Customer Reviews Merrell Antora 2

The Merrell Antora 2 has been a decent shoe, but it recently had a serious breakdown during a hike. Shame on Merrell. See more about that below. I purchased the Merrell Antora 2 shoes this spring for training and mountain hiking. The shoe is part of a three-shoe rotation including another Merrell and a Brooks shoe. It has been used for hiking on access roads and moderate trails for power hiking and some trail running. I found the shoes to fit well and provide fairly good front foot stability which is as important as the heel. It has generally been comfortable but could use a little more arch support. That can possibly be corrected with some mole skin if you are careful. The traction has been good on a variety of surfaces. It has generally been good for training and for serious power hiking in the mountains. But the shoes came apart while on a hike in the Colorado mountains. The shoes had only been worn a couple months as part of a three-shoe rotation, so the milage was not high. The out sole tore away from the shoe (see picture). That can never happen. Damage like that can be disastrous when you are hiking especially if you are far from your car as we were when the shoe failed. Failures like that can never happen. When a person is hiking, they depend on their shoes and equipment. Hiking equipment can never fail like that. Merrell, your shoe failure led to a near disastrous situation. Imagine if the tear would have continued.

Love my rainbow "warriors". Have had compliments on them. Found them a half size smaller than the skyfire shoes by measurements. My feet are small and narrow. Arch support seems good. I do not hike in these shoes; comfy for casual wearing.

Fit my foot, but didn't have enough support in base. Also, there is not a proper toe guard. Those two deficiencies changed these from walkers to gardening shoes.

I was so excited to order these based on their looks. My previous Merrells have lasted me years of regular use. The Antora 2s came apart on my first trail hike. The hole where the foam is showing is getting bigger with each use.

They're comfortable, they have decent traction, but they're already kind of torn up. I've only used them for paved-trail walking for about two months, maybe 3 walks a week, and I've got holes in the fabric at the pinky toe side on one shoe, and two tears on the top inside part where the laces have the final loop in both shoes. The two top holeslikely where my ankles might catch each other, and maybe it's the texture of the fabric that doesn't do well with the friction, but it's a bit annoying that it happened at all.

Bought these in April and discovered that every time I wore these on walks my heels were bruised and painful. Also the dark dye inside the shoe stained my socks and feet. If you already know that a vibram sole works for you it may not be an issue for you.

Looks cheap in-person. Shoe is low quality and one sole coming detached after one month of light indoor gym wear. Would not pay full (or even half) price again.

I am a dedicated Merrell fan. Have bought several pairs for hiking and walking. Love them. But...My most recent purchase is a big disappointment especially since I paid full price - I usually get something on sale. They are tight and I have hobbled thru 5 or 6 walks to try to break them in. The top of my feet in the toe box are in constant pain. I read the reviews and got these since someone said they helped their plantar fasciitis.