Product Review: Great Footwear

Originally posted by the Gray Man at American Partisan.

I wanted to break for just minute and let you all know about the shoes I've found to be excellent for all kinds of applications. I've been wearing Merrell Moab hiking shoes for over five years now. I've found them to be excellent outdoors for hiking in rugged terrain, with the most recent test being in the Appalachians in Eastern Tennessee, and before that climbing the mountain at Cheaha in Northern Alabama. I've also taken Army PT tests using these when I didn't have running shoes, and they still performed well and weren't overly heavy compared to some alternatives. The Vibram soles are going to be familiar to a lot of you from previous military and police service, and these hold up extremely well, as expected.

The quality of the other parts of the shoes is great as well. I've found that by making sure I untie them before taking them off and not forcing my foot into the shoes while they're tied, I can make a single pair last 18 months or more with no problem. I'm currently on my fourth pair and I always keep my older pair for backup in case I need them, because they're still in adequate shape.

I wore a pair of these about two years ago when I was on a two-week FTX with my Army Reserve unit on the ranges and on a hideously swampy land nav course at Fort Stewart, and prior to that at Fort Rucker. Now and then the benefit of being in Army intelligence is that we can occasionally convince someone that we really need to be allowed to train in "civvies", which often means getting to wear tacticool 5.11 stuff on the range and feel like badasses for the day. Joking aside, my year old Moab hiking shoes performed very well. The material is breathable and even in hot weather, they never became uncomfortably hot.

The Moab line has several different types of shoes, from lower top shoes, to mid-height, up to higher topped boots for more support. I personally love the earth tones they use.

If you're in the market for new rugged footwear that is great for everyday use too, I highly recommend the Moab line from Merrell.