The Shoe That Broke the Hiking Footwear Industry

The Merrell Moab line of shoes is the highest selling hiking shoe of all time. What does MOAB stand for? Why are these shoes so popular? Are they any good? I cover those topics and share my experience with these iconic hiking shoes.

[huskytrails]

It's essentially the RAV4 of the hiking shoes. It's a shoe that is not necessarily the best in each category (like you said, there are others with better traction or comfort). But it is a solid and proven shoe with the right features. You get a lot of shoe for a reasonable price.

[CrackingCritic]

On deployment heaps of Australian SAS were wearing the MOAB boots and I went, well if these guys are wearing them in a literal life and death situation they must be good. So I bought a pair of MOAB 2 and I have never looked back, the absolute best hiking shoe I have ever worn and I’ve taken them every where; Casual, around town, gardening/landscaping, backpacking, trails, up mountains, down valleys, through water and they are still going, still comfortable. No blisters, no sore feet, works well with my narrow feet and the support is unparalleled.

I don’t need to look for another shoe because there isn’t a boot that can do any better to what my feet get from these.

[dougblalock]

If you have plantar fasciitis as I do, this shoe is fantastic. Got me back in the woods!
Traction is great for me, I will stick with the Moab.

[magicalframe]

I used my moab 2 mid for about a year while serving with a conservation corps in colorado. I absolutely beat the crap out of them, in four season weather. Anything from chainsawing in the snow to spraying herbicide on cliffsides in the middle of summer. They performed beautifully in all these conditions. They are still my favorite boots.

[robertculver]

Huge Merrell Moab fan - it is the only hiking shoe /boot I can take out of the box and go for a 10km hike with no worries, on my 3rd pair now with a couple of reserves in the cupboard 👍 often use Smartwool socks for complete comfort 😁

[PureNRG]

Love my mid Moab hiker’s. 1000 miles on my first pair and on to my second. Durable, comfortable and very reasonably priced.

[Freight_Train]

Yes they are that good. I climbed the mountain route on Mt. Whitney with those and have been wearing them ever since. Great grip and durable.

[SmoothbassmanStudios]

Yeah. I now have 5 pairs of Merrell shoes over 10 years of wearing them. I recently moved to the Moab Mid height to give me more support there. The Merrell store always is running a by one get two half off sale.

[richardgill]

Back in the early 90s Merrell products arrived in the UK and I had quite a bit of contact with the footwear Guru, Gary Richter; then Merrell’s Minister Of Culture. At the time there were no Vibram soles on any of their hiking shoes, instead they used their own branded ones. The problem with these soles was they retained a coating of the mould-release compound which made the sole almost useless in wet conditions, thus earning them the unfortunate name of “Perrells”.
One afternoon I received a call from Gary who was very concerned about the drop in sales here in the UK. I suggested it was due to the sole units and that UK customers only had faith in Vibram and Skywalk soles, with a preference for Vibram. I doubt I was the only one to tell him this, but without the switch to Vibram I can’t imagine these shoes would have attained the sales and status they have.

[os]

The last few Merrells that my family purchased came apart prematurely

[ZergBert]

For me, thing that makes them really great is that a) they fit me and b) I've been able to buy the same shoe year after year after year. Before I found the Merrill Moab, I would find a shoe that I liked but when I went back several months later, that model was no longer available, replaced by something completely different leaving me to have to find another shoe that fits.

[richardrussell]

On my 2nd pair of Moabs. I have done 3 backpack trips in these in the Grand Canyon. I didnt have any issues with my feet and my feet actually feel good coming out of the Canyon every time.

[RomeoEdward]

yes we all have Merrell Moab's, I do and like and wear them often. I have been trying another similar hiking shoe and think I like them more. Try Keen Targee's, I like the big toe box that lets my toes spread out. The Moab vents I like for warm weather hiking.

[ahunt]

I have Merrell Moab first generation since 2008, just the next year of their production. They are still alive. Good fit with medium and heavy socks for me. The width of their last allows to wear different kind of socks. Have many other pairs of hiking and hunting boots, so wearing them all and properly care you can keep them in line for a very long time. Decents boots for outdoor activity almost all time and season.

[mediumrick]

I bought my first pair of Moab Boots years back because they offered a non-gortex model at a time when many other boots only came with goretex liners. Goretex boots are just too hot for summer hiking for me. Comfort and fit is relative because everyone's foot is different. These fit my foot well.

[charlesbond]

I’ve worn out 3 pair and my oldest pair now is my lawn mowing pair. I have two pair for casual walking and hiking. But the real winner is I can wear them all day and my feet do not hurt. So I’ve had 7 pair, 2 defunct, 2 work and 3 casual and hiking. When I wear them, I’m good for an hour or 12 hours of walking. Their size 10 and the last is perfect for my foot. Oh, I I wore them in Moab!

[owlsonik]

I have those, and it's the only shoe I can hike 10 miles without my feet hurting

[Cajundaddydave]

I really like both the Merrell shoes and the boots. As a hiker of a "certain age" I have put a LOT of miles on my feet and in some cases done damage by using the wrong shoe for the conditions. These protect the soles of my feet from injury, they feel good all day, I appreciate the Vibram grip and they hang in there with a long trek or many months of hiking in all conditions where my old trail runners just fell apart. A win.

[franzoidle]

I have both Low and Mid Moab 1 & 2’s, just bought some 3’s, all non-waterproof. They have been the only wide hiking shoe that is comfortable right out of the box and on to the trail. The 1’s have now been regulated to being my gardening and choring shoes, it’s gonna take several more years of lawn cutting to finally kill them(at which time they will live out their lives up in my Shoetree). The Low-2’s are black, and discreet enough to pass as “not a hiking shoe” in a dark restaurant when traveling. The Mid-3’s kids will be my Outback hiking shoe on my coming up trip to Queensland. Now if they only made them snakeproof….🥾🐍

[leonpatrick]

I brought a pair of them a month ago and have clocked 250km in them. I love them and am buying another pair as soon as I can.