Especially the last pair that Ruth bought. They began falling apart less than three months after they were bought brand new! Sorry Merrell... that's not acceptable.
I even tried contacting the company, but got no response.
So, when we went shopping for new hiking boots yesterday, it was time for a change!
Our new Oboz hiking boots.
We ended up at a Sail store where they were having a sale! $25 off every $100 worth of product that you buy.
My boots were $194, Ruth's boots were $209, and we bought a $20 pair of compact binoculars. Including Ontario's ridiculous 13% sales tax, the bill came to $367 CAD ($275 USD) for everything.
Now, we will see if we can get more than two years out of these.
After that, we went for a walk up at Hogs Back Falls. Haven't been there in ages, and it was a nice afternoon. Plus, it was getting late in the day and we were waiting for some of Ottawa's rush hour traffic to subside...
Hogs Back Falls, Ottawa.
The Rideau Canal/
The Rideau River.
Yikes. I do not miss this at all!
Can't even imagine having to go through this every day like many people do.
We stopped for dinner at a Guatemalan restaurant. We each had three tacos and a glass of water... and including tax and tip the bill was $30 CAD ($22.50 USD). It was a good reminder of why we don't eat out in Canada very often!
I dropped Ruth off at my moms and went to play pool with our son Alex for a couple of hours. He won, 8 games to 7 I think it was.
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And in Canada...
The boots look heavy. I have never been a Merrell fan. I'm more of a hiking shoes rather than boots lately only because I don't do heavy back packing anymore (too old). Also I've notice my feet sweat more in regular tennis shoes so I've changed to more breathable hiking shoes (it works). The best shoes I've ever hiked in were Doc Martins high top boots. Those combat style boots mold to my feet & feet didn't sweat and gave me the best comfort. Others have complained about them tho. I guess each feet is different as are the boots/shoes. I have several hiking shoes I alternate :-)
ReplyDeleteThey are a heavier boot but that is what we wanted because we do hiking on some tough mountain trails and need an aggressive tread, plus if the tread is deeper it will last longer. Yes, our feet do sweat in them a bit but we wanted something that was sturdy and strong.
DeleteSure love those colourful fall foliage in your part of the world. Hope the new boots will prove their worth.
ReplyDeleteSo do we, it is definitely a beautiful time of the year to be visiting the Ottawa area.
DeleteWe hope that our new hiking boots will last longer that our Merrells did.
Our favourite boots are trail shoes. ON are amazing and were the only shoes we took to Portugal for 3 months last year. They worked for city, mountain trails, beaches, rocks - you name it and kept our feet safe and comfortable.
ReplyDeleteTrail shoes don't work for us, the tread and the sole itself just isn't thick enough for much of the hiking that we do. I have a pair right now and I love them for walking around the city and for well maintained trails but for the rugged hiking the soles just aren't thick enough for us. I can feel the gravel under mine anytime we get onto a rough or gravelly surface. Plus we want a low boot style which I don't see on their page. The Merrell trail shoes that I got at the end of May are really light weight and comfortable but I have already worn the tread right down to the sole.
DeleteMy husband has extremely wide feet (EEEE) and also wears a large size (12.5 to 13). He searched long and hard for comfortable hiking boots that would fit him a few years back and ended up with Oboz. He loves them! We don't hike as much as as you two, preferring cycling most of the time, but he has still worn them a fair amount, and they are holding up very well. Three months is ridiculous! I hope you have good success with your Oboz!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear from someone that we feel we know, that has these shoes and gives them a good rating. I guess we will see how well they will hold out for us over the next little while as we intend to do a fair bit of hiking over the winter.
DeleteGood thing you drank water. I can't imagine how much the drinks would have been.
ReplyDeleteWe don't even want to think about it!
DeleteThese boots were made for walkin, and thats just what they'll do. Glad to hear that the trip is still on. I am always amazed at your level headed approach to these situations when travelling. I try to do the same but on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteSo far we are happy with them but the true test is still to come with all the hiking we have planned for this winter.
DeleteWe are keeping a close eye on the situation in Ecuador and we try to try to find as much information on it as we can that isn't based on the media but on people that are actually there because we know that you can't believe everything us see and hear in the media. And, yes so far it is still a go. It isn't what we were hoping for but it certainly will be an new adventure!
I complained about my Merrell boots to the company and received a new pair once I showed them that I cut the tongues out of the pair I had :)
ReplyDeleteWe tried contacting Merrell when my new boots were starting to fall apart after only three months of use and they wouldn't do a thing for us. We were not impressed with their customer service at all, that was basically the nail in the coffin for them and why we decided to go to a different brand.
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