The short answer is that the Merrell Chameleon is the boot I would buy again for my granddaughter Hattie, and the KEEN Targhee is the boot I would put on her foot first if she had a wide forefoot. That is a narrower answer than it sounds. I have about eight months of Saturday walks in the Merrell. I have no trail time in the KEEN. I handled a pair in a store, turned it over, read the published listing, and put it beside the Merrell on the bench. So this is not a tie. It is a comparison with one honest limitation, and I will keep saying where that limitation sits.
Hattie is 8, in third grade, and she spends Saturdays with me while her parents work. We walk the surface trails at Mammoth Cave National Park and the paths at Lost River Cave in town. Our walks are 2 to 3 miles. The longest we have done is 4. In February we had a bad hike in old sneakers, with a leaky bottle and a thin poncho, and she ended up with wet socks and a blister on her left heel. That night I ordered five things in one order: a pack, the Merrell boots, binoculars, a bottle, and a rain jacket. The first Saturday in March we used all of it. The boots have been on her feet on those Saturday walks ever since, about 30 of them, through spring, a hot summer, and into fall.
How I Compared Them
I did not build a test lab. I bought one pair of Merrell Chameleon boots, kept them by the back door, and walked. For the KEEN Targhee, I did what I could in a store. I flexed the sole, ran my thumb along the inside of the heel, looked at the toe box, and read the listing. I did not put Hattie in the KEEN. I did not take it on a trail. So when I say the KEEN wins a row, it is a row about fit or a published detail, not about miles. When I say the Merrell wins, it is because I watched an 8 year old on wet limestone for eight months.
That distinction matters because boot reviews can sound more certain than the evidence behind them. A grandmother with one child and one pair of boots is not a laboratory. But a grandmother with one child and one pair of boots does notice the things that decide a Saturday: whether the strap closes before the child loses patience, whether the heel stays put on a root, whether the sock is dry at the car. I am writing from that narrow place. If you need a wide fit, the KEEN may be the better first try. If you need a boot your child can close herself and you walk wet rock, the Merrell is the one I know.
The Comparison at a Glance
Here is the short table, scored from what I have actually seen and handled. I have marked a row as a win only when the cells give me a reason.
| Merrell Chameleon | KEEN Targhee | |
|---|---|---|
| Ankle height | Ankle-high; listing gives a 4 inch shaft circumference | Ankle-high; I did not measure the shaft |
| Closure tested on Hattie | Hook-and-loop strap plus bungee lace; Hattie closes it herself | Bungee lace with a locking toggle; I did not test it on her |
| Toe box | Round toe; medium fit on Hattie | Roomier toe box; first choice for a wide forefoot |
| Wide fit | Good for a medium foot; not the roomiest forefoot | Better choice for a wide forefoot or high instep |
| Wet-rock grip tested on trail | Rubber sole; no slips on wet limestone and roots at Mammoth Cave | Rubber sole; I have no trail time in it |
| Upper | Leather and synthetic; listed waterproof | Leather and synthetic; listed waterproof |
| Mud care | Clay mud packs the tread and needs a brush | Similar sole and upper; expect similar brushing |
| Best for | A child who wants to fasten her own boot and walks wet rock | A child with a wider forefoot or a high instep |
Where the Merrell Chameleon Wins
The Merrell wins the morning fight at my back door. The closure is a hook-and-loop strap and a bungee lace, and Hattie has been closing it herself since the first day. That is not a small thing when you are trying to leave the house before the day warms up. A child who can put on her own boot starts the walk a little taller. I do not know whether the KEEN toggle would be just as easy for her, because I did not put it on her foot. I can tell you that the Merrell strap has never required me to kneel in wet gravel.
The Merrell also wins the only test I can speak to with a straight face: wet limestone and roots. On the Mammoth Cave surface trails, Hattie has crossed wet rock and stepped over roots on damp mornings without a slip. The rubber sole and the leather and synthetic upper have kept her socks dry in ordinary rain and wet grass. The one time water went over the top of the boot in May, the inside got wet. No ankle-high boot keeps a creek out when the creek goes over the top. We took the insoles out and set the boots on newspaper overnight, and they were ready for the next Saturday.
Where the KEEN Targhee Wins
The KEEN Targhee wins the toe box, and for some children that settles the whole question. The pair I handled in the store had a roomier forefoot than the Merrell. Hattie has a medium foot, so the Merrell round toe has not pinched her. But I taught long enough to know that a child with a wide forefoot or a high instep will tell you in the first half mile if a boot is pressing. If your child has come home complaining about the sides of her feet, the KEEN is the one I would try first.
The KEEN also wins the middle-of-the-foot fit for a child who needs more room over the instep. I say that from handling the boot, not from a walk. The upper had more give across the top than the Merrell does. The Merrell leather and synthetic upper has been supportive for Hattie, and I like that for wet rock. But support is only useful if the boot fits. A child with a high instep may do better in the KEEN, and a parent should not talk herself out of that because a review said the Merrell was sturdy. Fit comes first.
The boot that is already by my back door
The Merrell Chameleon has done about 30 Saturday walks with Hattie. If your child needs a boot she can close herself and your trails run to wet rock and roots, start with the listing and the size chart. The strap is the detail I would check first.
