Merrell Trail Gloves First Impressions

Wow, so I went for a long (11M) run in the Merrells, with Balega socks on to help prevent blisters. I will try them sans socks eventually.
Surprisingly, no blisters! They were very comfy, even if it took my feet a little while to get used to them. I stayed mostly on trails and grass, with no more than 3 total miles of pavement. They performed very well. Almost nothing negative to report. They seem to offer slightly better midfoot protection than the VFFs, due to slightly thicker and/or stiffer soles. But I did challenge them to a mile or two of alternating embedded and loose heavy gravel. I managed to bruise my right foot pretty good near the outer edge. I'm not sure how, because the shoes seems to have pretty great protection under that spot. Oh well. They did better job of protecting than VFFs, as expected. My VFFs certainly feel more connected to the ground, but the difference did not seem to lessen the enjoyment of the trails.
I was immediately surprised when my feet got wet. I'm used to regular shoes offering better protection against wet feet, but I realized right away that the point of minimalist shoes is to get the feet closer to the ground, and they WILL get wet easier down there. But my feet didn't get cold even though I waded across a creek at one point and fully submerged them. They dried out quick, but they did suck in a bunch of sand/pebbles right away when I went in the water. They are not a snug fit around my ankles, probably which is probably why.
I noticed right away that they are not as wide where they connect to the ground as either my VFFs or my Cascadia trail shoes. But after I thought about it, I realized that the extra wide base is possible in the Cascadias because the base is built up so much it can be shaped like a trapezoid. There's just not enough material in the Merrell's to do that, and for good reason. But it's a little odd that the VFFs are wider in that respect. I only noticed it a couple times during the run though. I think being closer to the ground than the Cascadia's more than makes up for the narrower base in terms of stability and helping prevent ankle rolls.
They were also plenty confidence inspiring while crossing a creek from about six feet up in the air over an iron i-beam.
Overall I am impressed and satisfied that these will be a great addition to my arsenal of running gear. I'm not sure how/when I'll use them to supplant the VFFs, but first thought is in snowy or near-freezing conditions when my feet might get wet, and when I need some extra insurance against stubbing a toe on the trails.
Who knows, though. As my VFFs age, these may become my all-around go-to shoes.
I would love to hear more impressions from others about these kinds of running shoes.