What a great product! I had recently decided to try the route of minimalist/barefoot running to strengthen bones and muscles in my feet and adjust my running form. I've been plagued with severe shin splints almost all my life, primarily due to hard heel-striking and perhaps some structural issues in the leg or hip area. Anyway, I did a LOT of research on minimalist shoes and the Vapor Gloves definitely stood out from the crowd. Decided to try them out, and after running in them almost daily (short 3 to 5 miles runs) for the last one month, I can honestly say these are the best running shoes I have ever owned. In fact, they're so comfortable that I spend most of the day in them, even at work. If you're new to minimalist running and in the market for shoes, the Vapor Gloves are a slam-dunk no-brainer choice. You'll be glad you did.

these shoes fit great and do exactly what I need them to do on the road. the sole gives great traction during wet and dry conditions and feel great during the warm KY days.

I recently got into minimalist running and after a long search for the "perfect shoe", I think I found it in the vapor glove. The shoe looks fantastic and is extremely flexible. Running with them is very light and airy, particularly with the wide toe box. They are great for travelling too given the weight and flexibility of the shoes and are comfortable to hike with. The shoe does run much larger than I expected. I normally wear size 9 running shoes but had to go all the way down to a size 8 (and there's still ample room between my toes and the tip of the toe-guard).

This is the first Merrell shoe I have purchased--I previously have teased my only-quasiminimalist friends for wearing the stiff trail glove and such. However, the Vapor is something new, and I was sufficiently impressed with its minimalism (and the various "barefoot" running blog reviews) that I decided to try making the switch from Vivobarefoot. Before these--with the exception of my various FiveFingers--all my shoes were Vivo. These are better--the toe-box is wider, the body cooler on the foot, the overall construction better, and the price is significantly lower (25%). And they're attractively designed to look more like ordinary shoes, which is a big plus (although the big "MERRELL" across the heel is a bit tacky). It seems that most of the reviews (on this website and elsewhere) have found the Vapor to run large. Certainly anyone trying barefoot running for the first time will find the Vapor to be larger on the foot than his or her old shoes, but that's the point. Before I abandoned straight-jacket shoes and went minimal, I routinely wore a 12. I'm wearing the Vapor in 13, and it fits very well. My feet have spread out, and my toes are active. However, I would have given the Vapor only 4.5 stars if it had been an option. While the toe-bumper is a nice touch, I miss how the Vivobarefoot sole comes up the sides a bit (particularly on the arch). Since the Vapor is already made of sterner stuff than the Neo (my previous running shoe), it will likely last at least as long. However, with a bit extra sole on the sides, this shoe would be a great deal more robust for slightly-off-road running. Also, while the overall groundfeel is about as good as the Neo (because the toe-box is wider and my foot engages the ground better), the sole is unnecessarily thick. If I could, I'd pull out the cushion (the whole point of barefoot running is that the shock is absorbed by one's calf muscles, not the shoes). Finally, the sole is a bit stickier than I'd like (it's comparable to the original Fivefingers). For wet surfaces, this would be a plus, but it puts more torque on the knee. We'll see how the soles wear. Pros: Less expensive Attractively designed Well constructed Wide toe-box Decent ventilation Cons: Sole is too thick (cushion is unnecessary) Sole doesn't cover much of the arch Conclusion: The best shoe out there, though not perfectly minimal. If the design team that put the Vapor together continues to innovate, I expect the next iteration to be very nearly ideal. I'll still be buying my minimalist dress shoes from Vivobarefoot for the foreseeable future, and these can't replace my UnShoes (sandals), but Merrell now has my vote for casual and active shoes. Bravo!

This is the most minimal shoe in Merrell's lineup. As an aspiring Ultrarunner, my training and racing mileage demands more cushioning than this shoe offers, but than again, that's not what I bought it for, nor what it was built for. Rather, I wear this for everyday wear and short fast speedwork, so as to strengthen my feet and allow me to get by wearing more minimal shoes (like the Trail Glove, Mix Master, or upcoming Ascend Glove) on longer training runs and races. In addition to my logged training, I walk a lot as part of my daily life, going to and from campus, and as part of recovery and tapering. So I do about 20-30 mpw in these walking, with interspersed "sprints" to catch a crossing light or a bus! Then, when I put on my training and racing shoes, which might otherwise feel "thin," my feet feel wonderfully invincible. So I can cushion my body for long miles, while avoiding the muscular atrophy that inevitably sets in with the prolonged use of overly protective footwear. I prefer zero drop in all of my shoes, but demand it in my non-training/racing/heavy hiking shoes. I've also used these for light hiking during the recovery period from my last race (the Lake Sonoma 50 Miler, which I ran in my trustworthy Mix Masters), and they worked great. Some would say they run big, and while I could probably fit into a size 13 comfortably in these (something I can't say about most shoes), I'm happiest in the 14, which is my size in just about everything (but only because hardly anybody makes anything in 15, which is probably my size for a lot of the models that don't offer the super-comfy Merrell Barefoot toebox).