I have worn Merrell shoes and sandals for years and love them. My husband reports that these hiking boots are everything I said they would be.

No breaking in period, they feel really light on your feet and the Goretex liner keeps the feet dry.

The removable insole makes for a comfortable feel and fit. We hike for miles, sometimes over rough terrain, and have never felt discomfort.

We have both found that Merrell shoes and boots are true to size, and we have not found any difference from style to style ... we take the same size each time.

They are easy to clean ...we do so under a running faucet (cool water), both the uppers and the sole, using a little dish soap and a soft nail brush. Air dry (never too near to a heat source) and they look great again.

HINT: After each wearing, remove the insole to allow the boots to "air out" more completely. We periodically gently hand wash the insole to keep it fresh.

Only for really heavy duty mountain hiking, or really bad weather would we choose to wear our leather Zamberlan boots over our Merrells.