Merrell’s SpeedARC Surge BOA Hiking Sneaker: A Premier Option with a Premium Price

Pricing and Comparisons

At $290, the SpeedARC Surge BOA is set to be the most expensive shoe on Merrell’s website. In comparison, this price tag is $100 higher than the popular Moab Speed line and $80 more than the advanced MTL Skyfire 2 Matryx, which features an older generation of Merrell’s FloatPro foam. It’s even $50 more than the unique Agility Peak 5 GORE TEX Zip Off 1TRL, which functions as two shoes in one.

Competitors and Comparisons

The SpeedARC Surge BOA’s price also puts it above the cost of other premier super-running shoes on the market, such as Nike’s Alphafly 3 and On’s CloudBoom Echo 3.

Early Impressions and Future Testing

According to Gear Junkie’s early review, the SpeedARC Surge BOA is very comfortable, although somewhat ironically, not great for outdoor running and faster movement. We’ll reserve final judgment, though, until we can conduct our own testing to determine whether the advanced hiking shoe can justify its cost, especially given that it’s not waterproof and lacks expensive materials like carbon fiber.