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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Merrell Vapor Glove 2 Review}}
The Merrell Vapor Glove is a shoe for someone looking for a barefoot experience, but once just enough shoe to keep their feet clean and give a little protection from cuts. Of the shoes in the Merrell "glove" range, the Vapor does the best job of fulfilling the promise. Unlike in the FiveFingers, the Vapor does not have an individual compartment for each toe, so perhaps they should have used the word "mitten", but I find the Vapor to be rather more natural than the FiveFingers. It's also much easier to get a good fit with the Glove series than with the FiveFingers. The Vapor Glove is significantly more minimalist than even the Trail Glove, and I tend to prefer the Trail Glove in most situations. The Trail Glove is a little harder wearing, and offers a little more protection from stones. Incidentally, both the Trail Glove and the Vapor Glove make excellent casual driving shoes (they are not far fire resistant, so you can't use them for most serious driving.) {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
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* {{H:structure}}. The Vapor really does feel like a glove, and has no more interference with your foot movement than a latex glove would on your hand.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Vapor Glove is extremely flexible. In many ways it reminds me of a sin racing bike tire.
* {{H:outsole}}. The soul sole of the Vapor is made up of blown rubber outsole covered with a thin layer of fabric for comfort. I've found the outsole to be reasonably hard wearing and slightly sticky.
* {{H:shape}}. The Vapor Glove is nicely shaped, and one of the few shoes where I don't have to [[Shoe Modifications| cut open the toe box]]. It's like the Vapor was designed for the human foot, something that is sadly rare. I actually find the shape of the Vapor better than the shape of most of the Altra shoes.
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is a thin, but has limited breathability when compared with a more open mesh found in some running shoes. The forefoot and midfoot is unpadded, but there is a tiny bit of padding around the heel, though it might be fairer to describe it as thick a material than true padding. There is some minimalist padding around the ankle opening as well. I find the Vapor to be remarkably comfortable, even for protracted periods.
