Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

This is a really fantastic shoe! I have been looking for a shoe that blends the barefoot feel of the Five Fingers (FF), the comfort of the Nike Free, and the trail grip of the PI Peak XC, and voile!, here it is! Unlike the FF, which do not function very well on the trail, do not protect against stone bruises, and may not fit your foot well (toe and heel size), the Merrell Barefoot gets all these things right. This shoe fits like a glove, with no slip, pressure points, or seams to get in the way (I wear a very thin sock with them that prevents against any potential blister issues). The sole is *slightly* stiffer than the FF, which provides more stability when running technical trails. The sole tread is perfect and grips really well. I have run mud, roots, rocks, and hard pack and have been impressed by the grip and function on all. I have also walked in them, hit the gym, and worn them casually and the style and function have been excellent here as well. They run a half size big - I normally wear an 8 and the 7.5 fits perfectly (some of the other reviewers had this backwards). I highly recommend these shoes for the experienced or new runner looking to get in the minimalist game.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

I must admit, I was quite the skeptic when trying these shoes out. My husband is a huge Five Finger fan, but I wanted something I could wear to work without people looking down and saying, what is on your feet!

I will start with saying not only are these shoes the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn, but I will never go back to anything else. My biggest surprise was that I have been able to correct my lower back pain by wearing these shoes. I have only worn these for the past 2 weeks and haven't experienced lower back pain since. I have always had chronic lower back pain, and this has completely relieved me of that.

I recommend these shoes to everyone, my friends, family, coworkers and doctors.

I will say without a doubt, I will never go back to traditional shoes!

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

I wish I could join in on the party and joyously proclaim that these are the best things since sliced bread, but, alas, the sizing on this shoe is ALL over the place. I specifically tried on 4 different pairs in a size 11 (doesn't go any higher than that, unfortunately), and ALL 4 measured differently in both length and toe box width. I am a true size 11, so there is really no excuse for them NOT to fit. The ones I tried on in REI when they first came out fit perfectly with lots of room to spread my toes....how I wish I had bought them right there and then. Ever since then I have ordered THREE other pairs, none of which fit, and have a forth pair coming in a couple of days which will then make it a total of 5 tries. After that, I give up. It's very discouraging, especially after calling Merrell directly who claimed that they run big, which is not the case with this shoe. If you scour the internet, you will find reviews ranging everywhere from they run a full size or half size small, to true-to-size, to running a full to half size big. If only I were able to find the ones that fit in the latter two categories. This is a major bummer as I was planning to transition over into these particular "barefoot" running shoes in time for the Bolder Boulder, but it's not looking that way. Guess I might have to go with the fugly five fingers. :(

For those with a shoe size under 10 1/2, you may be in the clear as you have room to play around with the inconsistent sizing which, while not optimal, gives you some flexibility. If you are a size 11, it's the luck of the draw I am afraid.

I recommend this shoe to anyone who is under a size 11. :(

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

This is a great minimalist shoe. At first, it felt as though there was a bit of arch support, but after a couple runs the shoe broke in great and allows for full movement of my foot. Great protection on trails and the traction is good. I'd recommended this to any barefoot/minimalist runner.

They're pretty stylish too, I like to wear them all the time.

Only con, which was expected, stinky. These shoes are comfortable enough to wear very happily without socks, which is what I prefer, leading to some shoes with a very special stink!

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

Let me qualify that one CON: This shoe definitely does not build in arch support. It's a "barefoot" type shoe, though, so it trains your foot to provide its own support. If you can get used to that, you will love this shoe.

It's comfy for everything, and for a shoe that's supposed to fit "like a glove," (and does), it's surprisingly flattering. I love that it conforms to the shape of my foot without actually showing the shape of my foot -- because let's face it: feet, especially feet that do sports, aren't always pretty.

If you hated the Five Fingers shoes (I did), please give the barefoot idea another try with these Merrells. I love them so much, I won't mind if literally everyone else takes my advice and starts wearing them, too. =)

A note about sizing: These DO run a half size too big, but if you like a little toe room in your running/dancing/whatever shoe, that's not a bad thing. I tried on several sizes and am quite happy with my standard 11.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

I am sososo bummed!!! Was so looking forward to transitioning to the minimalist/barefoot shoes, and these are ever so much cuter and more stylish than the 5-fingers. I was super psyched. But alas, being a size 11, I have grown overly accustomed to rarely finding shoes that fit. Merrell has always been a good choice for me...except these shoes. They were far too small for my long toes. I have "corvette" feet - they are long and thin, but definitely a true 11, and there was no way I could walk in these size 11s without curling my toes over themselves. It's just too bad that companies can't figure out how to design shoes that fit taller women. Sigh. I went to the men's version, but of course those are terribly masculine and wide for wider men's feet. Looks like I'll just have to forget this.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

So, I'll start off by saying these are the best shoes ever. And I really mean that.

