Nice “The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people.” Fisher Ames
Sorry to hear that. I've owned quite a few pairs of Merrell footwear and generally have had extremely good service life from them. I did have the soles completely disintegrate on a pair of their hiking boots a few years back. Luckily, it did not happen while I was backpacking, but instead at work. Most "modern" footwear is no longer designed to be repaired or resoled, either.
If you'd asked me yesterday, I would have said that boot season was well and truly over. Today, however...William Lennon 107f.
What are they like weight wise and breath-ability wise? I see lots of people rec'd them but with size 13 feet I worry they'll weigh a tonne. Unfortunately boots like Redwing or TL Earthkeepers or Gorilla Chippewa cos SOOOO much in Australia it hurts. Even ordering from US the shipping is brutal. I found a nice pait of Earthkeepers fromTexas but I read that you need to size down and the sellers are a 13 so dont wanna risk an expensive purchase that won't work for me. These are 2nd hand (well...foot) too just to shave a few $$ off.
