Customer Reviews Merrell Chameleon 8 Stretch

Been looking for this for a couple months. I've worn merrell chameleons for 10 years

I'm wearing them in the Sahel region of Africa. Daily temps in the 110F range, with a lot of sand-like dirt and crushed rock. I'm getting about 2-3 months out of them In these conditions. What makes them great in easier environments are problematic here. Soft soles means I've gotten bone bruises landing heavily on rocks. The venting is great but in this heat is still a very real issue. Still, I have found nothing else that gives me this combination of pliability, light weight and overall comfort.

I love Merrells. Very comfortable. The only real issue i have is that the exterior black plastic starts to disintegrate after about two years.

I have had 3 pairs of Chameleons. Love the olive color. Only thing I wish they came in wide sizes.

I liked the older style with tongue a bit better, but the slip lock shoe string is my favorite feature and why I'm sticking with it. I'm still getting used to the rounded heel bottom and the bit more effort to put on the shoe.

This shoe has an integral tongue, that is, not a separate tongue as in most shoes. One the one hand, the tongue doesn't get "swallowed" when you use the shoe as a slip-on; on the other hand, if your foot is just a bit too large, it's almost impossible to easily slip the shoe on. I have one foot that is slightly swollen all the time and putting the shoe on that foot takes a bit of doing. Once on, though, REALLY comfortable and great support as in all Merrell products.

The tread feels a little narrow or maybe too rounded. When I first began using them I noticed myself rolling my ankle a lot. I either got used to it or wore the tread down flatter. They are very comfortable. I enjoy the elastic laces as they seem to give the perfect amount of clamping around the foot after walking around for awhile.

I love the fit of these shoes, but I can not get them to stop squeaking. It is very annoying.

Excellent fit. Comfortable around the house, but not so much on hard surfaces. I use an insert which may take away some of the cushioning or perhaps the outer sole will soften.

These are great shoes. I mostly love them. The only thing stopping me from giving 5 stars is that there's no good way to neatly and quickly hide the laces after I tighten them.

These are some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, easily some of my favorites. However, I have owned them for less than a year and the inside of the back of the heel has already worn through the material and left a large hole that I have to hold up with my fingers when I put my feet in the shoes. Exactly the same on both feet. I've gone back to wearing my old moabs most of the time to save myself the annoyance. I am aware that I am very rough on my shoes and do a lot of off trail mountain climbing, but my older shoes lasted years before getting holes inside the heal. Great shoes, just wish they lasted longer for the price.

Spot On! For the most part.. I now have hiked about 100 miles in Michigan's rolling forest trails in this pair of shoes. Best hiking shoe I have tried so far over the years. For my 10 mile hikes have found that these provide enough comfort and cushion to not cause any bottom of the foot discomfort or foot fatigue by trails end. Trails for the most part are dirt and or with small rocks. Have had shoes that that have had less cushioning and fond the bottoms of my feet and heels felt bruised after hiking. Not saying they have the most cushion, but enough for my feet... Over all the shoes meet my expectations! The synch no tie lases are fast easy to use. One more reason for my purchase! Synch holds as expected, but do wonder if they will last? The more than usual tread design offers better grip than most of my other hiking boots and shoes. I have not hike rock trails as of time, so should be interesting how they preform there? Toe box, I have large bunions, my gene pool.. size 12! And was a bit skeptical if that may be an issue with these, since there was not an option for wide widths... but have not had any issue, they seem to be in between widths, toe box is generous. The heel area is a bit loose though.. could be a bit more snug Merrell... One nice feature that I was not expecting, the design includes a sock seal around the top of the shoe, for the most part, not allowing any debris to enter while in grassy knolls, crushed rock and breaking trail in the forest. Nice design!!

I have been wearing these for work. I am currently a patrol officer and these are almost perfect. Pros- Very light weight, great grip, match my uniform perfectly and they are comfortable as heck. Cons- when they get wet they don't dry that fast and I understand it's my fault I should have gotten the water resistant ones. They are kinda hard to clean after they get dirty. Other than these two minor complaints you can't ask for a better patrol shoe.

Two things. I have worn Merrill's for years and the sizing is inconsistent style to style. This particular shoe uses a stretch lacing system which I find difficult to draw tight. I also find it difficult to release the tension given the tiny size of the keeper.

They look great. Size and fit is right on. Very comfortable...get a pair

I used to really love my Merrell's however the last two pair I find are too tight around the top opening to the point that blood flow is being cut off. How about easing that opening a bit?

These are exceptionally comfortable shoes for wearing around town or day hiking. Unlike a lot of low cut shoes, your toes stay happy when going downhill because your foot doesn't slide forward. This is my 5th pair. My only recommendation to Merrill is to figure out a way to have the heals last a bit longer. They always seem to give up when the rest of the shoe still has more miles in it.

Extremely comfortable for every day or on the trail. I am thrilled with how easy it is to slip them on. I had the chameleon 7 stretch previously, and the 8 seems to have a better grip on slippery surfaces. Not sure about longevity yet, as they are less than a month old. I go through shoes very fast, I got about a year out of my last pair of chameleon 7 stretch. It seems that there may be a trade off between comfort and durabilty, when it comes to a lightweight trail shoe. If they built it to last 5 years, it would undoubtedly weigh more, and would likely lose the flexibility that makes it such a joy to wear. Overall, very pleased.

I am giving 4 stars, would give 5...if they had a wide size. Also if they went back to the old lace system. They used to have a button to release laces. This new system you can't release the laces. No way to retract lace, it stays to long and have to tuck up in laces.

I love these shoes but I'm confused as to why they aren't as stretchy and flexible as my Chameleon 7 Stretch shoe are. The 8's aren't as light either, much stiffer and they also make a squishy sound when I walk. Nice but not the same shoe as the 7.

I have now 7 pairs of this type of shoe. This particular pair has a higher ridge around the ankle and is tougher to put on and off. I like the lower ankle ridge better because I travel frequently via air and often have to remove shoes at the TSP checkpoints. The elastic lacing makes it very convenient in airports and other security checks,ie courthouses, airports etc.