MerrellMen's Vapor Glove 4

I start a review with 5 stars in mind, presuming I get exactly what I hoped for and knocking a star off for each objective fault I found with the product.Firstly, these shoes feel amazing on my feet! They are almost unbelievably comfortable and I can honestly say that I can't see a way back to wearing 'normal' trainers or shoes. These are my first, high-end barefoot shoes and I the difference is night and day between my 'beginner' shoes--some cheap water shoes I got from Amazon (see my other reviews). My feet are 28 and 28.5 cm long from heel to big toe and I got the UK size 10. They fit perfectly and were so snug and supportive and wrapped around my foot like a snug fajita! The feel was great and I got plenty of feedback from the floor, but stepping on sharp rocks in my front garden didn't hurt, although I could definitely feel they were sharp.So why did I send them back? Above all, the shoe started to fall apart after only four days (see pic). It's a small hole, but you can't see that after four days and not think that that entire toe section is going to rapidly come undone. Just to be clear, I wasn't hiking around in these in those four days: I went to the shops and back a few days and walked around the open space behind my house. I went for all of one, 10-minute jog, so not heavy abuse at all.Second to that, and the reason for the other star getting knocked off is the design. You can't wear these with casual clothes as the design is laughable. It looks like a teenager designed these with the camo uppers. Yes, I was aware of the design when I bought them, but I had heard such good things about the fit and feel, and these were the only barefoot shoes within my price range, I was willing to let the design slide UNTIL I saw that the mono-coloured ones, that you could wear with casual clothes are about £80! They are ostensibly the same shoe, except they don't look ridiculous! Being poor is expensive, as they say, and I can't afford to have one pair of shoes each for sports and casual wear; I expect to be able to more in just one pair of shoes and if you're even just a little bit concerned with having people stare at your feet and wonder if you're about to go scale Ben Nevis, these shoes aren't for you. The grey versions are the most modest type in my size, but they are just too garish. I can't imagine anyone who would buy the vile lime green versions. I ended up returning these and spending £60 on a used pair of VivoBarefoot shoes on eBay. The Vivo's have held up well and look semi-decent (they are all black, so not the most fashionable things, but WAY better than the Merrells).IF YOU'RE NEW TO BAREFOOT SHOES: The Merrell shoes are much comfier than Vivo barefoot shoes and are more of a true fit: My feet are 28.5cm (UK 10) and the Vivo size UK 10 (which I was advised to get by the Vivo website) pinch at the toe a little.I hope that helps you make a decision! If it does, please leave a like!

I have worn the Vapor Glove 3 for many years and a previous incarnation that may have been called the Vapor Glove 2. These have probably been the best running shoes I have ever owned.Now that the Vapor Glove 3 is unavailable I have been forced to buy the Vapor Glove 4. The quality is the same and the design isn't that different but my gripe is that the toe box has been reduced to a very narrow one. This is quite uncomfortable if you are used to unrestricted toes that the previous versions allowed for. The wide toe box used to be a major selling point to barefoot runners like me, enabling your foot to behave as nature intended rather than be supported and restricted in its ability to spread and flex. To be honest I am very disappointed. Why have Merrell gone to the expense of re tooling their production lines to change the sole of a shoe that could have been rebranded with a redesign of the upper? I shall continue to use these shoes in the absence of an alternative but will not be buying a fifth pair from the barefoot range without a redesign to address the design flaws in these shoes. In their present form they do not qualify as barefoot shoes at all in my opinion.

As a person with wide feet I must say I’ve always struggled to find anything even near to comfortable trainers. However I tried these following a friends recommendation and have to say I was shocked at how comfortable they are. The soles are obviously less padded than traditional trainers but that seems to have zero effect on their comfort. I’m definitely a convert to this barefoot malarkey. I should say that I don’t run in them; runnings just not my bag, but for use in the gym they’re great.I do think it’s worth mentioning that my friend, who does distance running, strongly suggests that should you want to run in them you likely need to adjust your running style slightly (apparently there’s plenty of YouTube videos) and start with short distances to get used to them before extending your range.

Fairly comfortable for a barefoot shoe, the construction isn’t great though it’s started to come apart and I’ve only worn them twice

Great fit for me (wide feet); I usually size at a 10 or 11. Comfortable with plenty of room in toe box. Lightweight feel. Looks good on.A word of caution, if you are switching to minimalist shoes after wearing padded shoes, decrease – then gently increase your mileage for running and walking to allow your feet to strengthen and adjust. If you start running at your previous mileage/pace immediately, you are likely to get tendon injuries. In other words, take it easy for a few weeks to begin.Good traction on grass, pavement and tarmac. Not run in wet conditions so cannot comment.They feel fairly durable. Reviews mention the longevity is not the best, had them for over a month – will update if they wear out sooner than expected.

I don't like buying shoes online but I could not find what I wanted in the shops and Amazon had literally dozens of different makes/styles and colours of these barefoot-type of shoes. I chose Merrell, because I had owned a pair of conventional trail shoes from them several years earlier and I knew the quality was excellent.I wanted very light and flexible trainers for the gym that I could pack in a travel bag as I work away from home a lot and I did not want to take up valuable weight/space in my bag with conventional trainers.Merrell Men's Vapor Glove 4 Fitness Shoes fitted the bill and if anything they are better than I had hoped for. Incredibly comfortable and feel like slippers rather than trainers. They have good grip and have held up well in the two training sessions I have had so far (1 boxing and 1 circuit).