First off, I have the original waterpro which is basically the same shoe as this and I like it. It feels more like a regular shoe than a keen but dries just as fast because of all the mesh. Unlike keen, the mesh on this shoe also helps keep pebbles from getting in your shoe and stuck between your feet and the footbed. These shoes are also very comfortable. Now, to counter Geralds badmouth review thats below, Merrell does stand behind their product with a one year warranty. If a shoe becomes defective with a seam ripping, sole delaminating or whatever heres what you do. Call Merrell, say you have a defective shoe and get a return authorization number to send it back for credit or a replacement shoe. Its not hard. I work at a local retail store and handle all warranty claims for all our brands and have to say merrell is one of the few companies that has NEVER denied a warranty claim that Ive sent in for customers and Ive worked there for over two years. I once had a customer bring in a completely worm out pair of merrells that he had for more than a year. The front rubber on the toe was starting to peel off so I sent them in and merrell issued a credit which I thought was amazing. The truth is, even if you have had a pair of shoes for longer than a year, as long as merrell still makes the shoe you can still send it in saying its been less than a year and merrell will cover it. Second, Gerald says shoes bought with a discount for any reason are not returnable which is not true. Hes referring to his employee discount he received on this product because he works here. For regular consumers though, even if you buy merrells at a huge discount somewhere because there on sale, you can still send them in if something happens. Merrell really does make an excellent product, one that you will be happy with. And no, I dont work for merrell, I just really like their shoes.

As others have mentioned, the lacing system is comprised of a black cord that runs around the middle of the shoe and nylon webbing straps that go around this cord to provide lacing loops. This system is very exposed to abrasion and does not hold up well for canyoneering. I wore these down the Buckskin Gulch/Paria River trail, and they were pretty torn up by the end. After the first day, one of the straps failed. On the second day, another strap and the black cord failed. They stayed that way for two more days, but a third strap showed heavy wear by the end and likely would have failed soon after. Luckily, the mesh construction pretty much allows you to poke a hole wherever you want, so I was able to lace them unconventionally and keep going.

In all fairness, it was a pretty tough trail for shoes. We met another guy with some Keen water sandal/shoes that had a failure of one of the major straps on the first day. I don't know how new his shoes were to begin with, but on the last day of the trip, we found his shoes in a dumpster. He had also complained that they were coming off in the mud/quicksand along the river.My friend had some Salomon Tech Amphibians which killed his feet, but they held up with no damage. He also appeared to have much better traction than me in the mud, as the Maipos have a really shallow tread pattern that clogs up very easily. Neither the Salomon or Maipos had problems coming off in the mud though.

I will say that I do actually like this shoe quite a bit, just not for heavy usage. It is VERY comfortable, looks good, dries well, keeps out most rocks and pebbles, and does not take an odor after days of being wet. For lighter aquatic activities such as kayaking, wade fishing, occasional creek walking, etc, this shoe would be a good choice. It is also comfortable for everyday wear and breathes well on hot summer days. Just don't count on it for canyoneering, river hiking, or any other activity where the shoes are likely to be rubbed and abraded on the sides.

Bought these as I was told that they were excellent and after using TEVA's Ricochet Pro for over 3 years without any problems, I assumed that these shoes with the latest technology would be even better. How I was SO wrong. They don't drain very well, no drain ports in the sole. Durability is very poor, started to fall apart half way through a 12 hour hike. GRIP?? The sole of this shoe looks fancy, it has NO grip on wet rock. My 14 y/o son was wearing my 3+ y/o TEVA, and he had no trouble on any of the surfaces we encounted.
I have nothing against Merrell as a company, I'm positive that like other companies, that some of their products perform to spec. and some don't, however I will never buy any shoe for water use that has a VIBRAM sole, as I now know they are great for ice skating only.
Bottom line here is, READ READ READ the reviews people, because the only true way to know if the shoe is going to perform as the manufacturer states is by finding someone that has used it in a real life situation.

Not sure what the guys whole deal about with Merrell and their return policy so I can't comment on that, but, I can say you won't need to return these anyways. These are very stable shoes that perform very well under varying conditions. They dry quicker then expected and are sturdy as can be. I did some jet skiing on them and while everyone else was tripping over rocks and slipping these shoes held up just fine and made walking around in the rocks easy as can be. We also played ultimate Frisbee and I used these to run around which worked awesome.

I have the North Face Philter shoe as well which is a great shoe but these are more sturdy. Only thing is the insert comes out sometimes when I take them off which can be an annoyance but since that's the only thing about them I don't like, I can deal with that. I have the black pair which also looks nice.

Highly recommend.

I wore these down the Subway in Zions and they worked great... Side-note and trade secret-->Always wear socks (synthetic or wool) down the Subway no matter what shoe or sandal you decide to wear...keeps blisters to a minimum from the friction of the sand and your wet feet. The shoe is very comfortable with no break in time...

*Needs Eyelets* to keep the adjustment strap from braking (cause of the angles it makes). The adjustment strap goes all the way around the shoe--which helps to tighten it up once the shoe gets loose from being in the water.

The Merrell Waterpro Maipo Water Shoe fit great, worked really well in the water but has one MAJOR design flaw, the lacing system is horrible. The design looks like a good idea initially allowing a lot of options for fit and adjust ability. The problem is how flimsy the lacing system is there are no eyelets and the lace goes through an adjustable strap/webbing system. After 3 weeks of use the shoe lace wore completely through the strap/web. After my experience with the Merrell Waterpro Maipo Water Shoe I can not recommend it for purchase.

ONLY WEAR THESE IN THE POOL FOR MY WORKOUTS. I have had these shoes for over a year....I use them to run in the I the pool... I have been through MANY brands of shoes for the pool..and these are the best so far especially for the shoe laces...but I noticed that the bottom lining is coming up in my last workout...I'll glue it down cause I looked at the wear on the heel and it's still good..I normally go through a pair a year.....but if you workout in the pool, for many different reasons these are the best so far...do not buy those Speedo with the elastic bands as shoe laces or the slip ons..if you do intense running etc..(if you're going to be standing there in the pool then anything is good...go to the drugstore and you can buy a pair for less than $10)...Speedo:::no support...lately they have been making a below average product ....and their customer support, is like they don't HAVE a CS..the worse..BUT their bathing suits are still great not the BEST....I'm going off on a tangent!!!!!...sorry

We did a 50 mile trek down the Paria river canyon after the 3rd day two straps on the right shoe ripped. One at the top and one mid level. I punched a hole through the shoe with my knife where a normal eyelet would be and finished the hike. The shoe is very comfortable and breaking time was less than one week. Shoe would be better with eyelets rather than straps for the laces.

BUY MERRELL AT YOU OWN RISK!!!!
Because I am an employee at backcountry we are not allowed to return an item unless it has never been used. We have to call the company and get our own RMA. The Merrell Cust Service rep told me that if the product is bought at a discount for any reason, Merrell will not take them back whether they are defective or not. We had also had a pair of Salomon water shoes break on the same 50 mile hike. Salomon replaced the shoes with no problem.
I will never buy Merrell again.