Merrell Embark Glove Gore-Tex

Not as great as I thought they would be.

I bought these to try out the barefoot style after having several friend rave about it. The fit of the shoes was good, but they didn't quite live up to the hype.

I could never get comfortable trail running in them because the soles are so soft that you feet every rock and root. I would wind up with bruises on the bottoms of my feet after even short runs. I do wear them casually now and they work pretty good for that.

The Gore-Tex might be a little overkill for this type of shoe. The sides are so low that it wouldn't help with stream crossings but might work in damp grass.

As a disclaimer, I am affiliated with Gore for product testing of Gore-tex products for the purpose of product review and recommendation. I do receive items from Gore for these purposes.