Trail shoes vs. hiking boots

Hey everybody!

I am in the process of deciding on trail shoes or hiking boots. The type of hiking I will be doing will be all terrain in warm to hot summer conditions. I will be wearing packs that weigh from 25-40 pounds depending on conditions. Most of the hikes will be 2-4 day trips in varying weather conditions. I will be hiking all over the USA from rainforests to deserts and everything in bewtween. I am currently considering some Merrell chameleon's either the wrap gore-tex XCR or the wrap stretch gore-tex XCR. I wear a size 13-13.5 american. Any help or suggestions would be great -thanks alot

Hi there, I was just about to put up a new post as I went shoe shopping today and have narrowed my buying decision down to either the:

Merrell Chameleon II Stretch

OR

5.10 Camp Four

I saw the Camp Four shoes at a climbing shop nearby and saw the Chameleon II Stretch shoes at Sport Chalet.

Both shoes were quite comfortable and light. The Merrell shoes just fit like a glove, wonderful comfort.

I will be using the shoes for hiking around the Red Rock area here in Las Vegas, mostly just trail and some rock scrambling and very light, not steep climbing.

The guy at the climbing shop said the Camp Four shoes were brand new and he really couldn't tell me about any feedback from people yet.

Just looking for some input to help me make a decision between these two shoes..

I went ahead and bought the Merrell Chameleon Stretch II shoes today for $100 at Sport Chalet, those things are just too comfortable! I feel like I'm getting away with something when I put them on =) Giving them their first run tomorrow on some scrambling, will post my results..

I'm a little late on this reply but I cannot recommend a trail shoe too much. Merrill's are great and don't over look New Balance and Nike. I use a NB 605 (may have the # wrong) but they have been replaced by a new model. I'd do some major internet "shopping" before making a decision. One word of caution: having water proof shoes will cause your feet to sweat like mad. For summer hiking, I do not use any water proofing. Good luck.

I just took my new Merrell's out yesterday on a hike and encountered every type of terrain short of water. The shoes were wonderful, they didn't slip on any type of rock. Walked up some pretty steep areas too, loose gravel, dirt, etc. Here's some pics:

http://flickr.com/photos/7550959@N05/sets/72157600057216128/detail/

There's actually only one picture in the bunch where you can see me wearing the shoes. My feet didn't hurt beyond normal soreness after hiking and today they feel pretty much fine.