Merrell Passage Ventilator Mid

Long Term Report
September 6, 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 have logged 291 miles (469 km) with a pack on my back so far this 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.

Please see my Initial Report for a full description of the Passage Ventilator’s.

Field Conditions

I have used these in a lot of places since the Field Report, here they are in chronological order.

At the end of June I went to Casper Regional Park for a day hike. I had my normal 12 lb (5.4 kg) pack, with 3 liters (3 qt) of water. It was 68 F (20 C) and overcast when I started out, perfect for hiking. It got up to a sweltering 91 F (33 C) by noon. I went 15 miles (24 km) and had 1,090 feet (332 m) of elevation gain and loss.

In July I wore them on a backpacking trip in the San Jacinto area where the temps ranged from 48 F to 82 F (9 to 28 C) carrying a 29 lb (13.2 kg) pack. I had over 3,000’ (914 m) of gain and 18 miles (29 km) on the boots for this one. Back to that area for a day-hike with 13 mi (21 km) and 3060’ (933 m) of gain. The last July trip was an overnighter with a 30 lb (13.6 kg) pack in the San Gorgonio Wilderness where I climbed two peaks, the highest at 10691’ (3259 m) elevation. I put 22 mi (35 km) and 5991’ (1826 m) of gain on them there. I encountered a severe thunderstorm with hail and heavy rain on this trip.

In August, Dave and I did a monster 20 mile (32 km) day-hike up the Deer Springs Trail from Idyllwild to the peak of San Jacinto then semi-looped back by way of Wellman’s Divide. 5224’ (1592 m) of gain on this one.

Field Observations

I am finally using these boots the way that Merrell intended them (kind of). The snow has mostly melted off and I am wearing them in some high temps where the ventilation aspect of the boots may be appreciated more. The day-hike at Casper (as seen below) was a cooker. There are very little parts of the trails I was on that have any shade so the bright sun cooking the rocky trail only amplifies the heat on my feet. I never got uncomfortable. I did get quite a few stickers in my socks (mid-weight SmartWool plus liner) but fortunately they did not seem to get good purchase in the open weave parts of the Ventilators. Here is a picture on that trip where the trail ends at a bird sanctuary. (Actually it had ended earlier but I feigned ignorance until I hit the gate and sign.)

A much tougher test of them came on the next trip, an overnighter to the San Jacinto area. I had gone to pre-scout camp sites for a trip two weeks later with a bunch of children and spent the first day doing so, only putting four miles on the boots in the process. The next day was a little different. I hiked down to Caramba Overlook and back out. In six hours I went 14 miles (23 km) and climbed almost 3,000’ (914 m) with a 25 lb (11.3 kg) pack on. It was mostly exposed trails and got up to 82 F (28 C). I was sweating like crazy, and my feet while warm were not uncomfortable. I have still not experienced a blister with the boots.
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The trip to San Gorgonio Wilderness was supposed to be a moderate day climbing a couple of new peaks. But a lack of water at my intended camp site and the next few places also led to a change of plans.  I had to retrace my steps to a spring that I had seen on the way in. This led to 16.5 miles (27 km) with just short of 6000’ (1829 m) of elevation gain in one day. My feet got soaked from the storm that popped up, but they were not sore and had no blisters or hot-spots after all that abuse. Here is a picture of the wet Merrell on the Washington’s Monument Plaque near San Bernardino Peak.

Something that I have noticed is how dense the soles seem to be. The bottom is not wearing as much as I would expect for all of the major rock I wear them on. When walking on a paved road or a stretch of solid rock they “knock” with each heel plant. So they must be some pretty hard material.

On the day-hike up Deer Creek Trail I noticed the first wear on the boots. The thread is coming undone on the toe area of the right boot. This caused me to decide not to take it on a four day trip in the Sierra Nevada a week later. But with almost 200 all-purpose miles (322 km) on them, and the conditions I use them in that is not too bad. Here is a picture of the boot at the USGS survey marker on San Jacinto (10,834’, 3302 m), notice the spot pulling out.

I will continue to wear them for day hikes this fall and early winter as we have some desert locations planned. I will keep an eye on the unraveling stitching and if it accelerates too much may contact customer service to see what they say about it. (I never have found what they have for a warranty.) I have been very impressed by the fit and comfort of the Merrells. As I own a pair of their low-hikers and have had no problems with them either I would have no problem with feeling comfortable with making future Merrell purchases.

I would like to thank Merrell and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to participate in this test.

Pros: Lightweight, very breathable, good support, decent weight

Cons: Escape-artist insoles