Merrell Men's Crestbound Gore-Tex Hiking Boot

Great boot. Definitely the quality I've come to expect from Merrel. They're a little bigger than moab vents in the same size. Definitely need a wool sock to fill them out correctly. The ankle and instep stability is amazing. My only complaint is that for a boot advertised for backpacking, these are seriously on the heavy side. If you're concerned about weight, get the goretex vents instead.Edit: Okay, so, I finally took them backpacking this past weekend (5/2/15). The boots are specifically advertised for backpacking, and so it's important to talk about how they did on the trail. First of all, they are in fact totally waterproof. I tested this just for the sake of it, and remained dry even past ankle depth. The stability is great, it's almost impossible to roll your ankle, the leather strap from the heel just doesn't allow it. I do, however, have two MAJOR complaints. The first one, because of the material, you can only really tighten these boots down above the ankle. It's tough to get the laces tight beneath that. This causes a slight heel lifting while hiking rugged trails. Secondly, and exacerbated by the first complaint is something I did not notice using these off the trail. There is an uncovered heavy stitching behind the heel at the Achilles tendon area of the boot. Even in my thickest pair of RedHead wool socks, that stitching rubbed my feet absolutely raw while hiking. Now again, I didn't notice this before hitting the trail, but it was a serious problem on my last overnight hike. Between that bare stitching, the overall weight, and the inability to get these tight and snug in the right places, I can't recommend them for backpacking. They're great boots, but they aren't great hiking boots, which is what I intended to use them for when I bought them.

I use these boots for work. I work for a pest control company so I'm always outside walking around people's homes and going in crawlspaces 12 hours a day 6 days a week. I have always worn Merrill because of their comfort, support , traction and keeping my feet dry. Doing this much walking and crawling around people's houses with yards that are always off camber with hidden holes or surrounded with natural area rain or shine will quickly destroy footwear or your feet if your boots are not up to the work load. This boot so far has met the chalange. I have only had them a few weeks and right out of the box they were pressure tested. I received them just as the record breaking rain fall started on the East Coast. So from day one they were getting wet. The boots kept my feet dry! Which is what I would expect. The new tung design is great. It stays in place and does not deform like over padded ones do and adds extra support around the ankle. Although for the first day out this caused a lot of pain until I got used to it. They gripped well on any type of wet surface. The boots feel very cushioned when walking. Like walking on a pillow all day yet very stable. I also like the extra thick rubber at the toe area to keen them from getting tore up as I crawl under peoples homes. Unlike other Merrill I have worn these do have some break in time. All in all, I'm pleases with the purchase. They are very comfortable, they keep my feet dry, the best ankle support yet. I can't comment yet on the durability yet because I've only had them a couple weeks or so but being used every day for work , if they last a year while keeping my feet dry then they are a winner and deserve a 5 star rating. For right now they get 4 stars. Merrill needs to create a "Work Boot". Take this model and make the Vibram sole a little thicker, take the rubber at the toe area and run it over the toe area with optional steel toe and that's about it. Hope this review helps.

