I walk about 4 miles a day (train to work, and back) more on the weekends. I was looking for a replacement for my 2 year old Hi-Tec Magnums. Saw these Merrell's at various places and catalogs. I ended up buying mine at REI. It is the best $71.86 (I'm guessing these are an old style)that I have spent on daily footwear. They have great comfort and support, as mentioned previously by other raters, almost pillowy. They may not be totally waterproof, but walking back and forth daily, I've walked through enough puddles and rain to know they keep my feetdry (Also waterproofed these with Nikwax paste wax).I also purchased another footbed (high volume) for summer wear with lighter socks. The quality on this pair seems to be quite exceptional, compared to some of the comments I have read. Sorry for being overly verbose, this is my first time doing this.

EXCELLENT boot for what it's designed for. Light to medium hiking! Extemely comfortable with exceptional shock absorption in the heel.

Very comfortable with a lot of support for a relatively light boot. The toe box allows for adjustment when doing long downhills. Not waterproof.

Certainly not a top of the line boot but a decent buy for someone whose not going to do to much really arduous backpacking in rough terrain. I'd class it as a midweight backpacking boot. Decent support, and comfortable padding inside and nice fit on the sides, (if you have narrow feet) but again I wouldn't want to wear them for a week long trip with a pack over 20 lbs or so. The only real problem I see with them is that they look a little like they were made with the leftover scraps from the factory, very rough, unfinished leather. Although I must concur with another poster who said that Merrill will replace them if there is a problem. They replaced a pair of mine (different model) no hassles at all.

A steady hiking platform. The eyelets are well done. Merrell will replace the boot if there is a problem.