Customer Reviews Merrell Barefoot True Glove

Great concept, and comfortable. Poor construction. The shoe has a fabric lining that began to pull free the first time I removed my foot from the shoe. I pushed the liner back into place, noting that it appeared to be held in by an adhesive. Within the first few days of gentle break-in, this liner continued to pull away and then tear, bunching up with its adhesive on the inside of the shoe. I cannot imagine how to prevent this from happening -- the flaw seems to be built into the design of the shoe. Too bad -- otherwise I think I would have loved them. One other note: the sizing is unusual. I thought that they were a 1/2 size long in the toe box (which is not wide), and yet strangely narrow across the instep.

The positives first: I really like the styling on these. And trying them on the house and wearing them in the living room was really comfortable. I also love how I can feel the ground beneath me when I run. But here's the negative and it makes me hate these shoes. After each run, I end up with the worst scabs and blisters on the back of my heels. The heel rim/tab in the back must continually dig into my skin when I run. I've run with these about 6 times and each time I end up with bloody heels. So I'm not sure why these feel so good walking and not running, but they're unusable for me.

I agree with the other reviews that the heel on this shoe is awful. I normally run 8-10 miles per run in standard running shoes, but having knee issues forced me to consider the barefoot approach. However, after putting in just one mile with the Merrell Barefoot gloves, the backs of my Achilles were completely shredded and literally bloody. I cannot believe how little padding there is on the heel if you are expected to wear these without socks. The heel is angled in sharply. Unless you have some serious callouses on your Achilles, I wholeheartedly do not recommend these shoes.

I really wanted to like this shoe, but unlike others, I had real problems with it. I am moving from the Nike Free and wanted something to continue the transition to barefoot. Beware of this shoe in larger sizes. Unlike the pictures shown where the heel is at a decent angle, at larger sizes (I have tried both 14 and 15), the heel rakes in towards the Achilles at an extreme angle. This causes the back of the shoe to ride directly on the Achilles, instead of on the bones at the back of the heel. A lack of a raised tab at the top of the heel exacerbates the problem. With the heel constructed as it is, the shoe literally gouges out pieces of skin on the back of the heel along the Achilles. Seems like it may be a manufacturing defect where the rubber strap (with Merrell stamped on it) is pulled too tight, causing the top of the back of the shoe to be pulled too far forward. Also, the sole is little odd, with the raised grips under the toe causing a lump under the toes when rolling your foot from the ball onto the toes.

I was really excited to try these shoes as I have a lot of problems with my feet in shoes. I do best in flip flops or bare feet. I was really disappointed when I attempted to try these on and they came no where near fitting my foot. The length was perfect, but the width was incredibly narrow. I in no way have a wide foot, but it seems these shoes are constructed for someone with a very narrow foot with a very high arch. I do have a somewhat low arch and when I put the shoe on I had to loosen the laces and even unlace the top to holes to get my foot in. The adjustable lacing system was beyond max and I did not have enough lace to get through the top holes and tie them. The sides of the shoes flared out in an odd manner.

Overall, I'm fairly happy with these shoes. I own the light-blue model. The first thing I realized is that my feet left these shoes very smelly. I've had to regularly wash and soak and wipe away what my feet have exuded. But, that's also something which we should expect from any barefoot shoe. The thing which really brought my impression down was that the vents nearest the front, on the outsides will tear open after 2 months. My feet do stay securely in the shoes, so there is no potential for a pinkie toe to pop out of the shoe or anything. But, it's not nice having your skin, or sock-color showing through the sides, or you may not appreciate wearing shoes that have a frayed, torn look about them. I've had them for about 8 months, and the glue from the front of the shoes is coming undone and allowing the bottom to peel.

Back rim of shoe curves back into heel/Achilles area and caused blisters. Definitely should buy a size smaller than you might otherwise wear. I think the heel thing might not occur if the shoe were tighter.

These are ultra light, and super comfortable. Maybe they are not ideal for people looking for extra support or padding. These are lighweight, minimalist shoes.

These shoes are for people with narrow to average size feet as the insides are molded to support your actual foot and have no tolerance for average to wide feet. It's unfortunate as it is a very good looking shoe.

All the Merrell barefoot shoes have a major defect point - a small part of the inner lining rips out within one month of wear. I have exchanged 6 pairs so far of different barefoot styles. Merrell reps refuse to address my question in emails they just send exchange instructions showing they know about the issue, so far all new replacements come with the same defect. Also I agree with other reviewers, the AEGIS coating does not work, my feet do not smell yet the shoes develop smell fairly quickly. Plan on washing the shoes often if you wear them barefoot. Outside of these issues I love the barefoot shoes and wear nothing else for all types of training including power lifting.

Merrell sizing seems very inconsistent. I tried a size 9 in these, which were far too tight. So I tried a size 9.5, and they were too big. Instead of the Merrell True Gloves I tried the Sonic Glove in a 9.5, and they looked like clown shoes. My toes were a good 1.5 inches from the tip of the show. The 9.5 True Gloves may have been too big, but at least they weren't of comical proportions.

The shoe has a design flaw. The back of the shoes has a seam that is raised and gives a rub blister. Do not buy this shoe.

While I have never previously owned a pair of "barefoot" shoes before, I tried a pair on and the first thing you feel is...nothing...like the shoe is not there! Great description as these truly feel like a glove or offload sock with laces. Beware that due to their lack of padding, the shoes run a different fit in size. I am a 12.5 or 13 in tennis shoes yet the 11.5 fit perfect with just the right amount of toe room. I wear no show socks with them for all day comfort and so I don't have to wash them all the time.

I was a little skepticle when I first saw these shoes, and they took a few days to get used to them but now they are one of my most comfortable shoes that I have.

My first barefoot shoe. I love it. A few notes: Style: I originally bought these because I travel a lot and wanted sneakers that pack flat and look normal with either shorts or jeans. (Some barefoot runners look like ballet slippers or water socks to me, which is fine but isn't the look I am going for.) I really like the style of these shoes -- they have some color but are not too showy, and they look like a typical trail shoe. Fit/Feel: My feet are hard to fit -- one foot a 9, one foot a 10, and both with crazy-high arches. I'm not a runner, but I walk a lot, so comfort is a priority. I bought 9.5s, and while my 10 foot is a little snug, the fit works for both feet. I love walking in these. The sensation of my toes actually gripping the sidewalk is pretty neat, and I experience much less foot fatigue wearing these than when I wear my usual super-bouncy rubber-soled shoes. Only negative is I felt a pinch on the top of my big toe on my size 10 foot the first time I wore these sockless, so now I wear them with a thin ankle sock, and I've had no complaints since then. Wear and Tear: So far, so good.

I bought these shoes as a casual shoe (rather than for running) based on my positive experience with other minimal running shoes (which I do run regularly in). They are comfy and pretty much what I wanted. I don't think I would recommend them for running, however, as their design and construction makes them a little less flexible and form-fitting than I would want. I can't speak to how well they hold up since I haven't had them that long. I do think they look pretty groovy, though