Merrell Trail Glove Shoes Review

Merrell Trail Glove Shoes are the Best Weightlifting Shoes I've Ever Used

By Spartan Fitness

In the past I either used cheapo aquatic shoes/slippers or regular sneakers for weightlifting. They worked well enough.

However, this year, my wife splurged for my birthday and bought me a pair of the Merrell Men’s Trail Glove shoes. I had tried them on at a shoe store about a month before my birthday, but at the time the store didn’t have my desired color. I walked away empty handed, but my wife took note (she’s awesome that way).

Anyway, she ordered my Merrell’s online and they arrived on time.

What am I doing using a barefoot trail glove style shoe for weightlifting?

Ever since I started wearing aquatic slipper/shoes for weightlifting, I’ve preferred minimal footwear for weightlifting. The Merrell Trail Glove is perfect because not only can I wear it for hitting the weights, but it’s great for running, walking, cycling, trail-running, etc. It’s really a great minimalist cross-training, all purpose shoe.

In fact this shoe is surprisingly fantastic for weightlifting because …

This is the color I have

It has a slight elevation under the front part of my foot, which results in my feet being horizontal rather than angled downward when standing. This results in a terrific posture and feet position for squatting. In fact, a personal trainer I work with every few months thought these were great weightlifting shoes.

Other feature that work great for me:

I’m picky when buying shoes because I have a very wide forefoot. It’s like I have flippers for feet. Anyway, this rules out many shoes for me. The first thing I look for and feel for when trying on shoes is that it’s wide enough and doesn’t constrict my foot.

My general Merrell Trail Glove Review

They weigh almost nothing

The Merrell Trail Glove is really like a glove, although not quite that tight. There are super light. It’s like not wearing anything on your feet.

Resilient sole

Despite it’s minimalist design, it has a sturdy sole designed to handle running on pavement and trails. I wanted this because I actually wore through the rubber sole on the aquatic shoes I wore previously. This time around I wanted a shoe that would last and that I could use indoors and outdoors.

Comfortable

You must understand that this shoe is not a plush basketball sneaker. It’s a minimalist shoe/foot glove. It doesn’t have piles of padding and a massive heel with air pockets and hydraulics. Instead, it’s minimal footwear for the gym and/or running. If you like tons of cushion and padding for your feet, this shoe is not for you.

The look great

I love the look of these shoes. They’re a little sporty, but aren’t sneakers. I wear them to non-fitness outings … but I don’t wear them with my suit … yet.

My one criticism:

The shoelaces aren’t quite long enough. This is good in that I don’t have laces trailing and getting in the way, but one to two more inches would be perfect.

Conclusion

If you need weightlifting shoes, you can’t go wrong with these shoes. If the Merrell Trail Glove doesn’t do it for you, consider minimalist “glove-style” shoes because they really are terrific for pumping iron.

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