The Running Warehouse blog just posted a preview of Spring 2013 shoes from Merrell. I saw a number of the shoes mentioned when I was visiting Merrell HQ last month, but one that I did not see is the Merrell Vapor Glove. Here’s what RW has to say about the Vapor Glove:
“Available in both Men’s and Women’s models, the Vapor Glove is Merrell’s most minimal running shoe, with just a 6mm stack height front and back. It doesn’t get more minimal than this, folks. You still get a Vibram rubber outsole, durable mesh upper and external TPU heel support. Launches February 2013 at $80.00 MSRP.”
I asked for a bit more detail from my contact at Merrell, and was told that weight will come in a 5oz, and the sole has 2mm of EVA cushion plus a 4mm outsole. For comparative purposes, the Road Glove has 4mm of EVA, and the Bare Access has 8mm. Thus, this shoe will be the most minimal in the Merrell Barefoot collection.
Here are a few photos showing additional colorways (first two are men’s, second two are women’s):
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About Peter Larson
finally a challenger to the Bare-X 180. I’d love to see a comparison between the two once you get a hold of the Vapor.
Merrell is on the right path — if only they could figure out a way to eliminate that toe spring and let my toes rest on the ground.
I wonder if the outsole is the same road glove or something new.
Don’t know yet, but the toe bumper looks new.
I think this is their best looking shoe yet. Can’t wait to see how it feels.
What’s with the big toe bumper? Apparently this is a road shoe so toe bumper seem very strange. For some strange reason toe spring on Merrll’s is very noticeable. Normally I don’t notice it in any shoes but on my Merrell Trail Gloves the combination of toe bumper and toe spring fell uncomfortable. I just hope this doesn’t have the same feel.
The toe bumper isn’t as pronounced as the photo makes it look. It functions to protect the very minimal upper from your toes and abrasion.
This Dutch site – in english – has some good pics of the shoe, including the tread. Looks like it will be a good choice for race shoe.
link to frunning.eu…