I spent 6 months testing the Merrell Moab Speed 2s — and they’re the perfect lightweight boots for most hikers
I’ve spent six months testing the Merrell Moab Speed 2 hiking boots across a variety of terrain. I live in the countryside, have two dogs and enjoy hiking, so I need boots that can withstand regular and intensive use.
And the Speed 2s can. They’re the new, light-ish version of Merrell’s medium-weight Moab boots, designed to be an all-rounder, like the Moab 3’s, but with a sportier, lighter design. They feature the high levels of gripiness and toughness you’d expect from a Moab boot, injected with some of the comfort-oriented features, with the softer upper you’d get from a lighter trail shoe (hence having “Speed” in the name).
The result is an extremely versatile pair of boots. Their only major pitfall is a narrow and fairly tight fit — this isn’t a huge issue, and certainly resolves to some extent with break-in, but the wider-of-feet will definitely want to look at other brands or models.
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Specs
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Price |
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Weight |
Row 1 – Cell 1 |
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Size availability |
Men’s: U.S. 7-15; U.K. 6.5-14 Women’s: U.S. 5-11; U.K. 2.5-8.5 |
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Lining |
100% recycled mesh |
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Upper |
Nylon ripstop, TPU, leather |
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Outersole |
Vibram TC5+ |
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Terrain |
Light, medium |
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Waterproofing |
GORE-TEX; Leather; Proprietary |
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Price & availability
You can buy the Moab Speed 2s from Merrell or Amazon. They’re available in half sizes, and men can shop them in U.S. sizes 7-15 and U.K. sizes 6.5-14. Women, meanwhile, can buy the Speed 2s in U.S. sizes 5-11 and U.K. sizes 2.5-8.5. You can choose from a wide array of colors, and there are wide variants available (although these are available in just a few colorways).
The Merrell Moab Speed 2s aren’t exactly cheap, although for a good pair of hiking boots, they’re priced fairly. The similarly sporty Keen Zionic NXT mids cost $184, so slightly pricier than the Merrells. Our favorite all-rounder boots are the Scarpa Mid Rush 2 GTX, which cost $219. This makes the Moab Speed 2s a potentially better option than the Scarpas if you can’t stretch the budget.
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Design & comfort
Starting with the most obvious element of the design — I think the Speed 2s look fantastic, especially the Gore-Tex models. The GTX upper looks much more like a sneaker than the decidedly outdoorsy and utilitarian look of the Moab 3s. The leather version is more outdoorsy, but still looks good enough to be worn casually, in my opinion.
Indeed, Merrell’s marketing of the Speed 2s shows them on fashionable, urban models, wearing the boots as a style accessory rather than a functional hiking shoe. I’ve effectively worn the gray Gore-Tex boots as my daily workhorse shoe for six months and love how they fit with my day-to-day outfits. Of course, pull on a pair of hiking trousers, and they’re equally at home.
Construction
Befitting their “speed” moniker, these are fairly light boots at just 14 ounces / 400g per GTX shoe and 17.2 ounces / 490g per leather shoe. If you want a lighter shoe for speed hikes, though, check out the 13-ounce / 390g Salewa Pedroc Pro PowerTex Mid PTX boots.
Despite their lightness, the Speed 2s still feel very well made, especially the leather pair. The GTX variant uses a nylon and TPU upper, which feels very sturdy, while the leather variant uses, you guessed it, leather, with waterproof nylon in other areas.
The sole on my set of On Cloudrock mids peels away from the upper when taking them off — slightly disconcerting — but I’ve seen no such issue with the Merrells. After six months with the Speed 2s, there are no complaints here.
The GTX version is vegan-friendly and uses lots of recycled materials, including fully recycled laces and webbing, mesh lining, and footbed cover; the EVA foam in the footbed is 50% recycled material. The leather variant is real leather, so it isn’t vegan-friendly. Aside from the laces and webbing, though, it features the same fully recycled mesh lining and footbed cover, and also uses the 50% recycled EVA foam.
Each variant has a loop on the heel to help slip the boots on or hang them up. The GTX has a second loop on the tongue, giving you an extra place to hang the boots from.
Fit, break-in & comfort
I tested the Moab Speed 2s in the mid-height variant. They fit me fairly tightly, especially when new, so if you have moderately wide feet like me, you may be in trouble. You can opt for a wider variant, but colors are limited, and I’ve seen user reports online suggesting those aren’t that wide either. Alas, the wide variant wouldn’t have solved some of my issues anyway.
For context, I’m usually a U.K. size 9.5, so I sized up to U.K. 10. While there’s enough height on the Speed 2 toebox, my toes felt squashed in width-wise in the 10s. I also found that my big, second, and fourth toes were touching the end of the boot, so I contacted our Merrell representative and ordered a U.K. size 10.5.
The larger size fit me well length- and width-wise, but the ankle was far too wide, causing the boots to slip off as I walked — so I don’t advise against sizing up if you have similar issues to me. In the end, I just decided to make do with my U.K. 10s and hope for a quick and wholesale break-in!
Both of my issues have lessened slightly through break-in, which took a month-or-so and around 50 miles of walking. Both the GTX and leather variants have eased a little around the sides. However, in anything but the thinnest of socks, they’re still a little tight around the sides, and my toes still touch the end, causing discomfort on long hikes — thin socks aren’t ideal for the GTX variant either, which are far from warm, as I’ll cover later.
