Want more savings intel? Scope out our picks for the best Prime Day clothing deals to refresh your closet, then hit our roundup of the best Prime Day deals for everything else worth adding to cart.
Not to claim any stolen valor, but if you’re intrigued by the Merrell Jungle Moc, you can thank my people. When the now-iconic shoe first launched back in 1998 it bombed in the States. But Europeans (like myself) took to the Jungle Moc immediately. Americans saw stylish Europeans wearing the Mocs, recognized the benefits of a shoe with a hiker’s sole and a slip-on’s soul, and hopped on the Jungle train, too. Millions of pairs have been sold since. (Merrell was averaging 900,000 pairs sold per year in 2015, according to the shoe’s original designer, and he had no reason to believe things would have slowed down since then.)
And this October Prime Day is your chance to follow in me and my fellow Junge Moc enthusiasts’ comfortable, ready-for-anything footsteps. Amazon has marked down the Merrell Men’s Jungle Moc up to 50% off from $100. You’ll even find discounts on Midnight Black, one of the shoe’s elite colorways.
Now, a quick note about these Amazon Prime Day discounts on the Jungle Moc: They vary pretty wildly by both color and size. The Midnight Black in men’s 10.5? $52-and-some-change. In size 10 or 11? They’re $90 (still $10 off). The Dark Earth colorway seems to have a wider range of sizes at a big discount, down to a low of $61 (from $110).
If for some reason you still wonder why this admittedly awkward looking shoe has captured the hearts and dogs of America for decades, know this: the Merrell Jungle Moc delivers a little bit of everything you need for a happy day’s walking. The Vibram sole is grippy as hell, the lack of laces make them the first footwear you’ll reach for, and the suede upper is sort of charming as it ages and scuffs. As we hurtle towards the time of year when leaving the house becomes something you do out of necessity, not desire, no shoe makes cold weather coffee runs, dog walks, and errands easier than the Jungle Moc.
But in celebrating all of their practicality, people sometimes overlook the shoe’s creative energy. As the comedian Kate Berlant told New York magazine this summer, about her own beloved Jungle Mocs: “I once regarded them as sexless, but now see them as a direct portal to the erotic.”