Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove vs. New Balance Minimus MT10 - A Battle to the DEATH!!!

[chadisbarefoot]

Well, after months of hitting the roads and trails and recording my observations, I have finally recorded my toe-to-toe review of these two lightweight heavyweights (oxymoron, lol). It may be a bit TLDR, so feel free to skip to the bottom:



http://unshodandunashamed.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-balance-minimus-trail-vs-merrell.html



Let me know what you think.

 

[chadisbarefoot]

Nobody?

Nobody?

 

[buzzie]

I agree - it's a toss-up.I

I agree - it's a toss-up.

I have the WT20 (didn't care for the WT10) and Pace Glove - love them both very much. (But, I do have narrow feet!)

If I need more protection or am running more than 30 miles, I go with the WT20; otherwise, I tend to prefer the Pace Glove.

Excited to see what spring brings in both lines... I've heard the rumors and reports.

 

[Lomad]

I had the Trail Gloves, but

I had the Trail Gloves, but couldn't get along with them. Hot spots galore without socks. I really didn't want to wear socks so they went back. Tried MT10's and loved them until the second time i wore them; I was one of the "metatarsal band pressure" victims. I now have MR10s that I hardly wear for running but make awesome recovery/walking around shoes. I run primarily in my Invisible shoes or Adams (sadly socks with Adams) if I am running with footwear.

I'm drooling for MT00's though...

 

[rickwhitelaw]

I have Merrell Trail Gloves.

I have Merrell Trail Gloves. I like them, I wish I could love them. I get blisters on the top of my foot where the tounge ends and also where the material folds. One of your pictures show how the Merrells fold at the toe box. Have any other models addressed this? The toe box is a bit narrow, but not uncomfortable. I don't like the toe spring. On the plus side, I like how they hug the heel area and I like the low weight.

I am looking forward to trying the NB zero drops.

Great review.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Neither, both are too much

Neither, both are too much shoe for me. I run stictly barefoot but after much debate and thought about getting a new pair of minimal shoes, I broke out my 3 year old KSO's and realized I will not be wasting my money on new minimal shoes because these things are my old reliable footwear for the winter and snow.

 

[chadisbarefoot]

Barefoot Gentile

Neither, both are too much shoe for me. I run stictly barefoot but after much debate and thought about getting a new pair of minimal shoes, I broke out my 3 year old KSO's and realized I will not be wasting my money on new minimal shoes because these things are my old reliable footwear for the winter and snow.

Going to the dark side, eh? lol, just kidding.

I threw my old VFF Sprints on for a run the other day and remembered immediately why VFFs are the most successful minimalist shoe. I just wish they had a bit more covering up top (warmth) for winter, and they would definitely be my go-to shoe for the super cold. Very interested int the SeeYa that is upcoming!

 

[chadisbarefoot]

rickwhitelaw wrote:I have

I have Merrell Trail Gloves. I like them, I wish I could love them. I get blisters on the top of my foot where the tounge ends and also where the material folds. One of your pictures show how the Merrells fold at the toe box. Have any other models addressed this? The toe box is a bit narrow, but not uncomfortable. I don't like the toe spring. On the plus side, I like how they hug the heel area and I like the low weight.

I am looking forward to trying the NB zero drops.

Great review.

Thanks, brother! I too love the snug fit of the Merrells through the heel, but the softess and flexibility of the NB toe box makes it feel much superior in my opinion. That is definitely an area Merrell could improve upon, but it would have to come at the expense of toe protection. Anybody know if the road glove solves this?

Another quality I don't like is that the lack of structure in the Merrell means that I have to really cinch them down at the ankle (the topmost two lace holes) in order to keep my foot from shifting forward when walking or running. That took some getting used to because if I didn't really buckle them down, my toes would contact the front of the shoe - which I HATE!

I am super stoked about the NB 00 line upcoming, too! Not sure about shoe companies addressing the "folding" you mentioned. Interesting thought, though.

 

[chadisbarefoot]

buzzie wrote:I agree - it's

I agree - it's a toss-up.

I have the WT20 (didn't care for the WT10) and Pace Glove - love them both very much. (But, I do have narrow feet!)

If I need more protection or am running more than 30 miles, I go with the WT20; otherwise, I tend to prefer the Pace Glove.

Excited to see what spring brings in both lines... I've heard the rumors and reports.

Same here. I would love to test the MT20s, but I'm not dropping the cash on them and MGBG already has a solid review on them. But if NB wanted to send a pair my way...

 

[chadisbarefoot]

Lomad wrote:I had the Trail

I had the Trail Gloves, but couldn't get along with them. Hot spots galore without socks. I really didn't want to wear socks so they went back. Tried MT10's and loved them until the second time i wore them; I was one of the "metatarsal band pressure" victims. I now have MR10s that I hardly wear for running but make awesome recovery/walking around shoes. I run primarily in my Invisible shoes or Adams (sadly socks with Adams) if I am running with footwear.