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Fit, Socks, and the Morning Fight
Hattie wears a size 2 in the Merrell Chameleon. I bought it with about a thumb's width at the toe, which is how I was taught to fit a child's shoe and how I fitted hundreds of school shoes over the years. She wears one pair of wool blend socks. After eight months she has about half a thumb left, so she will need the next size by spring. That is a normal school-year kind of growth, not a fault in the boot.
The break-in was two short walks around my neighborhood. She had no blister. The left heel blister from the February sneakers healed and never came back. I am not going to tell you that every child will have that experience. A boot is a piece of leather and rubber and a child's heel is a child's heel. But the Merrell did not need a month of short walks before it was ready for a trail.
The morning fight is worth its own paragraph. Hattie sits on the mat, puts her foot in, pulls the strap across, and tightens the bungee. She has been doing it herself since the first day. In cold weather the strap is still easy for her thumb. That is the kind of detail a parent notices when everyone is trying to get out the door. The KEEN bungee and toggle might be just as easy. I did not test it on her, so I will not pretend to know.
One more fit note. I would not buy a full size up for a child to grow into. A boot that is too long will let the heel lift, and a lifting heel is how blisters start. Hattie's pair has a thumb's width, not two. If your child is between sizes, fit the larger foot and check the heel. That is plain shoe fitting, not a brand opinion.
On Wet Rock, Roots, and Mud
Our walks are not mountaineering. They are 2 to 3 miles on the surface trails at Mammoth Cave, with a stop to look at a fungus or a beetle, and a snack on a log. That is exactly the kind of walking most families do. The Merrell has been sure on wet limestone, which is the slickest surface we meet. It has also been sure on roots. Hattie is 8 and not a cautious child by nature, so I notice when she is not sliding.
The boot is heavier than a sneaker. She noticed that on the first walk. By the third Saturday she had stopped mentioning it. I would not put a 5 year old in this boot for a mile and call it a day, but Hattie is 8 and our walks are 2 to 3 miles. For that, the weight is a fair trade for the sole and the ankle coverage.
The Kentucky clay is the boot's enemy. After a wet walk, the tread is packed with mud, and I have to take a stiff brush to it before the mud dries like concrete. The KEEN would face the same clay. Any rubber sole with a tread will. If you want a boot that never needs a brush, you want a different hobby.
The creek incident in May was my fault as much as the boot's. Hattie stepped into a shallow crossing and the water went over the top. Her socks were wet. We finished the walk, and I took the insoles out and set the boots on newspaper overnight. They were dry by morning. The listing says waterproof, and I believe it means rain and wet grass, not wading. That is how I would read it for any boot.
Hattie has crossed wet limestone and roots on Mammoth Cave walks without a slip, and she has closed the strap herself since the first day.
Care, Storage, and the Second Spring
The boots live on a mat by my back door. They are worn for walks, not for school. That is a choice, not a rule. If your child wants to wear them every day, the leather and synthetic upper will take more abuse and the tread will wear faster. I keep them for the trail because I want the sole to last through the spring when Hattie needs the next size.
The listing gives an ankle-high shaft with a 4 inch circumference. On Hattie's size 2 foot, the collar sits close without pressing. I have not measured her ankle, and I would not buy a boot from a circumference number alone. It is a useful clue, not a fit. The round toe gives her room to wiggle, and the rubber sole has not separated at the toe after eight months.
I wash the mud off with a brush and plain water, then let them air dry away from the stove. I do not put them in the dryer. The one time they were soaked through, the newspaper trick worked. If the boots smell, I take the insoles out and let everything air. That is the whole of my care routine. The Merrell has held up to it.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the Merrell Chameleon if your child is rough on wet rock and roots, if she wants to close her own boot, and if her foot is medium or slightly narrow. Buy it if you are walking 2 to 4 miles on Saturday and you want one pair by the back door. Hattie's pair has done that for about 30 Saturdays. I would buy it again for her, in the next size, without a long debate.
Buy the KEEN Targhee if your child has a wide forefoot or a high instep, or if she has complained that other boots press across the top of her foot. The roomier toe box is the reason. I did not walk in the KEEN, so I cannot tell you how its sole handles wet limestone at Mammoth Cave. I can tell you that fit is the first thing I would solve, and the KEEN is the one I would put on a wide foot first.
If you can get both boots on your child in a store, do that. Put her in the socks she will walk in. Check the heel. Have her close the boot herself. Walk her around the shoe department. The boot that she can close and that does not press is the boot that will get used. The Merrell is my answer for Hattie. The KEEN may be yours for a different foot.
And if you are still carrying a leaky bottle and a thin poncho, fix that before you buy a second pair of boots. The bad February hike was not a boot problem alone. It was wet socks, no water she could reach, and a poncho that tore on a branch. The boots matter. The rest of the kit matters too.
One boot, one child, one Saturday at a time
The Merrell Chameleon is the pair I know. If the fit notes sound like your child, look at the current listing and check the size chart before you order. If your child has a wide forefoot, try the KEEN Targhee first.
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