Customer Reviews Merrell Vapor Glove 3

This purchase was a replacement for my Vapor Glove 2--which I also enjoyed thoroughly. I have a size (12) in the 2, so I also ordered (online) a size (12) in the 3. Love the design and feel of the 3, even more than the 2--though I wish I had ordered a half-size or full-size smaller. Side by side, the 3 runs a bit larger than the 2. Unfortunately, I already wore them outside before closely scrutinizing, so it is too late to return for a smaller size.

I am a personal trainer / gym owner in New Jersey. I have bought every color of Vape 3. I bought the orange ones about 2 months ago and I could tell they must've tweaked thier durability design on the outer portion of their shoe because the other Vape glove three that I own prior to these releasing deteriorated rather quickly. These orange ones must have a stronger build than the others. Merrel when you release the next Vape 4 please keep their ability in mind. Everything else is top-of-the-line but I rely on these for my hard training. I highly recommend issues to everybody even though they have a design flaw of durability. I really hope they meet everyone's concerns as I am reading through the reviews and noticed the same thing from everybody else. THANKS

I have bought several pairs of this shoe and kept going as they upgraded from the last version. It fits a little large due to the mobility within the overall structure of the shoe. If you run off road, I'd recommend something with a little more substance on the sole. This one works great for my runs and even some light trail runs as long as I can see a path through the rocks. They are extremely lightweight and flexible. The only downside I've noticed is the connection of the fabric and the vibram sole. It will separate first on every pair you own if you try to put it through the ringer. The disappointmen in durability isn't enough to keep me from ordering though. I just wish I could keep them together because the sole could keep another hundred miles or so.

very light

Great to feel the road and have a good barefoot shoe with nice traction

This is my first minimalist shoe and thought this one looked nice and the price was decent. I'm really enjoy the real feel your feet get with the ground and the comfort is fantastic. Only downside is they run a bit larger than expected.

Its a great shoe. Its comfortable and light weight. The only downside is that the upper mesh on my pair has been wearing down very quickly and after only 4-5 months of wear I'm starting to see my socks through small wholes in the mesh.

My go to a barefoot running shoe - I used to wear New Balance Minimus. My only qualm with the shoe is that it's not as flexible as I'd like. The frame feels a bit stiff

I've been running with barefoot shoes for a about four years and have a hard time finding shoes that are booth light weight and have good grip on wet surfaces such as wood or stone. I run 20-40k a week in all kinds of terrain, at least half of it on narrow trails with roots, mud and stone slopes. I found that the Vapor Gloves perform really well on all surfaces, even when wet. You definitely get a close ground contact, but there's still adequate protection from stones and roots. I've used the shoes for both triathlon 20k runs on asphalt and for a trail marathon, both really good experiences! The only problem I've experienced with the shoes is the durability of the mesh, after only one season it's completely torn on both shoes by the toe bend. I would still recommend the shoes, but it's a shame that they didn't last longer.

Great shoes. My first order I ordered my normal shoe size and wore them for about a week or so before figuring out I needed a 1/2 size smaller. Next order was a 1/2 size smaller and fit perfectly. I wear a size 12 normally, so 11.5 was perfect. Otherwise, these are pretty much the only shoes I wear these days. I'm not a runner, so I wear them to work out at the gym, ride my (casual) bike, and for normal out and about wear. I work in tech, so I don't have to wear dress shoes to work, thankfully. These are great, and I will probably own a few more pairs provided these last a long time.

Great minimalist shoes. The feel is great, and love wearing. The problem for me is when I go disc golfing, the top of the shoe scraped the teepad and rips a small place on my shoe (the top mesh is super thin) and they get soaked extremely fast (obviously). But for running and all that on path good stuff and everyday walking, they are really great. They look cool too.

I have run in a bunch of minimal shoes from Merrell and others, and have been a big fan of the Trail Gloves for a while. I have very wide feet, and as a result the sides of my feet would slop over the edges of the sole, leading to very rapid wear and shoe failure. The new Vapor Gloves add some rubber in just that spot, and so far (70 mi) they seem to be wearing well.

Pluses: Light. comfy. Minuses: Of all the minimalist shoes I've owned, this is the one that makes my feet warmest. Also, Merrell promised that the width was generous... but it most certainly is not. If you normally wear an wide-size shoe as I do, this is gonna pinch.

ive worn vapors 1&2 a lot, running, walking, being. the vapor 3 are cut slightly differently, theres now 'support' for the instep which results in a slight pressure on the arch. which i dont like. no where near as bad as the trail gloves however. sole feels bit more chunky, and will be more durable, but its taken me 2 years+ to wear down the vapor 2, so wasnt an issue. i have red ones and love the color. brand new so feel stiffer, i hope they turn into the floppy vapors ive always worn. still the best minimal range on the market. nothing comes close to vapor gloves.

I am 90 years old and wanted a light, comfortable shoe to wear around the house and for casual wear elsewhere. The Vapor Glove filled the need perfectly.

Great Shoes, definitely run a half size big though.

Really love these shoes and expected to give an excellent review. Pros: pretty much everything about the design. Excellent fit, shape, feel, and look. But there is one serious con: they're simply not durable. I've owned them for a few months and have had to glue an extra layer of rubber to the soles twice because they wore clear through. They've also developed tears parallel to the shoelaces on both sides of both shoes, which makes me nervous that they'll rip at some inopportune time. The heels are also nearly worn through, though this is less of a problem as most of the striking is on the balls of the feet. I like these shoes and want to love them, but durability is an issue.

Overall always happy with Merrell products and not my first pair of barefoot shoes. I've previously owned Trail Glove's. Fit, form, function, and styling are on par with Merrell's standard. Note: I am very harsh on shoes and spend many hours walking (quickly) a day. These are intended for running but I use them for my "on my feet" lifestyle. Unfortunately I will need to replace these simply because they are breaking apart where the fabric and rubber shell of the shoe meets, which makes me hesitant to purchase another pair of Vapor Glove's. I hope this was helpful.

I usually buy 7.5US in running shoes. So I tried 7.5 in these, but found the length was too long. The width felt ok. the shoes also broke (creased) across my toes weird, it may be something that softened with time and use, and it may have been due to the excess length. Either way I won't know as I returned them after a few days.

I gotta say, model-after-model, Merrell is slowly letting me down. At first, the first trail gloves were amazing! Great minimalist feeling, but newer models were getting bulkier. I then decided to switch to the Vapor gloves--back to true minimalist. And now the Vapor 3s are getting bulkier and thicker as well. Can you just keep these shoes as MINIMALIST as possible please? At one point I'm going to stop buying Merrells all together and find a new brand who have better minimalist features--Merrell's old features.