Customer Reviews Merrell Vapor Glove 4

I waited a few weeks to write a review so I'd know what I was talking about. I've been excited about minimal footwear for a decade now. I doubt my review will be published if I include other brand names, but I've tried many. These seem to be well made shoes and I'm happy with them. These fit a tad bigger than I expected, but it is a semantic difference between: "lots of room in the toe box" and "bigger than expected" and I got used to them fast. At first I was put off by the stretchy laces as well, but I soon realized it meant I could have a decently snug fit and not have to tie and untie my laces. One of the perks of minimal footwear is the shoe is so light and flexible that you get a snug enough, form fitting shoe that doesn't slide all over the place without having to really strap them on tight. To anyone thinking about trying minimal footwear, this is a great place to start. Don't overdo it at first, and don't even think about running in minimal shoes until you're used to them and can walk in a way that feels natural. Don't give up, if you can't walk naturally in minimal footwear (or barefoot)... there's something terribly wrong with your walking gait, and you probably need to develop the muscles that support your legs and feet. I'll trust 8+ million years of upright evolution over orthotic and athletic shoe advertising. Over the last 10 years minimal footwear has improved my posture and helped my knees, hips, and back. Before I found minimal footwear I twisted my ankle all the time. Haven't twisted my ankle in ten years now.

Very lightweight and comfortable. A lot of room in the toe box, so very comfortable. The only issue is, it's not as stable feeling in the heel as the vapor glove 3, though it is lighter weight and more comfortable in the upper than the vapor glove 3.

I love the trail glove 4 and hoped the vapor glove 4 would be as comfortable., but it has less cushioning. I have returned them and will try to find more of the trail glove 4s. They are out of stock on the site.

Not really a beautiful shoe, but lets you feel the ground when you run.

I've probably owned 4-5 pairs of the vapor glove 3, its my favorite shoe of all time and i intend to wear them until I die, or merrell stops making them. The new iteration of 4 is great, you can tell they put thought into some of the weakpoints of the 3. My only complaint is that the sizing seems off, i can't put my finger on why, looking at the two shoes they seem identical, but the 4 seems slightly larger around the toe box. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, its just different. I have a little bit of foot pain after wearing the 4s for several very long days, I think its just because my foot is just not used to the larger toe box and I have to strengthen some muscles that i didn't need before in the 3s. My next pair I will go into the store and try a half size down, and maybe it will fix this issue. TLDR if you are a fan of the 3s, go into the store and try on some sizes before you purchase. But its more or less the same shoe.

I love the material that this is made out of now, I'm trying to figure out if I like the tread but I do enjoy the fact that my shoes no longer smell like the old one do. That is honestly the biggest upgrade for me because running around for a workout, wearing them all day because they are comfortable or sweating because it's hot outside my shoes and feet would always smell. At last these shoes have cut down on that

Merrell has finally almost perfected this shoe I think the next model will really be the one. I started in the trail glove and eventually found my way into a set of vapor glove 2's. Nothing beats the ground feel of the vapors even now trying on a set of trails feels like too much shoe. I use these for everything from asphalt running to backpacking. They finally got the upper right with the cordura, no more punching holes in your shoes within a few hundred miles finally! My one complaint is even though I absolutely adore the new lug pattern for grip it seems like the front half of it (maybe a different density of material?) wears through a fair bit faster than the back. after only 1kish miles I have basically worn through all of the raised bits of the shoe underneath the balls of my feet. While I am super stroked to finally wear a set of vapor soles out instead of the uppers I wouldve really loved a higher durometer rubber

Product is awesome if you like that barefoot feel. I love running barefoot, but many races don't allow it, nor does the military. These are pretty close to being shoeless. Super comfortable, super lightweight. The only cons I have are they are a bit spacey in the toe box, run large (which is fixable, but I never got around to exchanging), and the lacing is annoying to play with, but I slipknot all my shoes. I would highly recommend these to people. I had run in Mizuno's for years, but they stopped making a barefoot 0 drop, so I switched to Merrell and found these. My 4 out of 5 was strictly bc of sizing, but honestly, if i could have given a 9.5 or of 10, i would have.

Wore the 3's to the bone. Didn't enjoy not being able to get a pair for the last year, but now the 4's are here and the void is filled. First experienced Merrell's a few years ago with a casual pair. This was the first pair of shoes I'd worn with such a wide toe box. That hooked me on minimalist/better shaped shoes. I bought the Vapour Glove 3 after years of wearing a certain shoe with toes. The vapour glove was what I had been searching for. No drop, very minimal material between the foot and ground, good looks and a wide toe box. Wonderful. The only complaint I had with the 3's that I have to see with the 4's is the wear quality. Wear the shoe creases at the toe joint thinned out quite quickly and wore holes through at certain points close to the end of their life. Also wore outside in hole through the sole, but that may be attributed to a messed up gait. Little bitta A, little bitta B. Had those ones for about a year hard usage. Anyway, only issue with the 4's so far is what seems to be a slightly narrow profile. But, I have found loosening the laces appropriately rectifies that pronto. Good shoe. Yup.

Really happy true to size, I've been wearing the Merrell gloves for the last seven years. The first pair is still my favorite and to this point has outlasted every pair since. Hopefully this new construction is more durable than some past models. Lost a star because I would like some more space in the toe box overall shoe is tube Sock like.