This will all depend on your individual foot profile and toe length, but I’m sure average-/narrow-footers will be fine. If you have wide feet, I would suggest Keen’s wider profile: check out the Keen Targhee IV or Keen Revel IV.
Padding
My sizing woes aside, the Moab Speed 2s are otherwise comfortable shoes. There’s plenty of padding around the ankle and collar to prevent chafe, plus a thick foam midsole. I had a spot of plantar fasciitis during testing, but the Speed 2s were comfortable to wear throughout.
Breathability
The GTX variant is (deliberately) very breathable. That’s great for summer, but makes them cold in fall, winter, and spring.
Something to bear in mind before you buy the GTX variant is that they’re (deliberately) very breathable. That’s great for summer, but makes them cold in fall, winter, and spring, especially when walking through water and wet grass… and especially in thin socks. Mercifully for my toes, the leather variant proves much warmer, so those are my daily drivers as I write this (in December).
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Performance
The Moab Speed 2s are a light-/mid-weight shoe designed as an all-rounder, with a sportier feel than the Moab 3s or other, more rugged boots. They’re designed to support you through light and medium hikes, but give you the flex and comfort of sneakers or light trail shoes. And yeah, that’s pretty much how they perform.
I tested the Merrell Moab Speed 2s over the course of six months, over a variety of terrain and in varying conditions. I live in the U.K., so those conditions were mostly wet and cold. I’ve used these boots in woodland, hilly terrain, muddy paths, fields, bogs, and river banks. I’ve also used them as my daily driver shoes during that time, so I’ve worn them around urban areas and to work.
Grip
The Moab Speed 2s use Merrell’s Vibram TC5+ outside with 4mm lugs, and they’re extremely grippy. I was able to walk confidently up and down inclines in wet and dry conditions, over dirt, sediment, and larger rocks. The only surfaces that gave the Moab 2s any trouble were smoother wet surfaces, such as wood and submerged stones in a river near my home. But I’m not sure there’s much aside from crampons that would grip those.
Flex
Thanks to the lightweight upper, flexible nylon plate, and squishy midsole, the Moab Speed 2s are very flexible — akin to sneakers. This makes the Speed 2s well-suited to light and medium trails, and/or fast hikes. The leather variant is a little less flexible, but regardless, neither is too rigid for hiking on complex trails where you want more support.
Support
The Moab Speed 2s are fairly supportive for a light boot, with bracing across the top and sides of the GTX variant, while on the leather boots, the stiffer outer shell naturally provides good support. Both feature a lace strap just below the ankle to provide extra tension there, too.
As I mentioned earlier, sizing up results in very significant looseness around the ankle on the mid boot, so keep to your size. Ankle support, when properly sized, is decent on the mids, although naturally the low variant provides no support there.
While out walking, I managed to roll my ankle a couple of times on moderately tricky ground on steep slopes and in woodland. The Speed 2s stopped my ankle from rolling far enough to injure myself, but to reduce the risk of rolling in the first place, a hard shell boot is best. The leather variant is more rigid than the GTX, although neither of them provides the support of a rigid-shell, taller boot like the Keen Revel IV.
Waterproofing
Both the Gore-Tex and leather variants are fully waterproof, and I had no issues at all with water ingress. Thanks to the bellows tongue, the boot is fully sealed all the way up, so I was able to walk submerged up to my ankle in a stream without getting wet feet.
Protection
Despite using a relatively soft shell, the Speed 2s feature reinforced toes and ankles, giving you extra protection against knocks, scuffs, and falling objects. There’s a lot more protection than on my Keen Hightrail Mids, which is reassuring.
Again, the bellows tongue comes in useful here, helping keep debris out of the boots.
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Maintenance
The Merrell Moab Speed 2s are fairly easy to maintain. The relatively large 4mm lugs are supposedly designed to shed debris while you walk, although my set of the leather variants — whose soles are currently caked in mud — would disagree. Still, the large-ish lugs prove easy enough to knock out on the floor once dirt has dried.
Thanks to their fully waterproof design, it’s easy to hose the boots down without risking getting the insides wet. For a deeper clean, the mesh boots must be hand-washed with a mild soap and water. You can stuff the insides with paper to help dry out the insides.
I’ve noticed that the outside of the GTX variant takes quite a while to dry — up to 48 hours, but the only issue with putting them back on is they’re a little cold (as long as the inside remains dry, of course).
The leather boots can be cleaned with a soft brush and a damp cloth, conditioning and rewaterproofing the leather regularly with use.
Both variants have been treated with an odour-repellent coating, although I don’t have particularly stinky feet (if I say so myself) to begin with, so I couldn’t test that one for you. Or maybe I do… and the odour repellent has simply worked wonders?
Merrell Moab Speed 2 review: Verdict
I’ve become rather fond of my Merrell Moab Speed 2s. They’re an excellent lightweight all-rounder that has no issues tackling light and medium trails, with the styling and comfort for daily urban use, too. They’re supportive and grippy, and seem very well made.
My only issue has been around the sizing. In my correct size, they were a bit too tight and narrow, but half a size up, they were falling off my feet. This could be just a ‘me’ issue, but we test some fantastic boots here — namely from the likes of Keen — that never give me or any of my team headaches in the fitment department, so I’m still chalking this one up as a comparative con.
That said, the Merrell Moab Speed 2s are still a great boot. Just make sure you choose the leather variant if you’re planning to wear them through the winter!
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