These shoes have been excellent so far (at this point, I've gone on 2 runs in them...the first about 6 miles, the 2nd around 10). I was replacing my well loved New Balance Minimus MR00 running shoes (version 1, road). I had run through 2 pairs of those shoes and absolutely loved them, but New Balance discontinued making the road version of the Minimus line which left me in the position of having to find an alternate. I finally settled on the Trail Glove 3 as it seemed to come closest to the specs of the shoes I was replacing among all the zero drop shoes that I looked at...and once I confirmed with Merrell that these shoes would work fine for road running since that is the majority of my routes (I would have to drive somewhere for trail running which makes it impracticable for me most of the time).
Out of the box, I was a little concerned as the bottoms seemed stiff and just felt bulkier thank my New Balance shoes and I was afraid I wouldn't get the same feeling of the ground under my feet. I was happily surprised when I took them out on my first run that I could clearly feel my strikes as I ran and I felt like I was getting the same overall feedback as from my old shoes. The one difference is that when I do manage to land on that random rock or stick, these do seem to offer better protection and I don't have that immediate sensation of "oh my God, that hurt!". I certainly can tell that I've landed on something uncomfortable, but the feeling is somewhat more muted.
The toe box also fells wider. That was something I didn't realize I would appreciate until I experienced it. It definitely provides an overall more comfortable feeling while running.
These shoes do look much narrower in the middle when I place the bottoms flat against the bottoms of my old shoes. However, they don't really feel much different on my foot. That said, the right shoe felt "off" through the middle on the inside during my first run. It almost felt like my foot was riding up the side of the shoe rather than resting on the bottom. Before my second run, I completely loosened the shoe strings all the way down, placed my foot in the shoe and re-tightened them bottom up--that did the trick and this shoe felt much more comfortable on my second run. I really dig the configuration of the laces as well...it's a good design that really allows you to get the shoe formed to your foot and so far, I've had less issue with the laces working loose as I run (my foot is a little narrow, but not quite narrow enough to buy a narrower shoe, so I often have issues with laces being long and working loose).
Many of the reviews I read about this shoe mentioned experiencing discomfort from the zero drop and recommended restricting these shoes to shorter runs. As I was transitioning from another zero drop shoe (and have been running with zero drop for 2 years now), I can't say I've experienced any issue with this. That said, I know when I got my first pair of zero drop shoes, I found that I had to alternate between them and my traditional running shoes every run for the first 6 to 8 weeks as I would experience pain in my lower legs if I wore the zero drop for 2 consecutive runs. By the end of those first few weeks though, I started noticing I was uncomfortable in my traditional running shoes and switched to the zero drop full time...no pain. I was training for my first marathon at the time and did complete the marathon in my zero drop shoes without issue.
Overall, the Trail Glove 3s have been excellent shoes and at this point I would recommend them as an excellent choice for a zero drop running shoe. Admittedly, I haven't put very many miles on them yet, but I am optimistic that I will still feel the same a couple hundred miles down the road. Oh, and the red color I picked out totally rocks!
Reviews with images
Excellent, excellent, exellent
Absolutely excellent shoe. This is my third pair of these shoes and I can't imagine being without them. Fantastic for all day wear and very long treks (I've done 50 miles a day in them with almost no discomfort -- you have to expect some -- far less than I experienced going half that distance in some other shoes). Do understand what you're getting: these are quite minimal 0mm drop shoes, so if you're expecting a good amount of arch support you might want to look elsewhere. They do provide some, certainly more than some other barefoot shoes (the Tesla's, for instance). The toe area is quite generous even though I wouldn't call these shoes wide. I've worn these with utter joy on trails and treadmills alike. If you're looking for a pretty minimal shoe and want something that will last these are it.The attached photo shows about 1550 miles of wear. The sole is pretty noticeably worn and that's to be expected; absolutely no issue with stitching, these things are very well built.
Top reviews from other countries
Big Pete
It somehow doesn't feel like a 5-star shoe but I really can't find fault ...
Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2017John Collicott
Trail Glove fantastic for minimalist Trail and road running
Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2017
John Collicott
Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2017
These shoes have been a delight. I have used them for hill training for the Cabot Trail Relay, ran about 35 kilometers on one day during the race and yesterday I ran 28 kilometers on a trail run.
I have about 175 kilometers on them in about 6 weeks and I love them. They provide fantastic foot protection during trail running and aren't bulky for road running. They have Vibram soles which makes me excited. Very happy with them.
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