Men's Merrell Road Glove

Really like this shoe for minimalist running shoes. Its a comfortable fit with a good toe box and nice all round fit. Its zero drop and scrunches right around on its self just as it should. I'm splitting hairs over the lacing as its just what you would get on most shoes so you will likely be totally fine with it however, I find the lacing could be a little improved. I spent a lot of time researching this shoe and the run in this shoe is really good. I think its a great shoe. if your looking to transition into barefoot or take up minimalist running this is a great choice. in colder weather I do my weekly 48k's in these shoes and I'm very satisfied with the performance. I really prefer these over the Trail glove as I like the _much_ better ground feel these give. Honestly in cold weather I'll go the Merrells every time and in the summer I'll go every other day and go the Lunas for the nearly naked feeling. I dont think you can do much better then the Merrell for a minimalist running shoe.

I need to add the caveat that I'm not a "real" barefoot runner; Merrell barefoot shoes are the closest I've come to barefoot running...so far. Like a previous reviewer, I am also a big fan of the trail gloves (I'm ashamed to admit, but I own 4 pairs!). In agreement with a previous reviewer, the road glove does have a more noticeable feel of an arch than the trail gloves. The one thing I don't like about the trail gloves is...running on the road. When road running with them, the "pounding" I feel on my feet is much more pronounced than when running on trails - that's probably why they're called "trail" gloves. The road glove solves that problem! The different fit of the road glove (i.e. the arch "support") has made road running a much more enjoyable experience for me. I don't know how, or why it works, but it does...at least for me. And for me, the arch is quite comfortable. The shoes aren't as obnoxious looking in person as they are in the pictures. My shoe size is the same for both models.

Got these in the other day, and they work AWESOME!! I'm currently deployed and I run on a huge dirt/rocky track that encompasses my base, and they are killer. I think they are a wonderful transition running shoe for us who have never gone with a "barefoot" shoe before. Yes, there is an arch support in the middle, but it doesn't bother me a bit, and I'm glad I have it there actually. The switch from conventional shoes, to this one, has been minimal, largely because the type of day-to-day shoes I wear are "European" style, low-flat soles. I think my next purchase will be the trail glove, but till then these are awesome.

** Things to keep in mind before buying these shoes ** 1. They are not for everyone. If you have flat feet and a horrible running form, don't expect these to fix that (especially over night). 2. Take it slow. Don't expect to go out and run the usual distance in these. Running with a bad form in these will actually cause injuries because there is less padding for your heels than normal shoes. (I actually wore them around the gym for a couple weeks first to get my feet/legs use to them before running in them)

First off: I am a huge fan of the Trail Gloves. I loved my first pair so much I bought another. Not because they wore out or anything, but just because I wanted a pair to get muddy and another pair to keep clean(ish). I've convinced five or six of my friends to purchase pairs of their own. I love love love me some Trail Glove. So, naturally I was ecstatic to find out about the Road Gloves. A version of the Trail Glove that I love, optimized for the road? Yes sir, sign me up, sight unseen, immediately. They arrived today -- I tried them on and immediately got very confused. There appeared to be some kind of hard lump situated underneath my arch. I took the shoes off and put them back on again. The lump was still there. I went and got my (week-old) pair of Trail Gloves to compare. I even put one Road Glove on one foot and one Trail Glove on the other foot, and then did the same with the opposite feet. The difference is honestly ASTOUNDING. The Trail Glove feels like a crazy ninja ballet slipper. The Road Glove feels like . . . a heavier slipper with a stiff awkward lump in the middle.