I'm drooling for MT00's though...

Yup, I got some thin, synthetic Hanes socks just for that reason. Both the NB and the Merrell gave me blisters on the instep and top of foot near the big toe meta respectively when worn sockless. I was able to trim a bit of excess in the NB, but no luck with the Merrells. Eventually I guess my feet toughened and/or my trimming worked and/or the shoes softened up and broke in a bit because I can go sockless without blisters in both now. I have kinda gotten used to thin socks now. Go figure.

 

[NickW]

Hey Chad I just got around to

Hey Chad I just got around to reading your review. I'm curious why you compared with the MT10 instead of the MT20 which is the replacement for the MT10? I'm just curious and I did not mean for that to sound rude or anything. If I remember correctly NB had so many complaints about the MT10 that after a couple months of that being on the market they replaced it with the MT20. I may be wrong but I believe that is what I had heard way back when I was trying to decide if I wanted one of these shoes.

I had tried the MBTG and hated them because I could not loosen them enough in the midfoot region for my wide feet, even with Yankz laces added and loosened as much as I could. They also hurt the arch of my feet which was weird because suposedly that form fitting arch wasn't supposed to be for support. It must support at least a little as I only have this problem in shoes that have an arch. I ended up taking them back after a week of running in them. They were terrible on the road in my opinion, which is what MGBG said as well, if I remember correctly he almost took them back or dreaded running in them or something for that very reason at first, but he said they were absolutely amazing on the trail.

Anyhow, it was a very good review and I look forward to reading anymore reviews you may write in the future.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

chadisbarefoot

Neither, both are too much shoe for me. I run stictly barefoot but after much debate and thought about getting a new pair of minimal shoes, I broke out my 3 year old KSO's and realized I will not be wasting my money on new minimal shoes because these things are my old reliable footwear for the winter and snow.

Going to the dark side, eh? lol, just kidding.

I threw my old VFF Sprints on for a run the other day and remembered immediately why VFFs are the most successful minimalist shoe. I just wish they had a bit more covering up top (warmth) for winter, and they would definitely be my go-to shoe for the super cold. Very interested int the SeeYa that is upcoming!

Not yet! Mother Nature has not made me resort to footwear but time is of the essence. I did 6 hours of raking leaves in my KSO's yesterday, and they rule! I have a pair of sprints both the same size but for some reason the KSO's fit like a glove for me, and I have a slight case of Morton's toe. I think they are still the most succesful minimal footwear as well.

I can't wait for the SeeYa's the look very promising, I am saving money for them.

 

[chadisbarefoot]

NickW wrote:Hey Chad I just

Hey Chad I just got around to reading your review. I'm curious why you compared with the MT10 instead of the MT20 which is the replacement for the MT10? I'm just curious and I did not mean for that to sound rude or anything. If I remember correctly NB had so many complaints about the MT10 that after a couple months of that being on the market they replaced it with the MT20. I may be wrong but I believe that is what I had heard way back when I was trying to decide if I wanted one of these shoes.

I had tried the MBTG and hated them because I could not loosen them enough in the midfoot region for my wide feet, even with Yankz laces added and loosened as much as I could. They also hurt the arch of my feet which was weird because suposedly that form fitting arch wasn't supposed to be for support. It must support at least a little as I only have this problem in shoes that have an arch. I ended up taking them back after a week of running in them. They were terrible on the road in my opinion, which is what MGBG said as well, if I remember correctly he almost took them back or dreaded running in them or something for that very reason at first, but he said they were absolutely amazing on the trail.

Anyhow, it was a very good review and I look forward to reading anymore reviews you may write in the future.

Hey Nick!

Please accept my apologies for not replying to you earlier. I was just flipping through some of my old threads and saw that I never wrote a response to your queries.

I compared the MT10 with the Merrell BTG because it is what I could get for free. I had purchased the Merrells a while back, but the NBs were provided by Christian (Maple Grove Barefoot Guy) free of charge. I think he got them free, too. If I could have landed a set of MT20s, I certainly would have found them a more reasonale foe. Check out Christian's review for the NB update.

As far as the TG fit goes, you are not alone in your observations. The trail gloves needed to be broken in before I could enjoy them. (50 miles running and walking). I gave them a chance because I needed a semi-casual minimalist shoes for daily wear at work; I simply had to ditch my "high-heel" loafers. That allowed me to spend time in them and properly break them in. The heel-hugging interior relaxes a bit after about 20 miles or so. The road performance improves proportional to their break-in. On the trail? Holy smokes! The trail glove is fantastic! I much prefer the MT10 for road running, though, as I mentioned in my blog. The trail gloves are still my go-to shoe for daily wear, btw.