I use these as hiking shoes in the desert. So far no cactus has poked through. If your into barefoot shoes and want something with a little more traction than most trail runners in the market, these are the ticket. So far so good. This is my second pair of Xero shoes and I'll be getting more after my experiences. Highly recommend.So far so good on my first hike. My vapor gloves were so worn out they almost had a hole. The added grip and protection doesn’t compromise the feel. Very spacious in the toes and it feels more comfortable than the old trail gloves in my opinion. Got a half size larger and they feel great. No blisters. Great feel of the road. They have an insole you can take out (they made it so there is no stitching for this purpose) of leave it in. Very happy I found these and I don’t think I’ll be buying Merrells again. It’s been rough since the trail glove 5 and 6 came out with that high arch and pulling of your foot. Hopefully the material lasts on the top of the shoe (I saw a review here where if didn’t - but all products have a small percentage of flawed/broken products due to manufacturing. The bottom of the shoe has a 5,000 mile warranty so they expect it to last.I wanted to like these a lot. As I slipped in, the width was nice. But the shoe turned out to be too short for my foot in the normal size I wear. I'd recommend a half or full-size up. I returned these and am not sure if I will re-purchase a different size. They seemed a bit stiffer than shoes I am used to.Have seen many reviews that says this shoe runs small. Ordered 1 size up (size 14 for a normal size 13 foot). This fits fine. Materials and construction seem good, but can only give an update on durability with future use.when I got the shoes the 2nd time (since I had to return the shoes due to shoe defect), there were cat hairs ALL over the insoles and the bottom of the shoes was already dirty when I opened the box. In addition the forefoot fabric were already wrinkled which makes it seems like someone already wore them. I was expecting NEW shoes, But the last 2 purchases made it look like I bought refurnished shoes. I still Love XEROs as they are VERY comfortable. BUT next time, I wont be purchasing from Amazon and will go to their Xero shoes website instead.My husband bought these based on the advise of his physical therapist. He’s always has back problems, especially when traveling. He wore these on a European vacation, walking several miles per day and never once had back pain. These put more stress on lower legs but great for those with hip and back pain.Bought these to play frisbee golf In. At first I liked them a lot. The tread is great for grip and they fit very comfortably but the barefoot style with little to no padding or cushion hurt my feet so bad after a few hours of walking / hiking with my bag on. My feet would be sore for days afterwards. Had to send them back. I guess if you’re used to this kind of abuse they would work for you but I don’t see the point in them really.