Sorry, couldn't resist the G-loves thing in the title. It might be a little misleading because I do have some reservations about the shoes. First the good stuff: I run on trails and roads and footpaths and grass which have gravel and mud and rocks and sticks mixed in. Also on the occassional broken glass that some idiot smashed on the footpath. Also I like tie odd hill, up and down. I have been using Merrel Bare Access shoes, but unfortunately I bought them to fit and that meant the were too small. Poor toes got scrunched on the downhills. Otherwise they were fine, nice and light. So when I discovered the Trail Gloves I got a pair, a size too big, to give room at the toes and also to let m feet splay out. They felt like clown-shoes in the shop, but the width was right and remembering the downhills, I got them anyway. Good news is that they worked brilliantly on all those surfaces and up and downhills, some quite steep. I only once or twice scraped the toes on the ground and I do that even in properly sized shoes. I bought some Injini toe-sox at the same time, thank goodness, and ran in those first time. Did a 30km run around Lysterfield Lake and environs. Enjoyed it immensely and had no negative issues with the shoes. So I thought... Now the bad news. When I took them off there was a little bit of blood on the top of my feet, soaked into the sox. The tendons had rubbed against the toungue end, I think, and if it weren't for the sox I'd have had a nasty welt there, I suspect. On the plus side, little foot bruising, no blisters and the lightness of the shoes no doubt helped me. Still had sore calves but that will pass as I get more accustomed, I hope.

Have been runnnig minimalist for four years now, and like any runner, am always looking for something to make my trail time even more enjoyable. Had been racing predominantly in VFF's, but found I was getting significant stone bruising on anything over 50k distances when the course was technical, and when fatigue started to kick in. Tried several manufacturers minimalist offerings, but found issues in sizing, durability, and protection. I actually fell into the Gloves by chance. I had put only 200 training k's through a pair of 00's when they decided to develop extra openings. Two weeks out from TNF100 in the Blue Mountains, I slipped into the Gloves and on race day smashed my target time by 2.5hrs with sweet feet all the way. Great sizing, durability, and foot protection while maintaining the feel that minimalist runners crave. Now my only choice for long trail time on race day :-)

