It’s odd how you learn about companies and how that forms an opinion on the company itself. I first heard of Merells in reference to expensive boots for women. In Florida, we don’t wear winter boots often and it seems as soon it dips below 60 the women of Florida switch to their fanciest winter boots. Little did I know Merell was synonymous with soldier, hiker, and even commando. The Merell Moabs are by far one of the most popular boots in the Armed Forces, or at least the Army. The Marine Corps is notoriously picky about the boots you wear. While I rocked Bates in the USMC I don’t need a tall, heavy boot for daily wear.
I needed new boots for work, and my agency does require boots so I started shopping. After reading about the Merell Moab boots they just seemed perfect. I placed my order and got my boots on October 9th, 2018. After a little over 4 months of nearly daily wear I am ready to opine on them.
The Good
There are lots of different Moabs, but this particular pair is the Merell Moab 2 vent Mid Hiking Boot. I went with the Mid because I don’t need huge boots and the vent option to keep things cool. From the moment I put them on I was impressed. They are extremely comfortable and very soft. I’m a big guy, 6’5 and 280 pounds I like some extra support. Merell uses a contoured footbed for additional Arch and heel support and you can really feel it.
I stand a lot, especially when working on projects. My gun building/writing desk is made for standing and I like to be comfortable when putting finishing touches on a Polymer 80 and typing the words to an article.
The sides and tongue are comfortable and very soft on the inside. There is no break in period and from day 1 I never experienced discomfort or pain from wearing the boots. I like to hike quite a bit so this was awesome that on day 1 I could hit the trials running.
Hit the trails I did. I wore these throughout hunting season and on a number or rucks over dirt both hard and soft terrain. They dug in nicely on fine sand and the big thick tongue kept sand from finding its way inside my boot. I don’t have many hills here, but over normal off-road terrain, they performed admirably.
Wet and slippery ground was easily dealt with by the Vibram soles the boots are equipped with. The boots do a great job of preventing foot pain when moving and grooving throughout even the longest day. These boots were even my go-to for SHOT Show and never once did my feet hurt so bad I had to rest and the end of each day I never had that “Oh god I love sitting moment.”
I found the Moabs to be lightweight, decently breathable, and utterly comfortable in use. They conquered both the Florida rainforest and the urban Hellscape that is Vegas with ease.
The Bad
There are two bits of bad I’d consider with these boots. The first is the bright yellow Merell logo on the soles and the bright orange M on the tongue. I get these are not on the tactical models but it looks terrible on these all Black boots. That’s pure vanity and doesn’t reflect the performance of the Moabs.
The second was about a month into owning them an eyelet on the left boot broke. Just split off. Kind of annoying for 100 dollar boots after only a month’s use. Merell was quick to offer to replace them, which is appreciated but advised I would need to cut the sides and tongue out and send pictures in and I’d have to wait 7 to 10 days for the new boots.
Normally not an issue but I needed these for work. I regrettably already tossed my old boots so if I did so I’d have to buy another pair while I waited for a replacement pair. So, for now, I’m just dealing with a broken eyelet until I need new boots again. Hopefully, this was a freak incident. The boots seem to be holding up fine now.
Moabs and You
The Mother of All Boots are quite nice. They are very comfortable and very easy on the feet. They navigate terrain without issue and work as advertised. The eyelet thing still bothers me. It’s a small detail but not an issue I expect in the first couple months of ownership. I may buy another pair, but we’ll have to see just how long these fellas last. I can’t say I regret the purchase because damn are these things comfortable.
