Customer Reviews Merrell Riverbed 2

I've been an emphatic fan of Merrell foot wear for years. Love the supportive souls of their Jungle Moc as well as their Hiking shoes and sneakers. However, this sneaker is awful. At first I thought it was stylish and fit fine. Although, I had to go up an entire size which should have been a warning. I wore them for a week or so and then suddenly like others, I developed excruciating pain on the ball of my foot. Never felt anything like that before. I realized it was due to the flawed design of this shoes and a hard sole. The heal is up and your foot angles down putting all your weight on the ball of your feet. Also, the new material Merrel is using in the sole is terrible. It's hard plastic. No shock absorption and it caused a planters wart like bruise that rendered my limping and in lots of pain. I'm a former athlete with a high pain tolerance, yet, this was ridiculous. It was so bad I thought I had a stress fracture. I've read others here have had a similar experience. So, buyer beware! These shoes look cool, but, they are ergonomically terrible. To Merrel, please abandon this style of sole. It's horrible.

Im surprised by the other negative review i saw on here. I thought these shoes were a great buy =)

This review is an update from a previous review submitted over a month ago. I've been suffering from an extremely painful case of Metatarsalgia caused by these shoes. I've never had anything like this before. The extremely narrow toe box and hard plastic sole of this shoe has rendered me almost disabled in just one week of wear. I'm not kidding. These are horrible shoes. Avoid them. Great looking, but, horrible ergonomically. They are designed poorly. No arch support. Hard sole that angles down from the heel putting all your weight on the ball of your foot. I am not happy with Merrill. And it's ironic because I love the other styles they produce and are known for. This one however, is a lemon. Don't wear these shoes. They will hurt you. I've been suffering for over a month now. And it was confirmed by a doctor that these shoes likely caused this painful malady. Stay away!

I purchased these shoes thinking they would be as comfortable as other Merrill’s I’ve worn in the past but after a couple of days wearing them my feet hurt like never before, they have zero support, THE worst shoe i have ever purchased!