Merrell All Out Rush trail shoes review

Merrell All Out Rush review

Straight out of the box, the All Out Rush from Merrell looks fantastic; so good, in fact, that we started to wear it as a casual shoe and stayed away from the winter mud. Once the rain and cold finally arrived, it was time to take the wide-studded UniFly outsole to the grubbiest trails of Bristol.

We’ve long been fans of the zero-drop Merrell Base Access shoes, and the Rush too aims to promote a ‘natural’ stride with just a 6mm heel-to-toe drop. Where it differs is the high 24mm stack height, with 8mm of that coming from the rubber outsole.

One shoe that the All Out Rush resembles is the Brooks PureGrit 3 (which has just a 4mm drop). But where the Brooks shoe has a trio of flex grooves on the outsole to deliver plenty of flexibility, the Rush only has one, near the toe, contributing to a flat-footed ride with little feel for the trail and too much rigidity.

While offering plenty of protection from rocks and wood, the grip provided by the outsole also came in second to the Brooks, with the 30 wide and flat lugs paling in comparison to the 134 hexagonal studs offered by the PureGrit 3. With that lesser grip we slipped up a bank and off a rock during a 22km loop.

Positive notes include plenty of room around the big toe (which prevented any rubbing between toes), a quick-drying upper, a comfy fit and an impressive weight of 257g for a UK size 9. Sadly these pros aren’t enough for the All Out Rush to become mandatory run shoes for our winter training.

Verdict: Aesthetic beauties, but just too much sole for this tester, 74%

Contact : www.merrell.com