Why We Chose The Merrell Chameleon 8 Walking Boot: Improved outsole with good traction, great feel underfoot
The last Chameleon, the 7, which was released by Merrell back in 2017, was a great walking boot. In fact, we liked it enough to include it in our Outdoor 100 product guide that year. Now for 2020, we have the eighth generation and, once again, it’s earned itself a spot in our annual buyer’s guide.
The previous version was light, just 968g for a pair, and this new one’s just fractionally heavier at 1040g – still light then. As for the performance level, we’d say things have definitely improved.
Who Is The Merrell Chameleon 8 For?
The Chameleon 8 has all the right features for three-season UK hiking. It’s nothing overly technical so it’s not one for rocky alpine scrambles but its waterproof liner, comfort underfoot and nice and light but still sturdy and supportive fit and feel make it right at home in somewhere like the Lake District.
Materials And Features
The last Chameleon was constructed using strips of leather and lots of stitching. Too much stitching, if you ask us. In the long term, we found things started to come apart a little. With this model, we’re pleased to see they’ve opted for big panels of leather, therefore meaning less stitching and in all likelihood better long term durability. The leather, we should point out, is nubuck – so good quality then.
“The Chameleon 8 has all the right features for three-season UK hiking”
As the name indicates, there’s a Gore-Tex lining which does what you need it to do. This also lines the tongue and side bellows to result in good, all-round protection.
The lacing system is smooth and it’s strong and reliable as well thanks to its metal eyelets. The last model used mainly just simple webbing straps instead of eyelets which didn’t fill us with much confidence as regards to the overall longevity of the boot, so there’s a definite improvement here.
