Merrell Review: Is It a Good Brand and Worth It?

Merrell is the brand most people meet first. Walk into any outdoor shop or search for a starter hiking shoe, and a Merrell is almost always in the running. It has built that reputation on one thing above all: comfort you can feel the moment you put the shoe on. That is why the two questions that come up most about it are simple: is Merrell any good, and is it worth the money?

This draws on the Merrell footwear we have reviewed on Coast & Fell and on verified facts about the company.

The verdict up front

Yes, Merrell is a good brand, and for most hikers it is worth the money. It sits in the value-to-mid tier of hiking footwear, below technical specialists like Salomon and Scarpa on price, and that positioning is the whole point. The money buys three things that hold up: comfort straight out of the box with no break-in, grippy outsoles that handle British trails, and prices that undercut most rivals in the same category.

It is not a premium brand and it does not pretend to be. Merrell is not chasing the lightest, fastest or most technical shoe on the shelf. What it does is make roomy, dependable footwear that fits a lot of feet and lasts a decent stint of regular hiking, and it does that better and cheaper than most. For the walker who wants one pair that just works, that is precisely the right recipe.

If you only ever buy one Merrell item, make it the Moab 3 GORE-TEX: the shoe that best captures what the brand is about.

Merrell at a glance

Founded

1981, in Waitsfield, Vermont, USA

Founders

Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweizer

Headquarters

Rockford, Michigan, USA

Owned by

Wolverine World Wide (since 1997)

Known for

Hiking footwear, and the Moab shoe and boot line in particular

Price tier

Value to mid-range

The story: from a $500 custom boot to the Moab

Merrell started with a boot most people could never afford. In 1981 the company was founded in Waitsfield, Vermont, by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweizer. Matis and Schweizer were executives from the ski company Rossignol; Randy Merrell was a custom bootmaker whose handmade boots sold for around $500 a pair.

The plan was to take Randy's craft and make it accessible. The three combined his bootmaking with their industry and production experience to develop a line of high-performance hiking boots the average walker could actually buy. The first Merrell boot launched in 1983, and it landed well: Backpacker magazine rated it among the most comfortable and functional boots in North America.

Randy Merrell sold his stake in the company that bears his name in 1986 to return to making custom boots. The business kept growing, and in 1997 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide, the Michigan footwear group that also owns Saucony, Chaco, Cat Footwear and Hush Puppies. Merrell is now run from Wolverine's headquarters in Rockford, Michigan, and it is the largest revenue-generating brand in that portfolio.

The thread running through all of it is comfort. Merrell was built to make a comfortable, capable hiking boot that ordinary walkers could afford, and that remains exactly what the brand is known for today.

What Merrell does best

Merrell is, first and foremost, a hiking footwear brand. It makes clothing and accessories too, but shoes and boots are the heart of it and where the reputation lives.

The Moab line. The Moab is Merrell's icon and one of the best-selling hiking shoes and boots in the world. It comes as a low shoe and a mid boot, in waterproof and non-waterproof versions, and it is the piece that defines the brand. We rate the Moab 3 GORE-TEX as the best-value waterproof walking shoe in the UK, and the Moab 3 Mid GORE-TEX carries the same recipe into a supportive boot.

Comfort straight out of the box. This is Merrell's signature. The Moab and its stablemates are famous for needing no break-in: they fit a wide range of feet and come good from the first walk. The last runs roomy, which suits wider feet and long days on the hill, and Merrell's cushioning (the Air Cushion heel on the Moab) takes the sting out of hard ground.

Vibram outsoles. Merrell fits Vibram rubber on its flagship shoes, including the Vibram TC5+ outsole with 5mm lugs on the Moab 3 GORE-TEX. Vibram is a genuine performance outsole brand, and it is a big part of why these shoes grip confidently on chalk, mud and coast-path rock.

Waterproof membranes. Merrell offers proper GORE-TEX versions across the core range, as on the Moab 3 GORE-TEX and the Accentor Sport 3 GTX, alongside its own membrane options. That gives you a reliable, well-known waterproofing choice in the damp conditions that define UK walking.

Value. The common thread is price. Merrell consistently undercuts the technical specialists while delivering the comfort, grip and waterproofing that most walkers actually need. It is a value-to-mid brand, and it competes hard at that level.

Is Merrell worth the money?

This is the question worth asking before you spend, so here is the straight answer.

Merrell is not a premium brand and it is not priced like one. It sits in the value-to-mid tier, below technical specialists like Salomon, Scarpa and Meindl. For that money you get proven comfort, Vibram grip, a genuine waterproof membrane option and a roomy fit that suits a lot of feet. The Moab 3 GORE-TEX lands at £145, which undercuts most of its direct rivals while matching them for the things that matter on a British trail.

Where does that leave it against the alternatives? Merrell generally comes in cheaper than the performance brands, and the trade-off is honest: you are not buying the lightest or most aggressively technical shoe on the shelf. What you are buying is dependable, comfortable footwear that gets the job done without fuss and without the premium price tag. For most hikers, most of the time, that is the better deal.

Is it worth it? For anyone who wants one reliable pair for regular walking, yes. The value in Merrell is that it removes the gamble: comfort out of the box, grip you can trust and a price that does not sting. If you are chasing minimum weight or the last few percent of technical performance, you may want to spend more elsewhere. For everyone else, Merrell is money well spent, and the Moab is where to start.

Every Merrell piece we've reviewed

Our rating on each, with a link to the full review and where to buy it.

Merrell FAQ

This is part of our Brand Spotlight series. For the shoes themselves, browse the full waterproof trainers hub, or go straight to the Moab 3 GORE-TEX review for the piece that best sums up the brand.