Merril Chameleon 5 prime stretch Hiking Shoe

This being my first review, i will give a short biography of myself. My name is Kyle, ex marine and current Private military contractor. I have been going on outdoor adventures my entire life growing up in Michigan and have been through many military special survival schools as well. I'm only 25 years old but have over 15 years of rugged outdoor experience. My current job now requires me to travel across the world on a monthly basis. I have been to 48 US states, 25 countries varied across 6 continents with Africa being the most recent (haven't been to Antarctica YET). Be in mind, the places i travel are extreme austere environments so the gear i test gets put to the max. I've traveled as cold as Siberia to as hot as Iraq for extended periods of times. My life revolves around world traveling, and survival. It's how i pay the bills yet also my favorite hobby.

Now, onto the review! so i have gone through countless pairs of boots and hiking shoes. anything from bates combat boots, to low profile Vibrams. This however, has been my favorite so far. The Merril Chameleon 5 prime stretch comes either waterproof, or not. i prefer the non-waterproof due to the fact that is dries at an appreciated fast rate after being fully submerged. This hiking shoe has a great comfortable fit, but doesn't have a lot of arch support. But with a $20 Montrail shoe insert, it easily became the most comfortable shoe that i own. surprisingly enough, this shoe is a nice snug fit even with it not using traditional shoe laces. i have tested it running through high water, thick swamps in central africa; and it has also worked extremely well through soft sand deserts in the middle east. This shoe has excellent breath ability and vents phenomenally. The make quality of this shoe, to no surprise, is also an amazing build. flexible, light weight, and extremely durable with grip that will take you anywhere on or off the road. Myself and my friends which are mostly all ex special forces, only use merrils for our contracting jobs. and this shoe would get a 9/10 from me with the only downfall being the arch support.