Customer Reviews Merrell Bare Access XTR

This is my first pair, as I had been using the Vapor Glove for years. That shoe wears out in weeks of running. So far this one is a little tougher but still lightweight and zero drop. Every Merrell shoe needs tougher soles for abrasion resistance.

I like the look and feel of the shoe but it's not consistent with other shoes including the bare access. I wear a 12 across many styles and with this, 12 was too small, 13 too big. 12.5 would be great, but doesn't exist

I was excited to see that Merrell finally issued footshaped/barefoot shoe with cushion. I love the fit of Vapor/Trail gloves and have over 30 pairs of them in various colors, generations, shield/non-shield versions etc.... I was missing the cushion, and i constantly start to switch to Altra for that type of shoes (zero drop plus cusion). Bought immediately few pairs of XTR from Merrell...found them much more snug in toe box area, compared with VG/TG..... frustrating.... but minimum cushion is OK..... So i will keep of cource these pairs of XTR, as they still better than conventional running shoes from Merrell (i care about toe box area, which is important for me).... but would love Merrell will keep barefoot sizing more consistent, ideal for me is TG 5 fitting (TG 4 was smaller). And yes, i am in size 15, the maximum size Merrell produce-(

Feels like it's aimed to do which is to be a minimalist trail runner, which is what I am looking for. It fits true to size. Biggest miss for me is the wide toe box. Have to crank it down to minimize the movement, and still I am not able to control it. Especially sloppy on steeper decents. Still looking for my dream shoe :/

I've thoroughly enjoyed the previous versions (1-4) of the Bare Access series! However, the added arch support in the XTR version is too much for my feet, but may be appropriate for others. Please go back to the original design with the next Bare Access version!

i bought product for an adventure race and for road/trail running. it is not that comfortable

I've only had these shoes for a few months and they're already showing moderate signs of wear. The wear is mostly on the two sides of the toe box. This is not a high area of friction but rather an area of flexion when I am walking or jogging. I had had the trail glove 3 for three years on the other hand and those were extremely durable. Otherwise, I like the way that they look, the 0mm heel to toe drop, fit, amount of cushion.

The Bare Access XTR's are fairly comfortable to me, but not for longer durations. I was somewhat disappointed with the spongiform ride (actually walk). I mostly street walk. I've discovered my most comfortable shoes are firmer than the current bare access. I have an earlier version of the bare access and it's like a completely different shoe. Not sure why companies do that. It's mildly irritating. I plan on keeping the shoes, but I'd be leery of picking up the next version of this shoe without being more careful.

These shoes fit nicely though not quite as wide through the toe box as I like. I've been using "barefoot" shoes for several years (mixed with regular cushion-wide toebox types). The main issue was inadequate ground feel and a somewhat stiff shoe (again, compared to "barefoot" shoes). My favorite shoe is Merrill's Vapor Glove 4 3D. I put them on and my feet go, "aaah". The Bare Access XTR just doesn't.

I was initially pleased with fit and look, but after extended walk felt the sneaker did not provide comfort and support. Felt somewhat flimsy. I would return if I hadn't worn them.

I've been wearing the Bare Access line for years now. They have historically been the best shoes for me. Like wearing a foot glove. Flove? However, the heel in these shoes is too large. While the midsole keeps my foot in place, the heel feels like it slides around. It definitely does not hug the heel the way past iterations have. Run in them a week. Now they're gathering dust. Hopefully I can still get a Bare Access 4 somewhere...

First the good. This is a very good looking shoe. And, if your foot is fairly narrow, I imagine it'll fit you very well. The support, in a sense, is also good. It's a comfortable enough shoe, apart from the major detractor I'll get to momentarily. So, for me, two things failed this shoe in under five minutes of wear. The first thing is really all it took, right off the bat, because it's just *super* narrow. My feet may be the wider side of normal (though I've never sized into a wide), but in a variety of brands I'm pretty much dead on a D/M. In these, it felt like the midfoot was pissed off and tempted to squeeze my foot in half. Not quite uncomfortably narrow, but a sole doesn't stretch laterally so it wasn't going to get better. Second thing, and kind of minor in comparison to the first, I'm not sure what the zero drop design here is. The drop is literally listed as 0mm to 0mm, but I hope that's not the actual manufacturing spec. Unfortunately, given the feel of walking around in these, I suspect they well might be. On putting them on and standing up, I had the distinct impression I was standing back on my heels. Since I'd literally just taken off a pair of Altras--also zero drop, of course--and put these on, the sensation was notable. The shoes I had been wearing were not new and were very broken in, yet still felt more level. Given that the materials in any athletic shoe's sole tends to compress, while you might advertise "zero drop", you don't generally build that specifically; do that, and what you're going to get after break in--or in this case moments after putting the shoe on--is negative drop in the heel. Basically, either the shoe is poorly designed with literal from the factory zero drop, or this is a shoe that's been tried on well more than a few times. The former seems more likely. I really wanted to like the shoe; if nothing else it looks really great. But in practice it was just way too narrow, and not the kind of zero drop I'm used to from other brands

I am an avid hiker, mid 30s. I wore my old Merrell J03925 shoes on and in beaches, forests, jungles, cities and mountains, up to 19,000 feet (5,800 meters, in the Andes, if you're curious). They were perfect from the moment I put them on. I ordered these shoes in a pinch to replace my much loved Merrell J03925 shoes. These new shoes feel a little more "bare" than my combat boots. My issue is the sole feels a few times thicker than my old shoes; there is no feedback from the ground. After many years of various kinds of minimalist shoes, I feel like I'm wearing lifts or walking platforms when I put these on. I would use "rubber socks" but I need a little cushion for when I jump off something. The size, style and design are great, if you don't want a minimalist shoe. I'll be replacing these as soon as I can go into stores again (Coronavirus lockdown) to shop around for a good pair of hiking shoes.

Not as comfortable as other bare access Trainers.

I usually wear a size 12 in Merrell sneakers had to size up on this one. I was even more disappointed by the oversized toebox; not sure why they made this one so large. I love the toe room on my Merrell sneakers, but these have an even larger toe box, apparently made for a wide width. I even put in a shoe insert to help fill some of the space. I have had a couple of pairs of the regular Bare Access and loved them. These were a disappointment.

I run about 3.5-6 miles a day and was super excited to go running in these shoes based on how comfortable they were in-store. Unfortunately, these shoes didn't last me 250 miles, or 2.5 months. The traction has worn completely off. The bottom of my shoes are as smooth as a pair of house slippers. I'm absolutely surprised by this because usually Merrells will last me years, but these couldn't survive one summer. They're really comfortable and if you're just looking for a great comfy pair of shoes, these will fit that bill, but for training shoes or track runners, they're not the best choice.