My 2 boys love these shoes. They don't want to wear anything else since I bought them for them. My 6 year old put them on and started hopping and jumping around with a big smile! My 8 year old loves them too. Only issue is that the toe guard is already peeling away from the shoe- it hasn't been but a couple of months. This a huge disappointment considering the price and their fondness of the shoe. I don't know how I will get them to buy anything else when it comes time to size up. I'd give it 5 stars if it weren't for the shoes coming apart. Other reviews I've read say they last and last for their kids. My kids aren't even rough and tumble- they are pretty laid back and tame- so I'm not sure why our shoes are failing. I'd buy them for my twins too if I knew they would last.

I have been purchasing these great shoes for many years for my grandson. In the past they have been made well and lasted through 1-2 seasons of wear. The last pair I ordered (size 5 gunsmoke) fell apart after 2-3 months; bottom sole started peeling away and finally flopping off of one shoe...flopping around on the other. I took them back to REI but they told me I had to contact Merrell. I did not and bought another pair. Well school year has begun and again the sole on size 6 is beginning to come apart at the tip and the elastic seems to be stretched out. My grandson only wears them 2 school days and weekends. He has to wear gym shoes on days he has gym. When he plays soccer he wears soccer shoes. Begrudingly I just ordered another pair of size 7 in the leather hoping these may be better made; his feet grow fast and we have a hard time finding shoes that actually fit his feet well. He has a very wide foot and Merrells have always been his and our first choice. He even wants to wear them in summer instead of summer shoes. Have you changed suppliers? Perhaps these are being made in china and not up to your regular quality standards. If I wasn't experiencing similar problems I would have rated the shoe rated it 5 stars.