Merrell Moab 3
Mid or low, waterproof or not
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▶ From a video review of this product
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- Best for
- Budgets and wide feet
- Lifespan reported
- 50 to 1,000-plus miles
Why it ranks here. The bestselling hiking shoe ever, the RAV4 of hiking shoes: a lot of shoe for a reasonable price, a true 4E wide fit with no nonsense, comfortable out of the box, and owners at a thousand miles a year. Three Grand Canyon trips and one owner's feet felt good coming out.
The soles and heels are the weak points: one pair lost chunks of outsole at fifty miles, heel support crumples over a year, and several families' recent pairs came apart prematurely. They are heavy, long-time buyers say each generation is a little worse, and one found them rigid and returned them.
What owners like
- A lot of shoe for the money
- Genuine 4E wide
- A thousand miles for some
What owners complain about
- Outsoles and heels fail
- Heavy
- Each generation worse
“It's essentially the RAV4 of the hiking shoes. It's a shoe that is not necessarily the best in each category (like you said, there are others with better traction or comfort). But it is a solid and proven shoe with the right features. You get a lot of shoe for a reasonable price.” — YouTube comment · @huskytrails3654
8 positive · 1 neutral · 5 negative · 14 voices · ✓ all 14 linked to source
Read all 14 quotes (14 voices)
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I personally hike and backpack about a 1000 miles a year. For me I wear Merrell Moab 3 and they are great. I have wide feet. If you are multi day trekking your fit may swell a little also. Can you order both and return the one that doesn't fit?
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I would highly recommend mid rise shoes like the merrell moabs. I have them and I love them. They save my ankles so much from odd angles when hiking on non-flat terrain.
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I have hundreds of miles on my X Ultras. I trail run 4-6 miles in them almost every Saturday. I really wanted to love the Moabs, but the arch support needed a lot of break-in to get comfortable for my feet and once that was done the outsoles fell apart with chunks missing. I got maybe 50 miles out of them.
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I just am trying the salomon now - they feel more comfortable - i specifically found the merrell heel support to crumple a bit over a year .
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I found the Moab really rigid and uncomfortable. I had to return them. Plus for a waterproof shoe, the vent design is really, really dumb. It sits on the ground where water gets in and then the waterproofing keeps them from drying out. A lot of people really like them but it was one of the worst boots for me personally I ever tried.
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I have the Moab 3 mids, they are heavy. If the Salomon’s are even remotely lighter and have the same traction, go for those.
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The best part about these boots is the wide version is a genuine 4E, no nonsense. I've searched for a long time now for actual 4E width boots in my size, I'm glad I found some boots I don't have to stretch for once. I'm a 9.5 and it's genuinely 4 1/4" like it should be. The toe box also isn't shaped for some weird elf person either.
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This is one of the only hiking shoes that comes in standard wide widths, so that automatically makes it 1st place for me. Plus, I'm a casual day-hiker, so these are perfect for me.
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I am a 12 wide and a huge fan of the MOAB 3. For me, it is the only hiking shoe I love. Its affordability is a win win! Thanks for this excellent review!
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It's essentially the RAV4 of the hiking shoes. It's a shoe that is not necessarily the best in each category (like you said, there are others with better traction or comfort). But it is a solid and proven shoe with the right features. You get a lot of shoe for a reasonable price.
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The last few Merrells that my family purchased came apart prematurely
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Love my mid Moab hiker’s. 1000 miles on my first pair and on to my second. Durable, comfortable and very reasonably priced.
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On my 2nd pair of Moabs. I have done 3 backpack trips in these in the Grand Canyon. I didnt have any issues with my feet and my feet actually feel good coming out of the Canyon every time.
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The Merrell Moab line of shoes is the highest selling hiking shoe of all time. What does MOAB stand for? Why are these shoes so popular? Are they any good? I cover those topics and share my experience with these iconic hiking shoes.