Reviews said to get sizes bigger than normal which i did and now its hard to deal with a shoe that doesn't fit.

i have the vapor glove 2 and the vapor glove 4. the 4's are looking better than the glove 2 but- the shape of the out-sole in the glove 4 doesn't feel natural for me, i can feel the groves and i think it's not how barefoot shoe suppose to be. Second and most important, when i switch from the glove 2 to glove 4 i can feel more cushioning and soften than the glove 2... the purpose of barefoot shoes is not to have cushioning, or at least as less as possible. The Glove 4 are durable than glove 2 but the glove 2 are more barefoot oriented for me.

Like the shoes but they showed up with plastic part on side of one shoe already peeling off.

The fit and feel of these Vapor Glove 4's have been the best of any minimalist shoe I've used since I began wearing them in 2008/2009. As great as they are fit-wise the vapor gloves have been steadily diminishing in their durability compared to their Road Glove predecessor. I average 25-30 miles per week, on road with lots of hills and my pair of VG 4's started to wear through in about 6 weeks. I'm sure the downhill portion of the paved hills I run play a significant role in that. If you're looking for a true glove like fit and minimalist feel than these are it, just don't expect much durability.

Too lightweight and flimsy. I know it's "Barefoot" marketing, but I don't actually want the pain of being barefoot....feels like a slip-on river shoe to me. Even small pebbles telegraph painfully through the ultra thin soul walking down city sidewalk. Theres no attempt at any arch support, just kind of a puffy void between the arch of your foot and the liner. Also, far less quality than old Merrells, especially the cheap laces. Merrells used to have such good laces you could repurpose them after the shoes where worn out. These are not going to last. They look and fit great, though. Still going to wear them, just not much, and certainly NOT for all day for Outdoor activities unless it in a grassy park or urban setting.

Have been wearing merrells for 20+ years but don't think I'll go back after this shoe, no wide size available and no room for toes. The shoe looks and feels right otherwise, but it's not foot shaped.

The materials used in the shoe are lightweight and breathable yet seem durable. Toe box could be a bit wider but this seems like a viable alternative to the TG4. This shoe lacks the overly exaggerated stiff midsole curve added to the TG5. I wear a size 11 in most running shoes. 10 1/2 works well for me in this merrell shoe. Although I would say it's still within the realm of serviceable, the left shoe upper was not centered on the sole. The lacing holes on the left shoe start higher then on the right shoe so the top lace on the left shoe sits directly on top of my foot and not on the tongue as it should. A little bit of extra tongue length would alleviate this issue. Cutting the tongue to the exact length of the top lacing eyelets causes issue with laces slipping under the tongue. Happy barefoot walking/running and thanks merrell for not putting that stiff arch support in this model.

I purchased 2 pair of these as I wore Trail Gloves for years and loved them. Every thing about the shoes are great from a "bare-foot" perspective as well as a good value perspective. That is, quality, durability, design. HOWEVER, these shoes smell! After wearing them for only a short while they began to smell. I am sure it is from my feet, however I have never had this problem with ANY other shoes. Washing them in the washing machine did not get all of the smell out, though it did get better. So, there is something about the insole that is not up to the older Merrell standards.

Big Merrell fan here, including a number of prior pairs of zero-drop shoes. Merrell is my most reliable go-to for zero-drop. This pair has just a little more play in the heel than I like. You should also be prepared for no defined edge at the heel - good for some things, maybe a little adjustment for others. I hadn't fully appreciated the feature just looking at the online pics.

Narrower than Vapor Glove 3 in the Size 10 (Dark Grey), which I still wear today. Had to return these as they pinch my wide feet; the 3 is just wide enough. There are only normal widths for both versions of this shoe.

The shoes fit and feel nicely and lightly around my feet. Sizing is fine, and so are the materials and craftmanship. I enjoy walking barefoot, both inside and outside. However, after 5 minutes in these vapors, my feet hurt. The sole in the middle of my feet is thicker than at the sides (and I have even narrow feet). It feels like I am standing and walking at a narrow ridge. Not a barefoot-experience in my case. To bad, because I like these shoes. I returned then nevertheless.

I purchased these through a different retailer, but figured it was worth putting the review here as well. I bought these to replace my Trail Glove 4s that I have had over a year and loved. I'd thought about the Vapor Gloves in the past, but many reviews stated poor durability of the uppers as an issue which kept me from trying them out. When the Vapor Glove 4s came out, however, I decided to give them a shot. The good: Most comfortable, best foot/road feel, lightest weight, and favorite shoes I've ever worn. Sizing was perfect for me with thin running socks (I normally wear a 12 and stuck with a 12 for these). They are a little large the couple of times I ran without socks, but I could tighten them up a little and they still work great. Durability of the uppers is great. I've only run on road with them, so they haven't been beat up too much, but there was not even a hint of the upper separating or pulling apart like my TG4s did after a few months. If not for the bad below, I would say these are the greatest shoes ever made. The bad: After only ~120 miles of running plus a couple days of wearing them at work I wore a hole completely through the sole of the left shoe and ~95% of the way through the right shoe, both on the outer sides of the shoes under the ball of the foot. After wearing a hole in the sole, it split ~3/4 of an inch where the sole and side of the shoe meet. The right sole is paper thin and I could probably have pushed through it easily. Fortunately, the company I bought them from's return policy and staff are amazing and they replaced the shoes no questions asked. I contemplated trying different shoes, but I really, really want these shoes to work out so I got the same shoes again. I'm really hoping the first pair was a fluke and these will hold up better. If they last a lot longer I will gladly update these to 5 stars, but if these new shoes struggle with durability also, I'll have to try something new to replace them.