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10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Still Made in Italy, but they cut some corners Nov 21, 2008
By M. Johnson
Compared to what you can get out there, this boot is great. Vasque is now all done, being made in China. However, the tongue is now made of artificial material and the collar around the ankle top is less dense.
That being said, these are still quite a boot. The stiff sole grips like a suction cup and the leather is rugged- yet softens up with use. If I had not had an older pair to compare, I would have given them 5 stars.
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Gets better with age Jul 03, 2009
By Someone
I was unsure about purchasing this boot; I had read a lot of good things about it, but usually buy Asolos because they fit my feet well. At the time I purchased the boot, for whatever reason, everyone was out of stock in quality backpacking/hiking boots, so I purchased it.
I haven't been disappointed. This boot ages extremely well, and wears in much more than other boots over time. There's excellent ankle support, and the uppers are amazingly resilient. The soles wear well also--I can't complain. I've taken these boots to Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Minnesota, and other places, in all sorts of extreme weather and they've worn remarkably well.
My only complaint is that the boots aren't the best for individuals with high arches. This is relatively minor, though, as the boots aren't bad, and I suspect that you could ameliorate the issue by purchasing a good insert, which are all over the place now. I haven't gotten around to doing so but probably should.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A mixed bag May 02, 2012
By Robert Hess
First of all, I must echo the previous reviewer's comment that the ad is misleading. There are two different Merrill boots: the original wilderness backpacking food, a $300 boot, and the new Wilderness Canyon, a $200 boot.
This review is about the Wilderness Canyon boot only.
I use the boot to hike through the mountains of Southern California, mostly off trail through chaparral and rocky hillsides to look for reptiles. I do not use the food for backpacking. I have now have the boot for several months and have mixed feelings about it.
Pros:
- Comfort: The boot is the most comfortable hiking boot I have ever owned. The outsole is very flexible in rolls off the ground with ease, very much like a sneaker. The midsole is very soft and cushy, making for a very comparable step. The insole conforms to the shape of my feet, adding to my comfort. The leather upper is also quite soft, but still rugged. To me, comfort is highly important, in part because I have a nerve issue in my left foot that tends to flare up with ill-fitting boots.
- Quality: The boot appears to be well made. The leather upper seems rugged and has not suffered much despite lots of scraping on rocks, etc. while hiking off trail through chaparral, mountain creeks, etc., here in Southern California. The Vibram sole has held up very well, so far.
- Traction: The Vibram sole provides excellent traction, especially on dry and even wet rocks. This is due, in part, to the fact that the sole is very soft.
- Waterproof: So far, the boot has kept my feet dry, except for one day when I was hiking through wet grass basically all day. And even then, water intrusion was minimal, to the point where I did not even notice my socks were slightly moist until I took the boots off. However, I doubt that the boot would keep my feet dry if I walked through standing water, e.g., a creek, for more than just a few seconds.
- Resole option: The boots can be resoled.
Cons:
- Softness: The boot is simply too soft for serious hiking. Most importantly, I cannot edge the boot when traversing a steep incline. Basically, the sole is so soft that it simply twists off the leather upper, exactly as you would expect a soft sneaker to do.
- Lacing: The eyes for the shoelaces do not allow the laces to be tightened simply by pulling up. They snagged to the point where I have to pull the lace through each eye, then hold the lace in place while pulling on the other side, and so on. This is so bad that I basically cannot get the laces to be as tight on the bottom of the boot as I want them. The eyes also have sharp edges, cutting into the laces to the point where the laces have almost worn through at those points after only a couple months. A real letdown, since my previous $75 boots did very well on this account.
- Shallow lugs: The Vibram sole, while providing excellent traction on rocks, and even wet rocks, has a vshallow lugs, which provide insufficient traction on loose soil. The lugs of this particular - soft - Vibram sole are only about one half or perhaps three quarters of the lugs that are usually found on Vibram soles.
The bottom line: The Wilderness Canyon is a far cry from a serious hiking boot. It is a very comfortable, semi-rugged boot that would be great to wear around the yard, on well-maintained hiking trails, and even on the occasional romp through the woods. But it would be completely useless for backpacking, hiking in steep terrain that requires solid footing at all times, or hiking in wet conditions where the boot will get soaked. Certainly with a price tag of $200, the Wilderness Canyon is not a good buy. Had I known the true nature of the boot, I would not have purchased it.
9 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 buyer beware- misleading ad Sep 02, 2011
By Hank Wordsmith
"Gunny"
This ad is misleading. You are being shown 2 different types of boots here- the Merrell Wilderness Original Backpacking Boot (the black boot with blue laces you see in the main picture) and the Merrell Wilderness Canyon which is a very different boot in terms of performance. The title of the ad leads you to believe you're going to get the Merrell Wilderness Original (a three hundred dollar boot) for substantially less than what it retails for, but what you could be actually getting is a very different boot. BUY WITH CAUTION! For example, I wear a size 15 boot, and I know for a fact that the Merrell Wilderness Original isn't available in that size. If you go to the seller's website and look up the boot, they don't carry it in that size- but they DO carry the Wilderness Canyon in that size! And lo, on their site, the Wilderness Original is still 300 bucks, but the Canyon is only $200, which leads me to believe that what they are trying to sell me here is not the great backpacking boot, but rather it's dumpy city-walking step-sister. Just an FYI.
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