Merrell Chameleon 5 GTX

I was recently approached by Merrell, after they had read my review of the Chameleon wrap slam shoes and asked if I would like to review their new Chameleon 5 GTX. 

Merrell Chameleon 5 GTX

The Chameleon 5 GTX are a very different shoe to the wrap slams, the GTX come with a Gore-Tex membrane and something I've not heard of before; the aegis microbe shield, the swing tab describes the aegis microbe shield  as:- 

The Aegis microbe shield is a revolutionary bonded antimicrobial technology which protects against odour, staining and deterioration caused by bacteria, fungus and other microorganisms.

The shoes weigh about the same as the wrap slam; around 510g, not the lightest hiking shoe but not the heaviest either and lighter than a leather boot.

The shoe is made up of suede leather and mesh, with a rubber rand on the toe front to protect against knocks, a vibram sole which looks to have a deeper cut tread than the wrap slams and a bellow tongue, along with metal hook and lacing eyelets, which I prefer rather than the laces attaching to the the shoe material.

Upper and Sole

There is also an external heel stability arm which aims to help on uneven ground, there is also a thin anti-bruise foot plate which runs the length of the shoe and aims to help when carrying a pack.

External heel stability arm

This is the third pair of Merrell's I've had and as usual, they come up a half size smaller than my usual size of 11.5, so that a size 12 give me a correct fit.

So far I have put around 10-12 miles on these shoes; mainly in an urban environment and they have proved to be pretty comfortable although with any shoe that has a waterproof membrane, my feet did feel a little hot at the end of a walk.

I'll continue to wear the shoes over the next few months and will have a fuller report then.

These shoes were supplied free of charge by Merrell and are available to buy at Fitnessfootwear.

Chameleon Wrap Slam Update

I have been wearing these shoes for the best part of a month now; mainly on day walks to the local woods and on the urban walks I have been doing.

The walks range in distance for a couple of miles up to the longest which was about 6 miles. Terrain has consisted of woodland path to normal city concrete pavements.

There has been very little rain in the South over the month; so testing the shoes in the rain has been impossible, As there is no waterproof liner, I would expect the shoes to get wet in wet condition. I would allow expect them to take a while to dry out, as they are quite a well padded shoe.

Padding detail

The wrap design on the shoes help to fit the shoes better to your feet and this with the high amount of padding does help to give the shoe a boot-like feel.

Wrap detail

I found the sole to be quite stiff; just like a boot's sole; which along with the rather chunky vibram sole did give good protection on hard surfaces; although on the longer walks I did find that the stiffness and lack of flexibility did seem to make my feet ache more that normal for the distance.

In my initial report I did say that I thought the shoes where on the heavy side, after wearing them for a time, I still think this. They are heavy enough to know you are wearing them, especially when going up hills or climbing stairs.

Although the shoes are comfortable and give good foot support; I don't think they would be my 'go to' shoes for walking mainly because of the weight and the stiff sole, I have gotten so use to a light shoe and flexible sole.

I see the Merrell Chameleon Wrap Slam trainers as possibly a good shoe for somebody who wants to move away from a full boot but isn't sure that the super lightweight shoes are for them; obviously something like a Sealskin or Goretex liner would be needed, as I can't see these being quick drying.

Thanks to Adam and Fitness Footwear for the chance to test & review the shoes.

(Karma) Chameleon Wrap Slam

At the end of last year Stef from BG! put my name forward to Fitness Footwear to test and review some TNF Hedgehog walking shoes; At the time I had just bought a pair of these shoes, so declined the offer.

Adam Smith from Fitness Footwear has been back in touch with some new shoes to test and review and this time I have taken up the offer.

This month's offer was on Merrell Trainers. I had the choice of a few different shoes and opted for the Merrell Chameleon Wrap Slam (yeah I think the name is a bit of a mouthful too).

Chameleon Wrap Slam

Sole Detail

I asked Adam to send me a size 12; I usually take a 11 or 11.5 but when ordering shoes unseen I tend to go a half size bigger. Adam actully sent me a size 12.5 which was lucky as I think the 12 would of been a bit tight.

Initial thoughts on the shoes are that, they are fairly comfortable: I've only tried them on two short walks so far. They are a lot heavier than I would expect from a shoe made with neoprene but I think this is partly to do with the rubber rand and the rather chunky Vibram sole.

The weight is around 548g per shoe, this is in comparison to Inov8 Terrocs=408g, TNF Hedgehog=478g, and New Balance S70=419g

A selection of hiking shoes
New Balance S70, TNF Hedgehogs, Inov8 Terrocs, Merrell Chameleon Wrap Slam

I'll be wearing the Merrell's as my main shoes for the next couple of months and with have a fullier report then.

Fitness Footwear has a selection of Merrells on sale at present.