Select BITR Apparel On Sale. Shop Now

Women’s Merrell Pace Glove Trail Shoe Review

Contest: Women post a comment and your shoe size for your chance to get a pair of Merrell Pace Gloves from Believe in the Run. The contest is over CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER JANET! 

There was a time when I heard the brand Merrell, and would think hiking boots. Period.  What a flawed conception of the company!  If you take a look at their site, you’ll find that they offer all KINDS of goodies.  I had the pleasure of trying out their Pace Glove Trail Shoe. I consider myself somewhat of a minimal runner, wearing a neutral shoe and staying in as light of a trainer as I can but the Pace Glove took it to a whole ‘nuthuh level. These bad boys weigh in at only 4.7 oz.  All this time I thought my Saucony Kinvaras were lightweight at 6.5 oz!   As far as Aesthetics, they’re PURDY. It’s like the colors were handpicked and custom made to match my fave Lululemon shorts!

 

They have an incredibly snug and secure fit, leaving plenty of room in the toe box.  Normally I wear a size 8 running shoe but for some reason the arch hit funny in that size, so I sized down and sockless, the 7.5 seems to fit just right.  Before taking them out for a run, I spent a day walking around, trying to get a feel for the Vibram sole. It’s a really comfortable casual shoe and has quickly become my new “gym shoe”.  Besides figuring out that “crystal” is a delicious shade of turquoise, these shoes are structurally sound. The stitching is clean, upper mesh flexible, soft elastic heel and the sole protective enough for the trails.

 

My calves weren’t quite up for consecutive big miles in the Pace Glove and for the sake of review, I tried them on a treadmill, too, (blech) but for short trail distances, I was happy with their performance. I don’t think I could handle a really technical trail in them, only because there isn’t a huge amount of traction and virtually no cushion.  There is plenty for differing surfaces, though:  grass, sand, moderate amount of rocks/roots but I need more to a sole when dealing with the BIG DAWGS.  In short, I need to acclimate my feet/calves for “barefoot” running but give the Pace Glove high marks.

-Jenny

Shoes were provided from Merrell for this review.

22
Comments

Have something to say? Leave a Comment

  1. Candace A says:

    Ohhhh yea those ARE purdy!  Your leggies look good in them too!  Would love to get my hands on a pair – thanks for the review (siiiiize 8!) 🙂

  2. Taryn says:

    My curiosity is piqued. My fall marathon is mostly trails; while I am not acclimated for barefoot running and likely wouldn’t run a marathon in these, I wonder about doing my shorter training runs in these. It could be a way to strengthen my calves for the trails of the big race…The shoes are gorgeous, too. I bet they’d be good for hiking for people who don’t want bulky ankle guards. I’m totally pimping my size here (9) in hopes of winning a pair, but if not I will likely buy a pair of these bad boys for my summer trails.

  3. Carol Bischoff says:

    Interesting. The most minimal I've gone is the Kinvara. It's hard to imagine using those on a trail with such little protection/traction. I'm such a baby 🙂 I'd probably be a 7.5 too, as like you said, I'm usually an 8. Thanks!

  4. Oh, oh, I want a pair!  I have an older, men's version… I can handle about 9 trail miles in them, but would like to improve to handle more. 
    I use the Merrell Glove Mary Jane's for everyday use and European travel – they are fabulous!  I wear women's size 10.5. (No snickering, please.)

  5. Samantha says:

    Those are some pretty sneakers! Too bad I can't get them in time for my first trail half this weekend 😉 (Size 6! Yes, I have small feet!!)

  6. Janet says:

    I agree totally. I had the previous version and I liked them a lot. But exactly like you said, love to walk around in them, love wearing them to the gym, but my calves and feet take a beating on those so I use them to run no more than 3-4 miles just to try to strengthen my feet and calves and promote correct landing so that ultimately, I am less likely to be injured. I too love the kinvaras but it will take a lot of time before I can run longer on these shoes. I would love to try the latest version of these because I did like the older trail gloves and curious how much difference there is. I'm a size 8 in merrell gloves. Thanks!

  7. Annie Schlaegel says:

    LOVE THOSE. o.m.g. gimme gimme. I had the same misconception about Merrell too! Good to know they have good running shoes. and MAN those are puuuuuuuuuurdy!

    1. You forgot to post your size Annie.

  8. Evonne says:

    I. WANT. THESE!!!  I've been playing around with the idea of trying to go more minimal but just haven't taken the plunge.  So, throw me overboard.  I'm ready!  And like Tahoe Run Girl, I'm a women's 10.5 which is hard to find.

  9. Susan says:

    Wow, those look so nice! I was just saying today how I needed some GOOD trail shoes that don't resemble hiking boots. I want! 🙂

  10. Susan says:

    whoops, I'm a size 8. 🙂
    "Wow, those look so nice! I was just saying today how I needed some GOOD trail shoes that don't resemble hiking boots. I want!"

  11. Tiphanie says:

    I’m a big fan of minimalist shoes and am training for my first trail marathon (Spring Classic April 28th) I would LOVE to try these beauties out! 🙂

    Tiphanie (size 9) Rafter

  12. Marnie says:

    Those are quite the lookers! Helpful review too. I would need to keep training barefoot on the treadmill to be ready for them. I think they'd be great for the transition from shoe-clad to barefoot. Size 9.

  13. Kris says:

    Oh..now these seem nice.  I love the color and the idea of them being a good gym shoe but also a decent minimalist/barefoot shoe.  Fingers crossed I win! lol  size 9.5

  14. Claire says:

    Been thinking about going minimal. This would certainly be incentive to give it a shot and they would look soooo good on my feet. Love that they can be used on so many surfaces.                           I'm a women's size 7.

  15. Abby Huang says:

    My husband has been running in Altras for awhile and has been trying to convert me to barefoot running. He is waiting for the Merrell Road road glove to add to his rotation, but these look great to me and are just the push I need to get going. I am a size 7.

  16. Elizabeth Planer says:

    Fabulous review! Since the “big dawgs” aren’t my thing these shoes would be perfect! Size 9

  17. Laressa says:

    Oooh, I'd love a pair! I'm a pretty newbie runner, and have no problems running in NB Minimus shoes. Just tried the Merrell Pure Glove (mary jane shoe, not really for running) and I love it. They weigh almost nothing. I've been drooling over the Pace Gloves and I'm a 7.5 in Merrells. My black lab thinks I would be able to run faster with her in these shoes 🙂
     

  18. Annie Schlaegel says:

    Ooohh I'm a size 8! Glad i checked back 😉

  19. Amy says:

    I bumped into this blog while searching for info on these shoes. So what the heck, I'm a size 7.5!

  20. Amy, great job bumping, I am glad to see we are showing up in the google search engines.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Post
Next Post
Previous Post
Read Article
Next Post
Read Article