I wore these for a hike on Thursday. They were great! I slogged through mud, mush, water and boggy material and remained dry through out. Very comfortable even with my orthotics.

At first I was a little unsure about the fit. I got a 7 since that's what I usually wear, and they seemed a little snug around the top of my foot in the toe box. After wearing them for a couple of weeks, though, they seem to fit pretty well. They look really good, too. The only real problem that I have noticed is that the laces on both shoes ended up breaking on me, so be careful about the way you pull on them when you try to tighten them.

i tried these out on both the pavement and the trails. on the pavement my pace was faster than normal with very little extra effort, on the trail my feet stayed warm, dry and slip free despite the flooded trail and steep clay covered hills. i love these shoes! i think merrell really excels in designing shoes made to fit women. i already own another pair of merrells so i knew to order a size up. con- the laces are a little thin.