After my Saucony Peregrine 13 went kaput in the middle of last year, I needed another race day shoe for my trail and OCR races. Merrell’s popularity among competitive trail running races is on the rise with the Merrell Test Lab recent developments, and more athletes are using their shoes on race day.
Last year, I bought a pair of Agility Peak 5. When I was in the store trying them, I also tried the Long Sky 2 Matryx, and oh boy they felt light and comfortable! In the end, I chose the Agility Peak because the goal was to buy a shoe more for training. I’ve used them on some races, but since I race short distances (10 to 20 km) it’s not the best shoe choice.
So here I am, with a pair of Long Sky 2 Matryx in my feet ready to roll!
Long Sky 2 Matryx Spec
- Weight: 275g
- Drop: 4mm
- Lug size: 5mm
- Key Features: Floatpro midsole, Vibram Megagrip outsole, lightweight mesh upper, Rock plate
Review
Before buying my pair, I made a round of research for fast trail running shoes, but all of them felt a bit heavy or too much cushioned. Since the Agility Peak 5 already has high amounts of cushioning, I didn’t want another pair with similar features.
VJ Shoes had some good options, but the price was a bit on the upper end, so I decided to trust my feeling from last year when I tried the Long Sky 2 Matyx in the store and went for them.
Why Merrell Long Sky 2 Matryx?
To start, I got great feedback from other athletes and review websites. They always told me about how light and fast they feel in the feet during a race, with great grip, so I was already a bit biased towards buying them.
The points that made me buy a pair of Long Sky 2 Matryx were:
- They look and feel fast
- I have a great experience with the Vibram Megagrip Outsole
- The looks of them – I look at this shoe and my mind always thinks about race days
- They are light
- I am seeing more and more athletes using them on race day (and the “faster” one Skyfire 2 Matryx)
Check out all the faces, outsole, and lacing system of the Long Sky 2 Matryx in the photos below:
First runs and races
This is a really comfortable shoe!
It’s so fun to feel the ground beneath my feet, but at the same time feel comfort and protection from rocks and roots.
My first race on them was on a rainy day full of mud, the perfect scenario to test the grip. This shoe is unstoppable when going up! I felt so much confidence climbing wet rocks, the grip was really sticky.
As expected, during the race, my feet always felt happy, comfortable, fast, no blisters, and plenty of space to move my fingers but at the same time a good lock-in. The lock-in was so good that I even ran the last 3/4 kilometers of the race with my shoelace untied because I was feeling safe and didn’t want to stop and lose some places in the classification – don’t try this please, always run with the shoelaces tied even if that means losing some places! –
In the end, I understood that the issue was not from the shoe, it was me who didn’t lace them properly in the beginning due to having the chip race on that shoe, so no issue from Merrell’s side here!
Even though the midsole is smaller and minimalistic compared to Hokas or even the Agility Peak, that is not a disadvantage. It has just the right amount of cushioning to make your feet feel comfortable without losing ground sensibility and balance. Merrell did a great job here!
One thing I was a bit disappointed about was on descents with big wet rocks. The same grip I felt on wet rocks while going uphill, I didn’t feel it as strongly on descents. Maybe it is due to the shape design of lugs?
On mud, dirt, or loose small rocks, the grip is great every time, up or down, but while descending wet rocks, I tried to speed up a bit and slipped slightly twice on my first race with them.
Another thing I noticed at the end of the races was the amount of dirt inside my shoes. This is probably due to the collar lining being too open at the top. The shoe itself has a great lock-in at the back, but the top fabric opens up a bit at the top, making room for debris to enter.
Things that impressed me
- Comfort – This is a minimalistic shoe with a very thin upper and a small but very comfortable midsole. You can feel the ground, but at the same time, the right amount of cushioning
- Water drainage – Since the upper is so thin, water comes in and out instantly, making the shoe feel light at any time. I didn’t test them in hot weather, but I can already imagine that this will also help make this shoe very breathable.
- Grip – I am impressed and very confident going uphill using this shoe! Everywhere I put my feet, it sticks and helps me move forward. Still need to make more races to gain confidence in descents to see if the problem is my technique or the shoe (probably the first 😅)
- Looks – By looking at them and putting them on, you immediately start feeling the race day coming. Great design Merrell!
Things that let me down
- Dirt inside the shoe – I did 2 races with heavy rain and mud. In both of them, my shoes were full of dirt at the end. I think this is due to a combination of the upper being very thin and the collar line being a bit too open.
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- First photo – after the first trail race (my 3rd run with them). In that area, the color started to come off right in the first race. No signs of fragility tho, it was just the color coming off.
- Second photo – after 3 races, the glue connecting the fabric to the outsole was also gone in that area. Fortunately, the sewing inside the shoe is very strong, and it didn’t show any sign of fragility. Anyway, I used proper shoe glue to better support the area, as you can see in the second image. After that, I did one more race and everything was perfect, no signs of fragility.
Since I still have some room in my toebox, this wasn’t because the shoe was too tight on me. I can verify that this is just an aesthetic issue of the color wearing off in this area, nothing to worry about. However, it’s something to keep an eye on.
Final thoughts
Are you looking for your next race-ready shoe? Look no further. Long Sky 2 Matryx is the one you are looking for.
Perfect for short to mid distances, light, breathable, great grip, and the right amount of cushioning without jeopardizing either comfort or stability.
At the time of this article’s writing, I made two short trail races and one mountain OCR race with them. The feeling was great on all of them and I could not be happier with this choice.
Do you also have a pair of Long Sky 2 Matryx?
What is your experience with it?
Do you think I made a good choice?
Share your opinion below!
Follow my next races and results here.