These are great boots! The colors are outstanding, very unique and attractive style, and they appear to be extremely well built. I changed out the laces for some emerald green paracord to go with the green accents, looks great. The traction is outstanding from the Vibram outsoles. Although, I have not found the tread very easy to keep clear of mud/debris. It seems to stick in there and be a challenge to remove. The tread depth seems quite shallow compared to my last boots (also Vibram), hopefully that doesn't mean a much shorter tread life.I do wish these came in a wide width. I have wide feet, and also feet that are substantially different size from each other - almost a full size difference. So it can be a challenge to find footwear that fits properly. My biggest foot is technically about a 9.5 to 10 in length, but for regular width shoes, I typically need to go to a 10.5 or even 11 to fit the width acceptably. My last hiking boots were wide width Montrails in a 9.5, which were great in width but a little short. For these Merrell Crestbound, I ordered a 10.5, and it's a fair bit long in length, but just barely wide enough for my larger foot. It's a little cramped on my small toe. It fits about the same as most shoes in 10.5 normal width, so I wouldn't say it runs large or small, in my experience. I do really like the extra wiggle room in front of my toes, especially for long downhill hikes. However, the extra length means I've needed to adopt some heel-lock lacing techniques to help keep my heels secure. If these boots had come in wide, I could have gone down a 10 and avoided some of that, but oh well. I couldn't find any wide width hiking boots I liked anywhere near the price of these awesome Merrells. The price is so good that I seriously considered buying two pairs of boots, a different size for each foot. But for now I'll stick with the one size. I was afraid going to a smaller size for my smaller foot would just be too narrow.Aside from the challenge of fitment, these boots are very comfortable. They are still nowhere near broken in, having only been on about 10 miles of hiking. The uppers were initially incredibly stiff, but they are already much softer and more comfortable. I expect them to only get better as time goes on. They seem to breath fairly well (as I'd expect with Gore-Tex), as my feet were neither excessively hot nor sweaty worn all day. Though, the extra room I think helps a bit in that respect.

These were an absolute bargain at sub-50 quid. They certainly aren't worth the RRP but can keep up with the near 100-ish type boots, fairly basic construction but with the advanced vibram sole that does actually feel like Merrell even if the material isn't quite up there with the higher priced boots. The fit isn't super narrow which is refreshing in 2015 where it's assumed everyone who likes a trek has feet like a court jester. On the other hand it isn't generous, just ok. The flex in the material is pretty good and these can be worn in most temperate conditions to fairly cold.Beware the sizing on these, for once with Merrell it's actually - SPOT ON - If you're a 10, you're a 10 with these, if you're an 11...well you get the idea.Merrell are nearly always demanding you buy a size higher than your true size so watch out for that with these boots.

This boot has one major design flaw, the seam down the front of the boot on the crease line gives pretty quickly. I bought a pair for me and my partner and both have ended up in same condition.I even remarked to myself when they came "that's not going to last". It started to go after first six months and now 1.5 years in and the boot is useless as water floods in. The sole is fine, the condition of the boot overall is looking barely used, which isn't surprising given that I've only worn this boot during effectively 1 and a bit winters.The comfort of the boot is great, the size is spot on (like all the previous Merrells I've bought). The quality of materials used is good...But...best avoided altogether if it can't keep water out.

I'm writing this review aftar almost a year of use.I bought these boots last year to go on Saint James Way, from Oporto to Santiago and Finisterra. A journey of almost 400 km.I realy love these boots, they are the most confortable I ever had. And after 8 hours walking the feet were in enough shape to go around the city.I'm giving ony four stars because of one BIG problem.On the 5th day on the Camino, the stiches were the toes bend were thorn apart. Gladly I took with me a needle and some cord, and could stich the boot. A few days later the same hapeened to the other one.Now, after some time, some of the rubber is loose... I know I put the boots in harsh contitions, but for the price I believed thar they would handle it.They are realy impermable, you can put it in water and no water gets inside.Conclusion: They are very confortable, impermeable, but, for the price, should last more.O bought them for 97£, I wouldn't buy them for more thar that.

Amazingly comfortable, well constructed boots. As a mountain leader and Gold DofE assessor, I put some miles on my boots and am sick of them falling apart. These seem extremely well made and somehow are reasonably lightweight. Certainly not any heavier than my previous Salomons, which lasted all of 3 months.Will update once I've put some wear into them as I've not put them through much yet.

Seemed like a nice boot but let down by very poor quality and finish. First pair had stitching coming away before even tried on? With glue badly done around the sole. Returned thinking I must have got a bad one, the replacement was even worse. Quite simply an awful poor quality finish. Stitching, leather quality, sole join etc all very poor. Would be a nice boot if made properly but for the price not good enough. The leather support around the heel seems completely unnecessary as it is very bulky and rigid without really having any impact supporting the ankle?!. Much better quality boots available for the same and less money.