Merrell CT Converge II

You would think that a trail running shoe would be built with durability and reliability, since any kind of mishap would leave you much more at a loss than if you were running on a road in town. But having three separate lacing eyelet failures while I'm miles from nowhere is inexcusable. These shoes are junk. I notice they're "Made in China". Great, NOW I notice.

To detail the areas of failure, I have called them "lacing eyelets". What I mean by that, is that most street shoes have holes where the laces go through to tighten the upper with. These Merrells have nylon loops in the upper part of the "upper" that the laces run through.

The nylon loops are sturdy enough, but they are fastened to the upper with only one stitch of cotton thread. This attachment has ripped on three eyelets on three separate occasions. I've had to repair each with needle and nylon thread each time they have failed. And each time, I've noticed that the sewing has been done with cotton thread and using only one pass with the stitch. It's bound to fail, especially with trail running shoes. Poor quality control, to say the least. 

I have nothing against China, but I find more shortcuts and low quality with made in China goods. Why can't we produce quality "Made in the U.S.A." goods and save U.S. jobs in the process?