Long Term Report

Long-Term report
Merrell Waterpro Ultra-Sport

February 12, 2006

Manufacturer: Merrell
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.merrell.com
Year Model: 2005
MSRP: 80.00 US
Listed Weight: N/A
Tested Weight: 1 lb 4.4 oz/0.58 kg for the pair

Tester: Colleen Porter
Gender: female
Age: 30
Height: 5'8"/1.73 m
Weight: 140 lb./64 kg
Email address: tarbubble at yahoo dot com
Location: Orange County, CA

Backpacking History: Backpacking Background: I’ve been backpacking for 10 years, usually with my husband. We used to be heavyweights, but having children forced us to go lighter, and now on my own my 3-season base weight hovers around 13 lbs/6 kg. On family trips, which include an almost 4-year-old and an 8-month-old, the weight usually doubles. Our 3-season backpacking haunts are the San Gabriel, Santa Ana, and Sierra Nevada mountains, the Grand Canyon. In winter, we head for the Mojave and Colorado deserts. I don't do snow.

Field Conditions: I have used the Waterpros exclusively in southern California. Locations have included Joshua Tree National Park (Mojave Desert), the Mecca Hills Wilderness Area (Colorado Desert), Stoney Point Park (foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains), and the creek system in my very own city. Elevations have ranged from 200 feet/61 meters to around 4000 feet/1291 meters. Weather has been mostly warm, clear, and dry, although on one occasion it was quite cold and there were very strong winds. Temperatures have ranged from around 45 F/7 C to around 90 F/32 C. I have rappelled/abseiled down a dry cliff face while wearing them, and have done some non-technical climbing and scrambling in them as well.

Product Description: Think of a pair of lace-up mesh pool shoes, with flexy Vibram soles. Think of a climbing shoe with mesh uppers and a lugged sole. Think of a shoe that feels almost like a slipper, but that laces up snugly and has solid, grippy soles. The Waterpros are all of these things. The upper is a mix of sturdy mesh, synthetic leather, very thin webbing and even thinner laces. The webbing zigzags vertically along the inside and outside of the foot and forms the loops through which the laces feed. There is a rubber toe cap, which seams into the Vibram sole. The sole is interesting, with a great deal of variety of texture in it, including 5 circles which almost look like suction cups. The heel cup is slightly adjustable and can be tightened or loosened. They don't feel like hiking shoes at all.

Performance: The Waterpros are a niche shoe. I personally would not use them for dry-land backpacking and would not want to ever carry more than, say, 35 lbs/16 kg while wearing them. The soles are so soft and flexible that they provide little to no cushioning or contour for the feet. As a sandal hiker, I thought I had relatively tough feet, but the Waterpros showed me that I'm not quite as tough as I had believed. They are for situations where the user is traveling light and fast and will frequently be in and out of water, with some vertical movement tossed in. As far as canyoneering, I am no expert by ANY stretch of the imagination, but their two shortcomings for that sport seem to be that they offer very little protection for the feet and since they do not rise up over the ankle I am concerned that strong currents or very suction-y mud might be able to pull the shoe right off. For light-duty canyon traveling, where an equal amount of time is spent both in and out of water, I would use them. For example, If I ever again do the full-day hike from the campground in Havasu Canyon (a tributary of the Grand Canyon) down to the Colorado River and back again, I will use the Waterpros. That is a hike which features dozens of crossings of a large, wide creek, coupled with plenty of scrambling and non-technical climbing. I did it wearing an old pair of Tevas, but would have LOVED to have shoes like the Waterpros.

In my Field Report I mentioned my concern that the seam between the toe cap and the mesh body of the shoe, especially over my pinky toes, was too rough. I thought that if I wore the Waterpros without socks, this rough seam could cause irritation and possibly break the skin. I decided to try the Waterpros without socks for a day. Due to our exasperatingly dry winter so far, I was unable to find a suitable location to get wet in the course of using the shoes. Our local creeks have mostly stopped flowing and the few pools left are full of runoff-polluted stagnant water. So I wore the Waterpros all day, with no socks, in dry, hot weather. The sort of weather that makes you want to wear a bathing suit all day. My feet sweated, even in the mesh Waterpros. The rough seam rubbed against my hot, sweaty toes and irritated me all day. My skin never broke, and the irritation was gone by the next morning, but it was enough to convince me that the Waterpros are "socks required" shoes.

They don't dry especially quickly, and they do retain some sand ,especially under the waffle-bottomed insole. Not a lot of sand, but enough that once it dries, a teaspoon or so will spill out on the floor as I take them off. It's never a bother while actually wearing them, though.

The "dynamic" lacing system gives a wide range of adjustability when lacing the Waterpros. I was able to wear very thick insulative socks as well as very thin liner socks. It took me a few tries to get the shoes laced up snugly enough to feel secure, but not so snug that the middle of my foot went numb.

Conclusion: Not so much really for backpacking, unless you are a light-to-ultralight packer and planning to be in and out of water a lot over the course of your trip. They seem well-made, with the exception of that too-rough seam on the interior, and I'm glad to have them in my arsenal, but they are definitely not "general purpose" shoes.

Thanks to BGT and to Merrell for the opportunity to try out these interesting shoes.

Read more reviews of Merrell gear
Read more gear reviews by Colleen Porter

Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Merrell Waterpro Ultrasport > Colleen Porter > Long Term Report

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