In production · trail · Race day / Trail · $290
Merrell's elite trail racer: forked carbon FlexPlate over a PEBA top layer.
Built for race day, trail, at a target pace of 6:30–9:30 /mi on trail.
Merrell tuned this midsole balanced (3/5 on our cushioning scale). The foam is highly resilient — it gives energy back rather than swallowing it, which is what makes the shoe feel eager when you push. 30 mm of heel stack keeps you low and connected, with more ground feel than most current trainers. Combined, the ride reads as explosive at 5/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. Support is light — neutral, with a mildly steady platform.
The toe-box is wide, with space for the toes to spread late in long runs. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 350 miles from the outsole, about $0.83 per mile at $290.
For the foams and plates Merrell uses across its line, read the Merrell brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
305 g / 10.8 oz
30 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
30 mm
6 mm lower than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$290
130 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
3 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
5 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~350 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Merrell line it is heavier than the brand's median (263.5 g / 9.3 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (29.5 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Asics Metafuji Trail 2(2026)
250 g / 8.8 oz · 36 mm · 5 mm drop · Carbon · $250
Asics' carbon trail racer, refined for long mountain efforts.
Brooks Cascadia Elite
255 g / 9.0 oz · 36 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $275
Brooks' trail race shoe: PEBA DNA Gold, SpeedVault+ plate, Megagrip Elite.
Asics Fuji Speed 3
235 g / 8.3 oz · 33 mm · 5 mm drop · Carbon · $180
Light carbon trail racer — the S/Lab-style speed option from Asics.
Hoka Tecton X 4(2026)
278 g / 9.8 oz · 40 mm · 5 mm drop · Carbon · $275
Twin carbon plates and a smoother ride for long, fast trail racing.