MTL Adapt Matryx Trail Running Shoe

Three stars from the midsole down, maybe 1-2 stars for the rest. I’ve got about 150 miles in this shoe and am extremely conflicted. The midsole and outsole are the best. Just as good if not better than any other shoe on the market. Durable, grippy, etc. The upper though, that’s where I’ve been let down. I was concerned about the ankle lock down after trying the Agility Peak 5 last year, but decided to take a chance with these. While the heel lockdown is improved, the rest of the upper just gets sloppy. The laces that come with the shoes are awful, and loosen up after just a few miles, and the general low profile of the upper makes the shoe super sketchy (and probably encourages the loosening) in technical terrain. I’m surprised that with this much stack, they’ve chosen to have such a low profile and generally unsupportive upper. I’m no shoe designer but I’d imagine that as the stack gets higher, the upper needs to be designed appropriately to combat the extra forces it will be subject to given the height of the shoe. High school physics right? For a shoe that feels so good underfoot, and one that is advertised as being capable on technical mountain trail, I find this aspect really disappointing. It’s great on moderate to easy trail, but as soon as things get steep and technical, all I can think while I’m running is how my feet are just sliding around inside the floppy uppers. I’ve tried everything from different socks, different laces, and over tightening the laces, but I’m still left with a less than ideal fit, that gets sloppier as my run goes on. It’s a really disappointing and frustrating feeling. The shoes look (yes that counts!), midsole, and outsole are top notch. Just please Merrell, redesign the upper to work with the higher stack-especially if you’re marketing this shoe as one that can tackle the trail when things get hairy. Initially I felt this shoe was a bargain given how durable it is, but if I don’t like the way it feels on my feet during my runs, I’m really not going to be tempted to get the full life cycle out of this shoe. If your runs generally take you on flat, non-technical trail, this shoe is a home run. But if, like me, you prefer to be in the mountains and tackle whatever terrain is in front of you, you might reconsider and wait for an update. Bummed that a shoe I looked so forward to, and one that seemed to be a quiver killer, just doesn’t live up to what I thought it would.