Up, over and down. The three phases of the mountain described by the Merrell design team when the created the MQM collection. Designed from the ground-up, MQMs are hybrid shoes to move fast while retaining protection and security.
There are two opposite trends in the outdoor gear world. Make a piece ultra-specific for a type of activity or merge different characteristics to get more versatile. The Moving Quickly in the Mountains™ (MQM) collection falls into the second category. The initial idea was to make a shoe for fast-paced hiking up, down and scrambling.
While a lot of people use trail-running shoes for hiking, they can lack support and durability and I think Merrell is trying a new approach with the MQM line, more hiking, less trail-running.
There are 3 different models in the line for both men and women. The MQM Flex is the low ankle, 540g version with the MQM Flex Gore-Text, 640g being the waterproof version. The third shoe, the MQM Flex Mid Waterproof is a760g mid-ankle boot with Merrell’s DRY membrane.
All the models share the same specs: 3.5mm lugs of proprietary M Select Grip, Merrell stickiest rubber. The sole use FLEXconnect dual-directional flex-groove, providing a lot of flexibility on the front part while keeping the heel locked in place. There is a lot of added protection around the shoe, especially on the outside-front, where I always wear mine down.
The design is very attractive and I like the added protection and the use of FLEXconnect in the sole. The weight is my main concern on those so I guess we’ll have to see that in a more in-depth review.
