Merrell Passage Ventilator Mid

Initial Report
May 8, 2006

Tester Information

Name: Raymond Estrella
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (193 cm)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 

Backpacking Background: I have been hiking for over 30 years, all over the state of California. I have also hiked in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and put 555 miles (894 km) on my boots last year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

The product

Manufacturer: Wolverine World Wide Inc.
Web site: www.merrell.com
Product: Passage Ventilator Mid
Style # 83647
Year manufactured: 2006
MSRP: $110.00 (US)
Size: Men’s 11 (US)
Sizes available: Men’s 7-15, Women’s 5-11 (US)
Weight listed (size 8): 2 lb 6 oz (1.08 kg) Actual weight of test pair 2 lb 11.8 oz (1.24 kg)
Color tested: Grey/black, also available in Walnut
Warranty: I could not find any mention of it in the packaging, or on the web site.

Product description

The Merrell Passage Ventilator Mids (hereafter called the Merrells or the boots) were delivered to me in their retail box, packed inside of a larger shipping box. They are in excellent condition. (Thank you FedEx man.) Inside the box was the boots along with a fold out circular brochure printed in six languages of Merrell marketing prose.

The boots also had two hang tags attached. One was from Vibram, the manufacturer of the soles. The other is from Merrell discussing the Continuum line of hiking boots, which my boots are one of.

These are mid height hiking boots, hence the “Mid” in the name. They stand 6.5 in (16.5 cm) high. The outside is made of what I will describe as a Nubuck leather exo-skeleton, over a bootie of double-layer breathable “Ventilator” mesh. The leather is there in just enough quantity (hopefully) to provide support for the understandably flimsy mesh without detracting from the breathe-ability of the boot. I can blow through the mesh quite easily. All of the seams on the leather portions of the boot are double stitched.

A well padded ankle cuff is covered inside and out by a single layer of the mesh, as is the tongue. At the back of the ankle cuff is a nylon pull loop that I can actually get my finger through. Thank you Merrell! (Do you know how many of these are uselessly too small for me?)

The generously padded tongue is constructed “bellows style”. It has mesh attaching the tongue to the side of the opening to keep debris out of the boot. I like this feature a lot. A leather loop on the upper center section of the tongue allows the laces to keep the tongue from sliding sideways into the boot.

The black parts at the rear sides and back, seen best in the top picture, are what Merrell describes as “flying bridge molded TPU side and ankle supports”. It acts as an exo-skeleton for the boot. If these work the way I hope they do it will be a welcome addition. I have a pair of boots from another manufacturer that utilizes a system similar to this, and I really like it.

The toe of the boot looks like it has a rubber rand, but is actually black Nubuck leather.

The semi-round nylon laces run through a series of leather and/or nylon loops and culminate at two sets of lace hooks at the top.

The dual-compound Vibram Day Hiker Plus soles, seen below, have some very aggressive treads, and the famous yellow Vibram elongated octagon logo of course. They are attached to the boot with some type of adhesive. The orange insert is very stiff and shaped like a spine. I am not sure if it is the shank or just a cool design point. The sole rolls a little bit up the sides and 1.25 in (3.2 cm) up the toe of the boots. The back of the sole seems to go quite a ways up on the heels, but it is a stiff injected molded plastic piece that I am guessing gives added stability to the boots.

 

Inside of the boots are some of the nicest “air cushion” insoles that I have seen in a pair of boots in this price range. (See picture below.) They are 5/32” (2.8 mm) thick at the ball of the foot and thicken to 3/8” (7.5 mm) under the heel.

The quality of my test boots seem to be very good. The stitching is all straight and uniform. There are no loose threads or blemishes. One boot does weigh .2 oz (5.7 g) less than the other. (Oooh, heads are gonna roll.)

Testing

I will use these boots for all of my summer hikes this year, and any spring hikes that I feel will be dry enough to wear a non-waterproof boot for. I will use them on most of my day hikes and one-day fast packs this year also.

I know I will wear them in our local day hiking areas, O’Neil, Whiting Ranch, and Casper Regional Parks. They will be used in Cleveland National Forest and San Jacinto, and San Bernardino Forests too.

Summer will see me in my favorite area, the Sierra Nevada for a certainty. The average temperatures that I expect to see will range from over 100 F (38 C) to lows in the 30’s F (0 C). I will most likely be able to put over 200 miles (322 km) on these boots. The terrain will encompass everything from sandy desert trails to hard pack dirt. I will be on oak leaf covered trails at lower elevations, pine duff at the mid elevations, and exposed rock above tree line. I may even get them on some snow before it is gone for the season.

Things I will be checking out will include the following.

Most importantly, how comfortable are they? I have duck-feet. They are wide across the toes, but narrow and high at the arch and heel. I will see if they can be adjusted with the lacing to accommodate my feet.

A good heel cup is extremely important. Will they cause blisters on the back of my heel? It is the only area that I am prone to them. And how comfortable is the foot bed? Will the insole feel good? I usually replace them but will leave this one in for the sake of the test.

How good is the traction? Will they grip well on dew slicked granite on early morning forays?

Will they breathe well enough to keep up with my heavy sweating nature? I always wear wool socks with liners to help keep moisture at bay. Will the Merrells work well with my system?

How durable will they be? Last year I destroyed a pair of Mids in only 120 miles (193 km) of admittedly rough hiking. As the Merrills are not water-proof they will not see the kind of bad conditions that those boots did, but they will get their share of abuse along the way. Will the stitching hold up? Will the sole or rand peel apart prematurely?

I would like to thank Merrell and BackpackerGearTest for the opportunity to test these boots.