Merrell’s Award-Winning Trail Shoe Is a Dirtbike for Your Feet
At first glance, it’s difficult to know what to make of Merrell’s SpeedARC Surge BOA shoe. That is, this is a sturdy hiking shoe that doesn’t have the look or build of your typical hardwearing, no-nonsense outdoor footwear.
The SpeedARC Surge's chunky, futuristic façade is what makes it more than meets the eye, reflecting the next-gen tech hiding within. Its immediately obvious visual impact was top of mind when Merrell gave the shoe to some unsuspecting product testers.
“Their reaction was [largely] shock and awe,” says Ian Cobb, senior design director at Merrell. “The perception was that there’s no way this can be a trail shoe, and then they put it on and experienced it, they completely change their mind.”
Merrell has smashed every single fresh innovation into the SpeedARC Surge, upsetting every single trail shoe norm in the process.
In marathon running, a shoe of this technological caliber is called a super shoe. But though the SpeedARC Surge BOA utilizes technology you would typically see in running shoes, it re-engineered it for walking pace.
Underfoot, two layers of nitrogen-infused dual-density foam pillars, inspired by the sole design of Merrell’s signature Moab boot and akin to those in Nike Shox, are split apart by a layered nylon plate. With this tech fueling it, the SpeedARC Surge was always destined to look at least a little wild.
“It works a lot like car suspension, to create a super unique underfoot experience we have a two midsole setup with a flex plate that works like a support bridge or a car suspension,” explains Cobb.
”Your foot is interacting with the top midsole, where all of the cushioning and underfoot feel comes from. That bottom layer is adapting to the terrain, the top layer is adapting to your foot, and then that plate in the middle holds it all together, so it moves as one but [all the parts] work independently.”
This multi-pronged midsole setup has proven its capabilities in the lab. Independent tests from multiple third-party labs show that Merrell's SpeedARC Surge BOA has up to double the energy return of leading hiking footwear.
However, this sole unit also comes with an effect that's a bit more difficult to measure. Namely, it’s a whole lot of fun. “You can't help but jump around and just experience it right away,” says Cobb. “Our mission statement was to create a never-felt-before underfoot experience which inherently, to me, reads as fun because wearing an old heavy pack boot is not terribly fun."
Imagine bouncing between trees on a pumped-up dirtbike — that's the vibe of strolling in Merrell's new baby.
While the foot feel was always the main focus of the SpeedARC Surge BOA, its upper is similarly unconventionally functional. Let's start with the laces, or lack thereof.
A dual dial system developed with BOA tightens an upper produced from a high-performance jacquard weave interwoven with kevlar thread, maximizing durability but with minimal presence to retain flexibility.
“You slip the shoe on like a modern sock. And then, the boa dials completely adapt to your foot,” says Cobb. “We worked with BOA to develop the dual directional dials which you typically only find on cycling footwear. It's just really nice to do micro adjustments on the trail.”
Set to launch on January 7 for $290, Merrell's SpeedARC Surge BOA found success before it even went to market. It hailed as one of TIME's best innovations of 2024 after winning an ISPO Award, one of the prizes given for sportswear product design.
Cobbs says the pioneering shoe is merely a sign of what’s to come for Merrell, which is already developing trail running shoes building on the innovations kicked off by the SpeedARC Surge BOA. This thing doesn't just look like the future: It is the future.
