Customer Reviews Merrell Bare Access XTR

I bought four pairs because Merrell keeps discontinuing the styles I like, and I love these. They are comfortable, breath well, supportive and vegan friendly. I love them and hope they keep them in stock longer.

A minimal shoe that still manages to provide some cushioning. BRILLIANT!!!! Amazing shoe

I was expecting these to be nice but they exceeded my expectations. Very light and at the same time feel very durable. The construction leaves lots of room for your toes in the front, which has been an issue with other shoes. I've been wearing them for a week and they feel great

The Bare Access XTR is a well-made lightweight trail runner that I use as an all purpose shoe during the warmer months of the year. It's comfortable and has good support, The Vibram outsole works well in dry and wetter conditions.

The XTR is a great update to the bare access. Great traction, comfort, and overall fit.

Just finished running 5K in these. Overall very comfortable for light trail running. Very receptive ground-feel while maintaining necessary support for running. The upper reminds me a lot of my old pair of Merrell Bare Access 3, simple and comfortable. The outsole is swept at the heel which I imagine is to aid in heel-strikes. The simplest way I can describe this shoe is that it is a middle-ground between a shoe from Merrell's barefoot line and a running shoe. When I ordered this shoe, it was only available in Black or Olive (I bought Olive). I see now that they have a few more colors available. I absolutely love the Olive colorway and hope that Merrell continues to produce shoes in earth tones. It is a refreshing change from the typical "sporty" colors most companies are producing now.

Fits well. Very comfortable!

Few brands have shoes that fit the foot rather than having my foot fit the shoe. Love the barefoot line!

Overall everything I'm looking for in a minimalist running show and like the understated appearance. The only suggestion I have to make it even better is a wider toe box, similar to Vivo Barefoot shoes, as my toes still feel a bit squished, although not as much as traditional shoe styles. That and because I felt some chafing around the arch area on the sole of my foot after the first run are the only reasons I didn't give 5 stars, but hoping that will go away once the shoes are broken in.

Extremely comfortable during use. Soft upper allows for freedom of movement, toe cap seems a little firm.

True to size and a short break-in period. Great for quick days out or longer runs on the trail.

Size was right and fit well. I liked the color, I got the green pair. I have done prob 5-6 runs in them around 3 miles each and they are comfortable and what I would expect from merrell. I would buy them again.

I have been wearing these for runs on the trails the past few weeks and have been quite happy with the performance. Might feel a bit stiff at the beginning, but that's only because the reinforcement is necessary for a minimal trail shoe. Very happy with the tread and the way these have held up!

The Men's Bare Access XTR is a very comfortable and light shoe. It has a nice look to it. However, it lacks support around the ankle and cushion on the insole. I guess this is the style for a trail runner shoe and I'm just not used to wearing this type of shoe. It feels great when walking on a dirt trail but on a side walk, it feels like there is no support. Overall a good show but if you are walking mostly on concrete, this may not be the right shoe for you.

3rd pair of bare access. This model requires a 1/2 sz larger than others. Same cushion and chassis ad before with just the right amount of cushion yet still can feel the ground. Not as breathable as prev models.

I use it for running and so far it is comfortable

I love the fit of Merrell shoes and this one is no exception, wider toe box but not to wide and nice fit in the heal so your foot doesn't side around. The only down side to this shoe is the short lugs (3mm) it would be so much better if it had 6mm lugs. It has a nice balance of crushing to flexibility. It works best for tamer trails and is ok for a little pavement. With the short lugs they don't have much traction if it's muddy or on steep hills. I have about 80 miles on mine so far and there holding up well.

I really enjoy how light these shoes are on my feet when on the trail and I appreciate the low stack height, giving me better ability on the trail to conform to rocks and roots as I go as opposed to feeling like I up on stilts with traditional trail shoes. Thus far the shoes have the right balance of comfort vs. feel on the trail. I have no problem going over sharp rocks as well. I probably would opt for slightly higher stack height for a bit more cushioning while on trail if I had on a heavy pack, but I've only hiked with them thus far, not backpacked, we'll see. I probably would not enjoy an extended road walk with these and a heavy pack, a regular day pack would be fine. The heel more "cups" your foot with flexible heel construction that suits me better than a traditionally structured heel and the Vibram sole gives great traction. I liked so much that I bought a 2nd pair. Did I mention how light these are?!

I recently ordered a few pairs of the Men's Bare Access XTR. The shoe itself is high quality and generally speaking in a great option for those looking for a lighter trail shoe. That said, it seems to fit much tighter and have a far more narrow than other Merrell shoes I've purchased. Prior to getting a few pairs of the Men's Bare Access XTRs, I'd run in the Nova, MQM Flex and Agility Synthesis Flex respectively, all of which had a Medium width. I got these Men's Bare Access XTRs in Medium thinking they would have a similar profile but the width seems to be significantly less. Overall, it's a great show, but I'd likely have gotten it in a wider option (if available) or stuck with a trail runner with a wider profile had I known it was as narrow as it is.

I've always order 11s on Merrell's running shoes, but this time 11 was too big. Possibly should have even gotten a 10. I had to tie them really tight to keep them on, but then the middle is quite narrow. I hope as I wear into them more the shoe loosens up a bit. Overall really pleased, but wish I had worn the shoes inside for a bit before taking them out for a run, because now I realize I should have sized down.

I got this shoe for an everyday shoe to complete my outdoorsy look. I wanted shoes that I could move and shake, light and cool enough wear all the time, but not look like a bulky running shoe. I wear these with outdoor pants, jeans and shorts. I do not run on trails but I do light cross training and running. I primarily use these as dailies but enjoy driving and flying in these. These shoes are narrow and smaller than expected- I wear 10.5 in most running, new balanace casuals, hiking and dress shoes and these were touching my toes so I traded up half a size and achieved the fit I like.

Soul is too thick. I like the old style better

I put them on, they were comfortable, walked a trail and had to tighten them, thought an 11 1/2 would be right, maybe could have used an 11 but great shoe.

I have had several pairs of the bare access and really like the way they fit my feet. However, the traction is horrible in muddy conditions. Someone needs to make a shoe that has 0 drop, minimal cushioning, but better traction.

I've got skinny feet, so they're a little wide, but I'm used to it in all shoes.