I, too, am on my second pair of Vitesse. The second pair started to give me blisters, or sorness from chaffing along the sides of my feet, just below the ankle bone. This is an easy area to cover, however. The material of the lining at that point seems more abrasive than the earlier pair. So, I gave up on the Vitesse and switched to the Merrell Ventilator. Then on my last hike, 8 days on the AT in NY/NJ, just home today, I went back to the Vitesse just because they are so light. They started to redden my other foot in the same place, so I covered the spot with new skin and tape. The other foot that usually got sore, got red, but toughened up and never bothered me. I got a blister on my small toe which I quickly covered and it was fine. In short, expect blisters with any shoe. The Vitesse has torn at the mesh on both pairs. (Those NJ rocks are vicious!) and on the older pair the rubber separated at the toe along the side. Patched with "Shoe Goo", they still work fine for day hikes. I really like the Merrells, too, even though I thought they would be too narrow. The Merrell is 3 oz. heavier than the Vitesse (one shoe without the foot beds), but the sole of the vitesse has worn down some, so we are not talking much difference in weight! I have also given up wearing gaiters with low cuts. Cannot get them to work. The heel on the Vitesse is hardly raised at all, so I could feel the lace of the gaiter if at all thick. The laces always broke and the elastic rides up over the edges any way, so I get dirty socks. BTW I now take an extra pair of socks, also low cuts. Wash the dirty pair, hang them on the outside of your pack with safety pins to dry while you wear the other pair. The low cut socks dry a lot faster than ankle length. A third pair of socks, I only use around camp, so they are clean and dry, and ankle length for warmth. Whoops, rambling, again. Sorry. If they fit you well, you will like the Vitesse. The Merrells have more mesh, so they might dry faster. After I dirtied them up in the Smokies this summer, I just put them in the washing machine and they came out looking like new.