SHORT VERSION: Great shoe, 5/5 well done Merrell! LONG VERSION: After trekking around half of Brisbane today (I had entered one of my instant gratification moods - god help anyone that gets in the way ...), I found the Trail Glove in my size and took it for a first run today around Iron Bark Gully - a rocky trail of single track and fire trails in west Brisbane on the way to Samford (great for mountain biking as well!). I was so delighted with the way this configuration of rubber, mesh and laces peformed that against my normal disposition, I wanted to create and ID here and share my thoughts. Although I have been using Vibram Five Fingers Bikilas LS & KSOs for 12 months or so, I personally have never felt really confident using them on the rocky bush trails that I prefer to run on - sorry VFF pundits, but I am still a fan so don't flame me for that comment. Thus it has always been a difficult decision, run WHERE I want to (trails) but not IN what I want to (Asic Trail sensors), or run IN what I want to (VFF or barefoot), but not WHERE I want to (tarmac, concrete, grass etc). There is something about running in the bush away from everyone and everything, just your thoughts (and canine companion) to keep you company. So I really wanted something I could take on rocky trails that would offer a little more protection without compromising ground feel too much, with a zero heel drop, and just generally gets out of the way and lets one run they way nature intended. Sounds simple, and perhaps I have am too fussy but so far everything I have looked at it is somehow too compromised ... either it doesn't have a zero heel drop, or there is just too much rubber underneath for good groundfeel, or fit issues, or they don't allow your toes to splay fully, too heavy, or they just aren't built to last etc. etc. So ... when I put these puppies on at home they felt good on the foot, but I was concerned they felt a bit too snug at first. On closer inspection I realised that they have a clever little system with the laces that seem to hold each lace and pull the shoe closer at each hole. This lets you adjust them very precisely around your foot to suit your unique shape. After a little playing around I found that I had an almost perfect fit for my feet ... the shoe held them firmly in place without undue pressure on the top of my foot - very happy! The internal material is very comfortable and designed for use without socks, which is how I tested them. I felt no seams rubbing against my foot anywhere (even after I had run 8klm) so overall pretty happy with the fit, feel and comfort. Walking around on pavement / hardwood floors they were okay, but nothing remarkable, just a minimalist shoe with extra tread. So if you plan to use these just on pavement and grass, hey they'll work but its kind of like having a Landcruiser parked in your garage for trips to the local supermarket ... you're probably better served by another shoe that will cost you less and do the job just as well or better. But when I hit the trail in these they just came alive! 2 minutes in these and I knew I had found my new trail shoes! The traction was grippy and held on like a my ASICS trail shoes, but I could finally feel the ground beneath me as well. While the sharp stones were still there, they were no longer sharp. My toes could splay fully out without even touching the toe box sidewalls, and because of the great fit the shoe held onto my foot no matter what gradient I was running up or down. I was having a blast in these things to the point where I had to consciously stop every kilometre just to let my dog catch up! These shoes gave me confidence, a very light footed feel & agility ... all in all, it was exactly what I had been looking for, and I couldn't be more happy with the Trail Glove. Yes it's still early days and I need to log more k's in these, but I know these will take some real beating as a trail shoe for me. I am actually excited about my next run and can't wait to get back out there. Anyhow, this intended short review has gone on way too long so I will just summarise with my personal list of PROS and CONS. Each to their own however - I've tried to explain how I use them and what I am looking for above. If you want serious cushioning on trails then you're looking at the wrong shoe obviously ... but if you have learned you to run "light & gentle" and like to run trails, then these may just be what the doctor ordered. PROS: - to my mind, easily the best overall compromise available for someone wanting barefoot mechanics & feel with protection from trails - fit & lacing system do a great job of holding onto the foot and allowing adjustment - toe splay is VFF-like, just inside the show box instead - traction from the sole was great, not even a scramble today but I was perhaps going a little easy on the loose rubble due to my experience in VFF KSOs on trails - very comfortable with good ground feel, not barefoot but very acceptable tradeoff - enough protection to give confidence on the rocky stuff (but not to be reckless mind you - disclaimers here) - shoe does a great job of holding onto the foot on downhills, no toes hitting the front wall ... its like barefoot but with some protection and extra grip - I like the look of them personally, but then again I still have some 80s music on my computer so don't let me guide your taste here CONS: - Perhaps a little pricey, but then most good shoes are so perhaps this is an unfair CON if weighed against the competition. If you judge the shoe by the job it does I would consider it good value nonetheless - I found them a little hard to track down (hopefully Merrell will open a store in Brisbane soon) - If you try heel striking in these you won't be running for long ... you need proper barefoot form and not be lulled into thinking this is a "transitional" shoe - I had to go up 1/2 a size, so try before you buy All in all, full marks and 5/5 from me - I can't praise these shoes enough! If you're looking for a barefoot/true minimalist trail shoe then I recommend trying these before you make a decision. Great job Merrell!

Have been running in my Trail Gloves now for probably over a year - body has held up well - better than prior to getting Barefoot form, definitely!!! Have used on grass, trail, road, concrete, general mud/dirt, etc. I prefer to run on harder surfaces rather than soft grass as soft grass doesn't give as much feel for correct technique. Over that time I was most impressed with how quickly it improved my running technique - I used to heel strike, so had cushioned running shoes to soften the blow, which only attended to some (by no means all) of the symptons of my pains and injuries, but not the cuases. Barefoot seems to have helped immensely in that regard. Then the other day I timed myself on Map My Run on a route I logged a little while ago, and after always being around 6 min km's for this particular route, I posted a time over that was overall nearly 3 minutes faster, so very happy with the performance for a casual jogging hack like me (5:22min km's). I like to wear with and without socks depending on the day - no dramas either way (although slight different fits re volume of shoe, still conforms to shape of my foot well). Feel great, run great, look great.