{"id":432,"date":"2024-05-24T18:57:56","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T18:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/shoe-review-merrell-agility-peak-5-140-an-all-around-off-road-stalwart\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T05:10:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T05:10:29","slug":"shoe-review-merrell-agility-peak-5-140-an-all-around-off-road-stalwart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/post\/shoe-review-merrell-agility-peak-5-140-an-all-around-off-road-stalwart\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoe Review: Merrell Agility Peak 5 ($140) – An All-Around, Off-Road Stalwart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Brian Metzler<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

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When it comes to trail running shoes, every model is slightly different \u2013 just like every trail you might be running wherever you live. That\u2019s a stark contrast to road running shoes, which are generally the same within the realm of certain categories. For example, everyday training shoes, performance trainers, marathon racing super shoes, etc. Sure, all road shoes fit, feel and ride slightly differently, but where the rubber meets the road, they\u2019re pretty similar.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s not the case with trail running shoes, but mostly because the surfaces you run on can vary quite a bit. If you randomly lined up a dozen or so trail running shoes, you\u2019d find a dozen different shoes based on how the brands incorporate the outsole, midsole, upper features. In my long history of trail running, I\u2019ve found that having the right shoe for the trail you\u2019re running is very important to the experience you\u2019ll have. But that\u2019s challenging, too, because most trails have a wide range of features. Does that mean you need to have a quiver of trail shoes at the ready? Ideally, yes. However, if having two or three (or more!) trail shoes in your rotation isn\u2019t an option, then you need one good and very versatile everyday trainer that has properties that make it capable of doing a lot of things very well on the terrain you run most often. Those properties include ample cushioning, good traction, and sufficient protection, plus above-average agility, breathability, and stability \u2013 without any glaring weakness. But that\u2019s a rare bird, given the infinite types of trail characteristics you might encounter, not to mention the ever-changing weather conditions that can impact trails from day to day.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve wear-tested about 35 new trail running shoes since December, and the one I\u2019ve found to be the very best at a lot of types of terrain \u2013 but not necessarily the very best for any one type of terrain \u2013 is the <\/span><\/span>Merrell Agility Peak 5 ($140)<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>. It has everything I need for running most of the moderately technical dirt and rocky trails around Boulder, Colorado \u2013 however I haven\u2019t yet tested it on the more rugged high-alpine trails that are still covered with snow. As you head to your local running store in search of your next pair of trail running shoes, it\u2019s important to take into consideration the trails you\u2019ll most likely be running this summer. But from my vantage point, the Agility Peak 5 is a very good all-around performer, and it\u2019s another sign that Merrell has really up-leveled its trail running shoe game over the past two years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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What\u2019s New: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>The <\/span><\/span>Merrell Agility Peak 5 is a great update to a shoe that was already pretty good. <\/span><\/span>It features a\u00a0revised version of the brand\u2019s FloatPro Foam midsole foam, which is a lightweight, medium-density compound that offers just enough softness without being mushy or unstable. The one-piece engineered mesh upper is more breathable and durable than the previous version, with better ventilation and reinforcing TPU overlays on the lower part of the sidewalls and around the toe bumper. The outsole is a lightweight web of Vibram Megagrip rubber that includes 19 chunky, low-profile directional lugs under the forefoot and 10 more under the heel. It also features an improved lacing system with recycled laces and lace webbing, and a premium recycled footbed that adds to the comfortable step-in feel. The new version has a 5mm heel-toe drop (down from 6mm last year) and it is about a half an ounce lighter, which is always a good thing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Fit\/Feel\/Ride: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>The Agility Peak 5 fits true to size with medium interior volume and slightly roomier toe box than many trail shoes. I felt like it locked down and cradled my narrow feet with a secure, locked-down feeling in the rearfoot, but I felt the midfoot and forefoot necessitated extra snug lacing (and occasionally a mid-run adjustment to make them tighter). That\u2019s not a knock against the shoe \u2013 which I think will be accommodating to a wide range of feet shapes \u2013 but more the reality of my narrow feet. The interior is soft and comfortable, largely because of the premium sockliner and fully gusseted, stretchy micromesh tongue that creates a cradling, wraplike fit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The ride of the Agility Peak 5 is absolutely divine, one of the smoothest and most stable trail shoes I\u2019ve ever run in. The midsole provides soft, semi-responsive cushioning, and the pliable rock plate embedded inside it keeps any awkward poke-through irritations at bay without limiting the easy-flexing demeanor of the shoe. This shoe doesn\u2019t feel exceptionally energetic or bouncy like those with supercritical foam midsoles, but it\u2019s lively enough for faster-paced running. It\u2019s not marshmallow soft, but instead it serves up a cushy flow that\u2019s reliably stable and secure. Plus, there\u2019s enough protection in the toe box and sidewalls to run over technical, craggy rocks without putting your feet in harm\u2019s way.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Why It\u2019s Great: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>It\u2019s great because it\u2019s everything a versatile trail running shoe should be. It\u2019s relatively light, it\u2019s agile, it\u2019s well-cushioned (but not a high-stack maximally cushioned shoe), it\u2019s protective, and it\u2019s fun to run in. The Agility Peak 5 is lower to the ground than a lot of trail shoes, which allows it to provide great proprioceptive\u201cfeel\u201d for the trail for more precise footing. I enjoyed this shoe for running fast on smooth, flowy trails as much as I liked it for running slower with more meticulous footing over technical terrain. The Vibram outsole serves up amazing traction on rocks and dirt without hindering the shoes flexibility or accumulating mud or pebbles. The bottom line: I\u2019ve purposely chosen to wear this shoe for most of my recent trail runs amid a stack of choices just because I like running in it so much.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Specifications:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

Weights:<\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u00a08.5 oz. (women\u2019s 8); 10.6 oz. (men\u2019s 9) <\/span><\/span>Heel-Toe Offset: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>5mm; 31mm in the heel\/26mm in the forefoot\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Why You\u2019ll Love It: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>You\u2019ll love it because it could very well be the only trail shoe you\u2019ll need all summer, regardless of where you live. It\u2019s versatile enough to run on just about any kind of terrain \u2013 smooth, dirt trails, semi-technical trails, rugged trails, dry trails, wet trails, gravel roads, and even sections of paved or concrete paths, if necessary. I\u2019ve run a lot of laps in it on the technical trails of Mt. Sanitas with no complaints, and last weekend, I ran 8 miles on Mesa Trail in hot weather, and it proved to be sufficiently ventilated and comfortable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Pro: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>This shoe also has <\/span><\/span>D-ring and velcro gaiter attachments for after-market trail gaiters, so it could be a shoe you might consider for ultra-distance training and racing or a high-alpine peak-bagging shoe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Con: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>After about two dozen runs on all sorts of terrain, it\u2019s been hard to find any negative criticisms of this shoe. I have noticed some cosmetic wear and tear on the edges of the outsole, but nothing that has inhibited performance or suggested an overall breakdown of the shoe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brian Metzler When it comes to trail running shoes, every model is slightly different \u2013 just like every trail you might be running…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear-reviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":541,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions\/541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}