I generally love Merrell hiking shoes for everyday wear. They are usually comfortable, fairly durable, provide good support, and give good traction under most conditions.
I recently tested a pair of Chameleon 7 Stretch Hiking shoes. They have a neoprene collar around the ankle and over the top of the arch that makes them extremely comfortable as walking shoes.
Unfortunately, the neoprene collar of the Chameleon begins to feel uncomfortably tight if one wears the shoes for an extended period of time while sitting at a desk, driving a car or doing pretty much anything that is not walking. The neoprene collar cannot be loosened like traditional laces, so the shoes feel gradually tighter and tighter.
I wore the shoes on a regular basis for almost two months, hoping that they would stretch out and become more comfortable. Unfortunately, that was not the result.
My Chameleons were a half size larger than I would typically wear, because they are cut somewhat narrow and my feet are somewhat wide. It is possible that they would be more comfortable if they were still another half size larger. I do not know if that is the case. What I do know is that, based on my experience, I cannot recommend Merrell Chameleon 7 Stretch Hiking Boots.
I finally got so sick of the shoes, that I gave them away to a thrift store. It was only after I gave them away that I realized that I had neglected to take any pictures of them for this article. So I’m using photos from the Merrel company website.I guess that I found them so unpleasant that I subconsciously did not want to be around them one second longer than absolutely necessary.
The Chameleon 7 has now been superseded by the Chameleon 8, which at the time of this writing was priced at $150 at www.merrell.com . They are made in Vietnam.
The Backstory
Although I love Merrells, I have never yet bought a pair of them brand new. They just cost too much when new to justify the expense. Instead, I keep my eyes open at second-hand stores. If I see a decent pair of Merrells in my size, I pick them up. When they become too worn for further use as everyday wear, they become work shoes for jobs that don’t require a steel toe. Since I almost always wear a steel toe while I am working, the Merrells that have been relegated to work shoe status end up being mostly used for things like walking the dog.
Since I am never sure when I will run across good shoes or boots in thrift stores, I buy them whenever they become available. I keep the extras in a tote in the basement for when they are needed next.
Recently, I was looking in the reserve shoe and boot tote for a pair of boots that I had purchased a while back. I ran across the Chameleons. I honestly do not remember purchasing them. I was delighted, since the everyday shoes that I was wearing at the time were not Merrells. I promptly demoted the other shoes to reserve status, and moved the Chameleons to the first string.
First Impressions
My primary first impression was that the sizing on these shoes must run a little small. As I mentioned above, even though this pair is one-half size larger than I normally wear, they still seemed a little tight. It is true that my feet tend to run a little wide, and the top of my arch tends to run a little high, but buying a pair of shoes a half size larger than I normally wear is usually more than enough to compensate for any sizing issues. That was not the case with these shoes.
Another early observation is that these shoes squeak. If you plan to undertake a task that requires stealth, I do not recommend wearing these shoes. I had hoped that this trait might diminish with time, but such was not the case. They continued to announce my coming in advance throughout the testing period. For example, near the end of the testing period I received a message that someone from our church family was in the emergency room of the local hospital. I went to visit. The hospital staff person who took me back to the patient’s room commented on my squeaky shoes, and how much she dislikes it when her own shoes squeak.
The Vibram soles do provide the excellent traction associated with that name. I bought my very first pair of Merrells many years ago based upon the high regard that I had for Vibram soles. I have not been disappointed with the soles of any Vibram soled shoe I have ever owned.
Testing
I wore the shoes to work daily for a period of more than a month. I also wore them on a camping trip with my grandchildren.
I generally keep a pair of slippers in my office. This allows me to take off my boots during the winter so that I am not tracking mud and snow all over the carpet. The Chameleons proved to be so uncomfortable while sitting at my desk that I dug out the slippers even though it was the middle of summer. I found myself changing from the Chameleons to the slippers sometime between one and four hours after I arrived for work each day. It did not matter very much how thick or thin my socks were or what material they were made out of. The shoes just persistently constricted my feet until finally I could not stand it any longer.
Fans of Dr. Seuss’ book and animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas may remember that one possible explanation for Grinch’s sour disposition was that his shoes were too tight. I hope that these shoes did not contribute to any Grinch-like behavior on my part.
During the camping trip with my grandchildren, on the other hand, I had a radically different experience. I did not do much sitting. As I hiked, rode my bike, played baseball, fished, and otherwise ran around with the grandkids, I found the shoes to be quite comfortable.
This experience is almost certainly partly due to edema. Long periods of sitting will often allow some fluid retention in the feet and legs, resulting in swelling. This is why many people experience their shoes becoming tight on long airplane flights.
A well-designed pair of shoes must be able to accommodate at least a small amount of edema. Most people experience at least some edema when they sit, and most people sit for at least a portion of each day. By this standard, the Merrell Chameleon is not a well-designed pair of shoes.
Merrell History
Merrell was founded in 1981, when two ski company executives joined forces with a custom boot maker to make a more-affordable, mass-market version of the boot maker’s custom designs. Initial production was in Italy.
In 1987, the company was sold to Karhu, a Finnish sports equipment company. Production was moved to Asia, reducing costs and thus lowering retail pricing.
Ten years later, Merrell was sold to Wolverine World Wide, a footwear company based in Rockford, Michigan. Eventually, Merrell branded products became the largest revenue source in Wolverine’s portfolio. These products now include apparel and accessories as well as footwear.
I also own a Merrell-branded shirt and a Merrell-branded coat. I have been pleased with the performance of both of these items as well. In fact, the pair of Chameleon 7 Stretch Hiking Shoes is the only Merrell-branded product that I have ever used that has disappointed me.
Vibram History
Every Merrell shoe that I have ever worn has had Vibram soles. Vibram soles were developed by Italian mountaineer Vitale Bramani after six of his friends died in 1935 while climbing in the Italian Alps. Bramani believed that the deaths of his friends were at least partly due to inadequate footwear. Bramani invented rubber lug soles for footwear with the financial backing of Leopoldo Pirelli, the owner of Pirelli Tires. The soles were designed to optimize traction and abrasion resistance.
An early marketing triumph for Vibram occurred when an Italian team wearing Vibram soled boots made the first successful summit of K2.
I have been very pleased with the performance of the Vibram soles of every pair of footwear that I have ever owned that has been equipped with them. I have owned footwear with other brands of rubber lug soles as well. Some of these brands have also given excellent performance, but others have not. I can never be sure prior to testing how well other brands will perform. I am able to buy Vibram -oled footwear with absolute confidence that at least the soles will perform well.
Conclusions
Due to their narrow cut and the insufficient flexibility of their neoprene collars, I do not recommend Merrell Chameleon 7 Stretch Hiking Shoes for everyday wear. After almost two months of regular use, I decided that any further effort trying to break these shoes in was not worth the discomfort involved. I decided that it was time to get rid of the shoes and move on to something else.
Merrell makes a large selection of other shoe models that are much better suited to everyday wear, such as their Moab line. I recommend that you try one of these other model lines instead.
Disclaimer
I did not receive any financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.