You’d be forgiven for those who blinked during the last decade and didn’t discover what the shoe designers at Merrell — notably in path operating — have been as much as. What many people know as a standard hiking-shoe producer has snuck up on path runners in a serious method with the brand new Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 ($200).
The “MTL” within the shoe’s title stands for “Merrell Take a look at Lab” and the model is carving out an area for this high-performance division with its personal social media feeds which are separate from the final Merrell account and the place the messaging is all about design uniqueness, experimental ideas, and a acknowledged mission to “make the MTL Skyfire 2 the operating shoe with essentially the most FKTs [fastest known times] on earth.”
It is a “tremendous shoe” however not like those taking down information on the highway; it’s a confounding mixture of tremendous light-weight with sturdy supplies that may encourage pace going up and down as rapidly as doable. I’ve change into one thing of an knowledgeable in light-weight, quick distance path trainers, so I’ve obtained many pairs of footwear to reference when the appliance is quick operating for brief distances, notably up and down steep mountains.
I’ll get into the explanations that the MTL Skyfire 2 will not be flawless, however by way of a shoe that may aid you PR or FKT that is one to strongly take into account.
When it comes to stats, this shoe weighs 7.1 ounces (200 grams) in a U.S. males’s 9, and has 6 millimeters of drop.
Be certain that to additionally take a look at our Finest Light-weight Path Working Sneakers article, the place we’ve named the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 the very best light-weight shoe for technical terrain.
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The Merrell MTL Skyfire 2. All images: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 Higher
Although I didn’t take a look at the unique model, the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 cuts a drastic departure from the primary MTL Skyfire. The unique shares way more of its widespread traits with what you’d anticipate in Merrell’s days of outdated. And though the MTL Skyfire 2 additionally makes use of a TPU higher with breathable engineered mesh, the look is far totally different.
Firstly, the Merrell Take a look at Lab sought to provide the MTL Skyfire 2 nothing further, so it’s not shocking that the higher could be very stripped down and you’ll even see via it.
The tongue will not be gusseted and it’s paper skinny, however I’ve had no hassle with it slipping or changing into irritable. A punch out on the high proper of the tongue will increase air move and removes some materials, seemingly as a weight saver.
A millimeter-wide elastic band is sewn to both aspect of the higher over the shoelaces; this nifty element serves as a barely there lace storage.
Beneath the tall heel collar, there are sewn-in inserts of padding nevertheless it’s a bit of decrease on the heel than most producers go for. I actually like the feeling and help, and it additionally provides some particles safety.
For me the shoe runs true to dimension, however one may wish to dimension down a tad because the heel might be a bit of sloppy if too large. The arduous plastic FlexPlate heel counter could be very efficient at conserving the arch in place and locked down.
A small, welded overlay on the within and out of doors of the higher serves to cease rips or tears. Talking of which, although it has largely stood as much as the weather, the higher has suffered a small tear close to my large toe. I don’t really feel this higher materials is as sturdy because the now widespread Maytrx utilized by different manufacturers, so Merrell loses a little bit of leverage to different tremendous light-weight rivals like Acr’teryx, Salomon, and Nnormal.
The footwear are usually not broad per se, however the flexibility of the higher permits your foot to unfold out. That is complicated as a result of the entrance of the shoe involves an outlined level and but it’s a comfortable match even for my broad toes and bunions.
The mixture of various shades of oranges, black, and white with a protracted Merrell wordmark throughout the lateral facet of the shoe makes it actually stand out and passers-by gained’t confuse it with something from Hoka, Brooks, Salomon, or different corporations.
A lateral view of the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2.
Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 Midsole
The Merrell MTL Skyfire 2’s two-part, dual-density FloatPro Foam midsole is shockingly comfortable regardless of the shoe’s total stripped-down look. There’s an innovation within the type of its aforementioned FlexPlate, which feels way more propulsive and, higher but, much less noticeable than different plated path footwear available on the market.
The plate is sandwiched between two layers of the very snug FloatPro Foam. The ability switch feels extra outlined than in, say, the Hoka Tecton X 2 — try our Hoka Tecton X 2 overview. Nonetheless, the mannequin’s 6-millimeter drop and intensely minimalistic design triggered my shins to be very sore the day after my first run, having bombed down technical descents over about 9 miles and 4,000 toes of achieve and loss. This break-in interval was temporary, although, and my legs rapidly tailored thereafter.
The insole is paper skinny and after competing on this yr’s nearly completely snowy Damaged Arrow Skyrace Vertical Kilometer, the place my socks and footwear had been fully moist on the finish, I took the shoe off and the insole had slipped all the way in which to the medial facet of the shoe. Merrell may discover future iterations of this sequence to forgo insoles altogether.
A medial view of the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2.
Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 Outsole
Earlier on this overview I discussed the higher materials being much less sturdy than shoe manufacturers utilizing Matryx. However the place the model exceeds a few of its light-weight rivals within the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 is in traction.
The superior traction comes from each the usage of Vibram MegaGrip, actually the trade normal in relation to path operating shoe outsoles, in addition to the distinctive honeycomb sample of the outsole and its lug configuration.
This present day, the usage of one thing like, say, Salomon’s Contagrip outsole, which little doubt affords much less traction on a competitor shoe mannequin, the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 2 — right here’s our Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 2 overview if that’s of curiosity — is head scratching.
These days for a lot of athletes, Merrell has discovered a house alongside manufacturers like VJ, which makes footwear used typically by obstacle-course racers due to their combine of sunshine weight and deep lugs that work within the number of situations that these athletes face: mud, rain, dust, and help for leveraging obstacles.
This shoe is comparable with 5-millimeter deep lugs, however the comparability past this to any VJ shoe I’ve examined is unfounded and the MTL Skyfire 2 vastly outperforms the Finnish firm’s footwear.
The outsole wraps as much as the entrance center of the higher, and it sadly has begun peeling off the outsole.
The outsole of the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2.
Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 Total Impressions
Although I discovered the break-in interval a bit brutal merely from not having conditioned my shins, the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 sits firmly atop my checklist of favourite path racing footwear. Although reasonable distances are in all probability finest, the footwear are only a showstopper by way of their mixture of sunshine weight and unbelievable traction.
Although higher sturdiness hasn’t been good, being selective about this shoe’s use in time trials, vertical-kilometer races, quick FKT makes an attempt, and extra makes it the right software when pace is your concern.
It’s also possible to learn our Finest Light-weight Path Working Sneakers article, the place we’ve named the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2 a high shoe on this class.
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Name for Feedback
- Have you ever been operating within the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2? What do you consider the shoe total in addition to of its particulars?
- Did you employ the unique MTL Skyfire? If that’s the case, what do you consider the substantial updates made to this second model?
[Editor’s Note: If you’re affiliated (i.e., an employee, ambassador, etc.) with a brand, please share your relation in each of your comments on this article. Thanks!]
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A high view of the Merrell MTL Skyfire 2.