User Review: Merrell Wilderness

Merrell Wilderness
Above: The current Wilderness, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 29, 1996 by jrichard@...

Rating:
Materials: leather
Use: rough trails, heavy pack
Break-in Period: 3 weeks (at least)
Weight: kinda heavy
Price Paid: $220

These are decent boots, but I've had a few problems. They are lighter compared to some other all-leather boots. The tread has held up well and the soles aren't slippery when wet. I bought these boots because they ran wide and had plenty of toe room.

They are very waterproof (I use snoseal), but remember to treat them or the leather turns BLUE! The construction is Norwegian welt... good for crampons. (either 1/2 or 3/4 steel shank)

Also, the soles tend to delaminate. The soles from my boots started to seperate from the uppers after about 3 1/2 years of use. I brought them back to REI and they were repaired by Merrell for free.

I'd recommend them on the sizing and the weight savings vs. other leather boots.