Merrell Women's Bare Access Trail Trail Running Shoe

If you're looking for zero-drop heeled shoes with a little more cushion and thickness in the sole than other types of minimal/barefoot shoes such as Vivobarefoot and Vibram, this may be the shoe for you. For better foot, knee and hip health, I'm transitioning from traditional stiff, heeled shoes to ones that allow my foot and ankle muscles to work. You may not like these if you're used to shoes that cradle your feet or provide support through stiffness. If you typically go for shoes with heel and/or structure, expect to feel some discomfort after a full day of walking and standing while your feet, ankles, and calves adjust to moving more and in different ways. The Merrell Bare Access shoes are non-bulky and much lighter than my former faves, Saucony Xodus, which are a different type of shoe and are meant to be stiffer and more cushiony. The Merrell Bare Access shoes have good flexibility especially at the ball of the foot, a wonderful grippy outsole and roomy toe box (the clincher for me as it's been a challenge to find styles that don't squeeze my toes). The sole will give and twist. Although skeptical, I ordered a full size larger than usual (6.5M it 7.5M). This worked out and ensured adequate roominess in the toe.

These shoes are overall really good. I like that it's a minimal shoe that offers arch support. I love the colours too! The only issue, and it's not that big a deal, is that I have very narrow feet so most shoes are a little wide on me. I completed the shoe size tool and read from others that they ordered half a size up to their normal size to get the right fit. So I did the same, but maybe I just have a much more narrow foot, particularly in the heel. I can certainly wear them with socks and get around just fine, but may have to put inserts into the heel for long jogs/walks. The toe space is already wide, but that's great for allowing my foot to move as needed. Since I can still wear them, no big deal. If I were to order again, I would order true to my size and then use the option to return/exchange if necessary. Included were a return shipping doc and instructions if I had felt I needed to do so this time around, which was a really nice inclusion.

Let me just say.. I love being barefoot as much as possible. Also, I have bunions that tend to be bothersome when they feel like it, yet these sneakers don't bother them at all. The toe box is roomy and they do not squeeze my feet, even after a full day of 8-10 hours on my feet at work, walking on different sized gravel (I work in greenhouses) I love these sneakers and plan on buying another pair in a different color. My first pair of Merrells were the Bare Access Arc 2 and I fell in love immediately. Wish they never discontinued that sneaker. These Trail Running shoes are a close match though. Bought a size 9 and they fit exactly as my last pair, so I would say they run true to size. I cant comment on the arch support, because I really don't know much about that. (idk if I have high arches, or what they would be classified as) What I do know is these sneakers feel great on my feet and I can wear them all day pain free.Pros: light weight, super comfortable, stylish- do not make your feet look huge or bulky, roomy toe box, awesome grippy sole.Cons: pricey, but IMO well worth the money spent. My feet thank me everyday.Cons: none

Please read! I felt like the reviews on this product were positive if you needed arch support and negative if you didn't. I based my purchase on these reviews and I'm glad I did. The thing is, I have ridiculously high arches. I used to wear size 8 tennis shoes, but over time, my arch got higher and higher and higher, until I now can wear a 6.5. So to say I need arch support is an understatement! I once even wore arch support insoles on top of regular insoles in one of my pairs of tennis shoes! So I purchased these in the hopes that they would have insane arch support and they do! If you have high arches, you will LOVE these shoes. Period. If you don't have really, really high arches, I can pretty much guarantee you will hate them.As for the sizing, I recommend buying up like other reviews said. I normally wear 6.5 in most normal shoes and 7 in tennis shoes for the toe room. With these Merrrell's I bought a seven and it fits like a 6.5, so if you like a little bit of toe room in your running shoes, I would recommend buying a whole size up instead of a half.Other than that, I am totally in love with these shoes! Happy running everyone!

The shoes are very comfortable and work for my needs. Having worn more minimalist footwear for awhile, it took me awhile to get used to the "bump" in the arch. I'm not sure if it is there for support or not, but I would rather not have it. The sole is also a lot stiffer than other "barefoot" styles, but is still more flexible than most shoes. The shoes are comfy and I could wear them for a full-day pretty much immediately. I spend a lot of time on my feet and am actually more comfortable with minimal support/cushion rather than more. This seems to vary a lot from person to person. I have not used them for running yet, but the traction is pretty good.I do have to laugh a bit when it's referred to as a "barefoot" shoe. It's a shoe. It feels nothing like going barefoot, but is certainly much less clunky and rigid than other shoes.

Merrells arrived quickly and were packaged appropriately so they received no damage from shipping. This is my third pair of the Bare Access and I love them. They are a zero drop shoe with amazing support. I wear them for work and loved them so much this is my at home pair. On my work pairs I have to break them in slowly- starting with 1/2 days- until I can wear them all day because the arch support is so good my foot needs to adjust to the new pair. I work in a hospital and do 8 or 12 hrs shifts on my feet so a good shoe is very important. I didn't have to break this pair in like that because I don't end up on my feet as much at home, so I'm naturally getting more of a break with them. The seller did a great job representing this shoe online and there were no surprises.

These are my favorite shoes, sad Merrell discontinued them. My first pair actually ripped apart so the durability wasn't great but the fit and comfort was top line.

I was unsure which size to buy in these shoes having read some of the other reviews. However, I'm glad I stuck with my instinct and bought my actual size as they are a perfect fit. They are extremely lightweight and very comfortable. They also look really nice. I have several pairs of Merrell shoes and these are the usual standard of quality. I am very happy with them and will do the job perfectly.

These are great shoes! They fit well and are very comfortable.

I ordered them in size 38,5 (UK 5.5) instead of normal 38 (5), as they were said to be quite narrow. They fit nicely over my midfoot and the wide toebox is really comfortable, but they're a little too wide on the heels. OK with socks, though.They are not as light-weight and thin as many of my other Merrells and have thicker soles, good winter shoes.The inside is soft and comfortable and the zero drop feels nice to walk.No barefoot feel, though, even if they are called Bare Access, but good, comfortable and hip- and knee-joint friendly winter shoes.They also look very nice and stylish, the violet colour is more intense than on the picture.

Having worn Merrell's for years I found these came up slightly large. Maybe its because of the extra roomy toe space. Lovely and lightweight as one would expect. I wear them more because I am on my feet all day than for sport.