Merrell Men's Bare Access Ultra-M

The Bare Access Ultra is a minimalist shoe with a little extra midsole cushioning. It is minimalist in that it is zero drop, very flexible, has a wide toe box, and is light weight (7.5 oz per shoe in a 9.5). The moderate midsole cush (12 mm per the Merell website) adds just enough padding to make my feet appreciate it when I run on pavement. It also has a touch of arch support, which is not strictly minimalist, although given how flexible the shoe is under the arch I suspect the arch isn't doing much when you run. Note: having no arch support is a feature, not a flaw, of minimalist shoes! Arch supports just cause your foot muscles to atrophy and prevent your feet from absorbing stress by flexing as designed. Once you build up your foot strength by weaning off shoes with arch supports you won't go back.Oh, and it's really not a trail runner. I don't know why they are specified as such on Amazon. The lugs are closely spaced and not very deep, and there's no rock plate. If you want a similar trail runner look at the Bare Access Trail.I am a heavier runner (196 lbs) who transitioned to (semi)minimalist, zero drop shoes about 18 months ago. I'm working my way towards more and minimalist shoes as the weight comes off. Chronic knee pain from my years as a competitive runner had seemingly ended my ability to run for fitness until I tried running in minimalist shoes. I run in Bare Access Ultras about twice a week, in a rotation with Altra Torin 1.5, with weekly track workouts in Merrell Bare Access 2's (very similar to the Ultras but with less cushion and better ground feel), and occasionally, Mizuno Wave Evo Cursoris and Merell Sonic Glove. I also wear only zero drop street shoes whenever possible.

They're super light and comfy. I tend not to tie my shoelaces every time I put shoes on. I use them kind of like slip-ons. These are perfect for that: wide toe box and somewhat tight fit in mid foot. I have done up to 30k in them so far and couldn't be happier. I also love Merrell in general for their toned down coloring, which doesn't make the shoe look like J. Pollock had a go at them. This is so common with all these neon colored shoes these days. Word of warning: they are only for forefoot strikers being minimalist, and also, the sole is really a trail sole, if you use them on pavement, it will wear off sooner. Nonetheless, an excellent shoe. I would buy it again, but as I am typing this, I can see they have been discontinued.

I would give this a 4 1/2 stars; I only shy away from 5 stars due to the size issue. I am a big fan of Merrell Bare Foot running shoes; I only write this review as a caution toward others in their choice of size when ordering the Bare Access style. I own several pairs of Merrells: Trail Gloves , Street Gloves and Mix Masters (on my second pair). Needless to say I think Merrell shoes are great and will continue to purchase them. I ordered Bare Access Ultras a half size up (9.5) from my Gloves size (9). Both sets of my Mix Masters were 9.5s and they fit great. I use size 9 for my Gloves because they are supposed to fit the exact contours of your feet. Since the Bare Access are supposed to have more cushion, I thought I had to go with my Mix Master size (9.5): I was wrong. The Bare Access use the same platform as the Gloves - which makes sense - but it caught me off guard. The result has been horrible blisters on the instep of my foot. Due to the extra cushioning, the arches are more defined (or extreme) than my Gloves, therefore if you foot shifts it rubs directly against the 'arch.' I have attempted to break them in and I wore them multiple times (over different distance runs), but to no avail; I still suffer the same problem. Therefore, if you are ordering these, look to order the exact size of your foot, not just your 'normal' shoe size. Since I have wore these several times (and I run without socks) I do not feel as though I can return them for the next size down (9), in good faith. Once some time has past, I have no issues with re-ordering the same shoe in the correct size; I just have to wait to justify dropping more money on the same set of shoes I just purchased.