pair in November of 2014, after having previously owned two pairs of the original Trail Glove shoes, one purchased in early 2011, and another purchased in late 2012, both of which lasted well over two years without a tear or damage to the fabric upper of the shoe. This, despite having used them in strenuous activity, including several hundred miles of hiking in the Adirondacks and Vermont. I was optimistic when I purchased the Trail Glove 2, believing that the quality of the shoe would not suffer, and only improvements would be made. My first disappointment was that they no longer were available in black, but in a silver-black fade. Since November, I have not used these shoes for more than daily wear and short daily jogs on a treadmill. Despite this, one of the shoes is showing significant wear to the fabric upper. The fabric is simply pulling apart in several locations. I've attached a picture of the damage to the shoe for your benefit.

The sizing on these shoes are normal. I love not having to wear socks with them. They are a super lightweight shoe and fit like a glove to your foot. I would definitely recommend these to anyone wanting to switch to a minimalist running shoe. I own 4 pairs of the Merrell Barefoot shoes, and these by far have been my favorite. They are more comfortable on the inside than the original Trail Glove, Original Road Glove, and the Sonic Glove.

I have been using these shoes for past few months now. I bought them due to the "barefoot" nature of their construction, which means "no cushion" and "zero toe-to-heel drop". After reading "Born to Run" book I was inspired to run barefoot, and these shoes provided just enough protection for my liking. I had started running in grass barefoot, running upto an hour 2-3 times a week. That slowly developed my calf muscles, and when these shoes arrived, it was the weekend before my first half-marathon. I tried these on for only a 3 miles run, and loved them instantly - didn't exactly realize why yet. Then I ran the half-marathon, and still no problems. I kept running for few months after that (5 to 12 miles) and these just became an extension of my body.Finally last weekend I ran 24 miles wearing these! Now I can confidently tell you what I like about these shoes. I didn't get a "single blister" despite running for 6 hours in hot sun! I was wearing just regular thin socks too (not the Ininji five-fingers kind). The main reason for not getting blisters is the wide-enough toe-box of these shoes. These are "running shoes". The designers anticipated the fact that runners are crazy enough to run for hours sometimes.The "no cushion" part is what sold me on these shoes. Reason is that I believe our bodies are built to run long distances. But you have to take it on a gradient. Running in the grass barefoot for about 4 weeks might have developed my calf muscles enough so I could run safely on paved surfaces. I also run slowly in "gliding" fashion, minimizing impact on knees, and always landing on forefoot first. That forces the calf muscles to absorb the impact, protecting my knees. I haven't had a single knee problem in last few months since I took up running. Even after running 24 miles, and massaging the legs with hot high-speed shower immediately after the run, the next day only one calf was barely sore. I am not kidding!Now I want to talk about the "sizing" of these shoes because quite a few people say they are "too big", advising to buy a size smaller. It is true that if you buy your normal size, these shoes will be little bit loose. But maybe that is a "plus point" if you are going to be running for hours in them. If you tie the laces properly, you really don't notice any issues while running. I personally run at 5-6 miles/hour pace, and at that speed it doesn't affect me at all.I would highly recommend these shoes to anybody. I mean really, stop buying those "cushioned" shoes and running with "heel first" strike. That is just plain stupid. Run the way our bodies are meant to in barefoot manner, and you will avoid injuries while running. Best luck to you all!

This is my first minimalist running shoe. I have friends that wear and love their Five Fingers runners. But I find them a bit too weird looking for me. So I decided to try these after reading the positive and negative reviews. The Merrell Trail Glove 2 looks great IMHO! They are immediately comfortable and fit snuggly as if it's giving your feet a nice gentle hug. The MTG2s are much lighter than my Brooks GT12 or 13 supportive sneakers, and they're only slightly heavier than the Five Fingers.( A bit of history: I was told I needed supportive sneakers because of bad knees, bad ankle, over pronating gate etc and so on. So I started running with Brooks GT12s which are very good shoes I might add. Over time I worked my way up to half Marathon distances and saw my weight drop and things moving in the right direction.I usually run between 3 and 12 miles using mid-forefoot landing technique using my supportive Brooks GT13s. Then I read "Born to Run" and was intrigued.)Long story short, I decided to follow the lead of my Five Finger wearing friends, and put to action what I've learned in "Born to Run" and give barefoot running a try. Since I live in a city running with bare feet isn't practical or safe. Plus I'm what you would call a tenderfoot. So I bought the Merrell Trail Glove 2s hoping for the best.Transitioning to a minimal runner like the Merrell TG2 does take some time to get used to. I immediately appreciated the lack of cushioning but not the lack of heel support since I changed running method from heel strike (bad) to mid-forefoot strike (good). But with the lack of cushioning and support thaI I'd become accustomed to in my sneakers and dress shoes, the muscles of my feet and legs were called into action. After a brief 3 mile run I immediately felt my muscles had worked harder. I was also more sore than usual afterwards. I think these are good signs that I'm calling upon muscles, tendons and ligaments to do their thing since the support and cushioning were now absent. So far so good. After several runs my knees, gait, and ankle issues are non-issues with the Merrell Trail Glove 2s.Note: I ran with the MTG2s both with socks and barefoot. With socks I thought they were great! But, without socks I ran and developed a blister on both feet at the exact same location at the front of my foot arch from an interior seam. Thus I deducted a star. I will wear these shoes with socks from now. Nice product, great price (I paid $59). Hoping to wear them until a hole develops on the sole.