This year Merrell released the beast of all hiking shoes: The Capra; a hiking shoe inspired by the mountain goat.
The mountain goat is the coolest goat of them all. They don’t live tied up or trapped in your neighbors backyard. To spot a mountain goat you have to climb steep, rocky terrain that will give your legs and feet a beating. But now that will change thanks to the designers at Merrell.
The mountain goat hoof is split in half. So when the goat is on unlevel terrain it is able to grip in different directions. That sounds weird, but goats can free solo to places even Alex Honnold would have a hard time reaching.
Merrell’s new Capra sole is split into two parts in the toe and heel. This gives your feet more freedom of range to grip on uneven ground.
The toe and heel sections of the Capra are built with Vibram Megagrip. Never worry about slipping again climbing steep inclines. Having the grip on the heel helps so you don’t have to stop and slide down tough spots on your back end. The added heel grip gives you a sure footing for more stability since most of your body weight will be shifted on the heel.
The Uni-Fly midsole helps the hard mountain feel like not a hard mountain. This technology gives you a ride that’s soft to the ground for cushioning and absorption.
The internal membrane of the shoe is Gore-Tex, because duh. It’s breathable, waterproof, and lightweight. The three major food groups of any high quality shoe.
The last design perk for the Capra is found on the outside of the shoe. The majority of the outer part is mesh. That helps with the shoes lighter weight, but makes it less durable. So Merrell came up with a technology called Stratafuse. Gore-Tex strips run along the mesh and fuse it to the foot cage. This combination of more mesh than rubber results in a lightweight and durable exoskeleton.
All of these technologies combine to make the Capra legit. A hiking shoe built to compete with the worlds best climber and hiker. Here’s a cool video.