User Review: Merrell Wilderness

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

Reviewed August 2, 2003 by Donald McCrimmon

Rating:
Materials: leather
Use: all conditions from day hikes to heavy pack
Break-in Period: 40 miles
Weight: 200
Price Paid: $95

Don't be shocked at the price. I bought mine more than 20 years ago, and while they have seen some shelf time while I got into sailing rather than hiking, I've still logged over 500 miles with them.

Aside from the laces giving out and the insoles wearing thin, they are in great shape, with only a minimum of care on my part (occasional cleaning, snow seal and avoiding salt water like the plague). They've gotten me through some rough country in New York, California, Nevada, Maine, Michigan, Ontario, Tennessee and North Carolina ranging from old lava outcrops near Mono Lake, to mucky swamps and boggs in Michigan and beach sand in North Carolina.

After all this traveling, I'm back in the hills of central New York and the Merrells are still helping me trek along with great comfort and 'retrospective' style. I'm heading toward 60, spend most of my time day tripping now, and think this pair will last me the rest of my life. Who knows, maybe I'll be buried wearing them (in another 25 years)!