Trail and Scramble Shoes

Merrell All Out Crush Shoe | Review

A trail shoe designed to perform on seriously muddy and tough terrain, supporting the foot, preventing slippage on slick mud and draining water.

Overview

The Merrell All Out Crush performs well on seriously muddy and tough terrain, supporting the foot, preventing slippage on slick mud and draining water and allowing breathabilty through the mesh lining.

However on regular running terrain such as tarmac or cropped grass the shoe felt a little over engineered and the lugs felt as if they had a little too much give for hard surfaces. It is incredibly light and fleixible and great off road, but maybe consider a different shoe if you are using this as your everyday runner.

Performance

When we took this shoe out into the muddy woodland trails it worked perfectly. The deep 5mm lugs on dog-tooth sole cut in and held fast onto the slippery mud and wet ground. The mesh construction of the lining gave for great supportive stretch when running round corners or on slanted ground and when the shoe was submerged in puddles or from dewy grass the water drained out pretty quickly.

It worked incredibly well on this hardcore ground and I have heard people recommend them for outdoors running competitions such as the famed Tough Mudder for exactly the reasons I discussed about. The versatility, lightness and grip in seriously wet and muddy scenarios means it is perfect for these things.

Responsive cushioning

The Trail Protect pad system provides a good cushioning when running on rough trails but leaves enough feedback in the sole to know what you are running on. Which can be good but can also make you very aware of the roughness or sharpness of the ground. I prefer to feel like I could run on anything rather than constantly being reminded that the ground is rough or lumpy etc.

Take them off the trail however and they don’t feel quite so good. The lugs are a little overkill and can actually make the shoe feel slightly unstable as you move quickly round corners of slopes. Though this wasn’t a massive issue, but compared to regular running shoes it was noticeable.

Super light and clever lugs

At just 198 grams they are incredibly light. It feel like you are running in socks (and we all remember how fast we could all run in those!) and never feel as though they are putting any strain on the foot. They are also very flexible, being able to be almost bent in half, though on the foot they feel rigid enough to be comfortable and reliable as a support.

The M Select™ GRIP rubber sole is clever in its design is and completed by the ‘pin-wheel’ lug design which allows for mud and gravel to easily fall away without clumping and making the shoe heavier.

Traditional lacing system

The traditional lacing system allows for easy fitting and with little need for adjustent before comfort is maximised. The shoe size seems as per your regular fitting, however if you have wide feet it may be worth trying on before hand as they are quite thin.

Verdict

The Merrell All Out Crush is a serious trail shoe, almost too serious for most people, but it performs excellently under its desired conditions. If you are a serious trail runner or Tough Mudder competitior then this is a shoe for you, but if you are looking to simply go jogging in them around Hampshire then I would consider getting a shoe which is a little less hardcore.

It looks great, fits well and is incredibly confortble, and if you want to have a shoe which can take you to the hardest, muddiest and most inhospitable running trails – this could be the one.