Merrell launched its women-centric hiking club to “provide inspiration and connection to the outdoors through a digital community.” To support the launch, the brand announced the second generation of its leading women’s hiking sneaker, Bravada.

“Merrell is leading the hiking revolution into the mainstream, and we recognize the needs of women hikers are quite diverse – all the way down to the anatomy of their feet,” said Lindsey Lindemulder, brand marketing director. “We saw the critical demand for shared expertise and the right product design and built a community around that insight to connect, empower and inform women hikers.”

Merrell partnered with its “trailblazers and key partners,” including Erin McGrady, Tiare Bowman, and Shana Joseph, among others, to kickstart the U.S. community. The brand will continue to build the club globally “through its partners, local groups and communities to share their expertise and engage with hikers.” 

“The Merrell Hiking Club began in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in December 2021 and has since grown its reach to Canada and the United States. The EMEA group has reached an audience of more than 630,000 hikers online. There are 24 urban, suburban, and adventure curated hikes throughout EMEA and Canada, with 25 expected to launch in the U.S. in the coming year,” said Merrell.

Merrell used innovation and technology to introduce the second generation of its women’s Bravada hiking sneaker. The Bravada 2 was designed with every layer constructed to support the average female foot. It is the brand’s most sustainable Merrell Bravada to date. Features of the women’s-specific hiker include a wider toe box, additional arch support, narrower heel, recycled materials across laces, webbing mesh lining, and removable EVA foam.

“The customer experience is all about finding the right fit in hiking shoes and having the right resources and equipment,” said Lindemulder. “Women have been largely underrepresented in the outdoor space and in the design of footwear. In fact, many women don’t even know their shoes weren’t designed based on the structure of a woman’s foot. The Merrell Hiking Club and pinnacle technology of the Bravada 2 help to solve the problem many women face when looking to get outdoors.”

Bravada 2 received a 2022 SELF Certified Sneaker Award for the best low-cut hiking shoe. SELF editors and experts rigorously test each shoe under consideration during various activities to find the best fit, comfort, performance, and style.

“Our efforts to get more women outdoors are an extension of the More Less campaign demonstrating the greatest form of self-care has always been pretty simple—get outside and get moving,” said Lindemulder.

For more information on the Merrell Hiking Club, go here.