I'm not writing this review, as a lot of people do, after a few weeks of walking around in the shoes. I've been consistently wearing the same pair (minus a few nights out with heels, a few rainy days with boots) for over a year. And after everything I've forced these shoes through, I can comfortably say that they are the best.

The sizing is weird, and random. It's true. My pace gloves (in the stylish black) are a 7.5 or 38. Normally, my running shoes are somewhere between 6.5 to 7's, and the pace glove fits differently on each foot (though it's unsurprising since both feet are slightly different too).

The beauty of the fit of these shoes doesn't really present itself until about 4 months after using them consistently, I would say. Especially if you haven't tried the minimalist shoe thing before. It takes some adjustment time (for both feet and shoe), and it's extra helpful to read some articles about how natural foot fall works and how you have to retrain yourself. The long term benefits are totally worth it.

Speaking of which, the long term benefits seem to me to include no more joint and back pain if you walk or stand long hours, no more foot pain from weird artificial "arch support," and extra energy at the end of the day. One of the only downsides is that everything else (i.e. everything with a heel or arch support or structured footbed) is going to feel cramped and uncomfortable. I think maybe the hardest part of this shoe is the transitioning out of it into some classy, normal shoes.

There are three other downsides that I can think of for the pace glove: the shoe stinks if you don't wash it, the rubber sole likes to pull away from the synthetic uppers after heavy use, and people still seem to think that I'm wearing water shoes. For the first part I would say that if you really use these shoes (and I mean like, walking through mud, sweating in them all day, running some miles in dusty terrain, etc.) you really do end up having to wash them or they stink. I like wearing socks with mine, and that helps a little with the smell, but overall you still have to throw them in the washing machine.

Secondly, yes the uppers pull away from the rubber sole. Glue fixes this. End of story.

Thirdly, they are super stylish, but people will still believe that they are water shoes. I really like fivefingers, but it's hard wearing them to work, and to the grocery store, and to the park, and at a gym, and--well--in public. The pace gloves are less intrusive, but people will still make jokes about your fetish with water shoes (think: coworkers).

Anyway, to sum up my kinda long report after wearing them a year: they're the best. I have finally, after much effort, worn through a lot of the tread, but I also don't count the miles I put into them. I trail run, do some serious hiking, go bouldering and climb, work on concrete and walk a lot at work, and generally do everything in these shoes. They hold up, and I've never felt better.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

When you put these shoes and run in them the act of running feels so natural and free! Like how we humans were supposed to feel while running. I will have a pair of these for the rest of my life.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

I really like these shoes due to the fact that I can wear while I'm out running errands, lifting weights at the gym, or while I'm at work.

I work retail and am on my feet for about 8 hours a day. In the past I have gone for shoes that have a lot of padding and support, but found that they didn't help much. After reading other reviews of different minimalist shoes and seeing that others have felt that minimalist type shoes have helped to alleviate pain, I decided to give them a try.

Being that I have a wide foot I wasn't sure that the Pace Glove would fit since it looked a bit narrow, but when I got to the store and tried it on I found it to fit like a glove (no pun intended). When I got the shoes home I wore them around the house for a few days to help my muscles get used to them (like Merrell recommends) and then I decided to try them out at work. I was impressed by how cool and comfortable my feet felt all day while I hustled around the store. I was even more impressed when I got home at the end of the day and sat down and realized that not only did my feet not hurt, but neither did my legs or knees.

Overall, the one thing that isn't so pleasant is the fact that the footbed tends to collect dead skin and dirt (since I wear them without socks) causing the shoes to get stinky and stick to the bottom of my feet. While Merrell says the shoes can be put into the washing machine and run through on the gentle cycle, I want them to look new as long as possible and intend to avoid that as long as possible. Instead of putting them in the washing machine I used an old toothbrush and some anti-bacterial soap to gently remove the debris from the footbed and then let them air dry overnight. The footbed is no longer stinky or sticky and looks good as new!

These shoes are stylish and I always get compliments on them. I love these shoes so much that I purchased a second pair in a different color (I have the Crystal and the Lavender). My next step is to take them on a run and see how it goes.

Comments about Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's:

I walk to and from work, a total of 4 miles a day. I was starting to get hip and knee pain on my right side while wearing other shoes, including ones with lots of padding and support. I switched to the Merrell Pace Glove and instantly felt better. After 3 weeks of wearing them nearly every day, all my joint discomfort has melted away. I do feel like my alignment is much more natural while wearing them and that a lot of important muscles and reflexes get used and strengthened when I wear them. I now prefer them to all my other shoes especially for walking. I hope Merrell will make them in other styles.