HOKA ONE ONE Huaka Review

I’ll kick off this review by saying the Hoka Huaka’s were the first shoe I ever really wanted to try. You go to any organized run and you see them around and at first you probably made fun of them, but then you got curious. Then you saw big name athletes wearing them and then more and more trail runners and all you could think was, what am I missing? I mean they just look like they are over cushioned pillows that are better as lifts than running shoes, right? If you thought this, then you’d be totally and entirely wrong…

WHAT’S THE DEAL

I’ll give you the marketing pitch first before I get into the real running portion of this which you are waiting for where things start to shine. First, the shoes are designed to be super lightweight weighing it at under 10oz and this leads to an almost non-existent outer feel. I would liken it to something like a second skin. There are no seams at all and it maintains solid foot contact throughout. You do not feel like you are swimming around it, its a great fit and if you think its narrow at all at first, then I suggest you just start running in them. Your foot will expand in it really well. They also come with two lacing styles, a speed lace like Salomon uses and then a normal set of laces. Both work well, but I find the speed laces loosen up on long runs and they don’t have a nice little lace storage pocket. The speed lace makes it easy enough to reach down and tighten up.

ROAD OR TRAIL

The Huaka is a hybrid shoe and so they needed to be tested in both areas and so they got the treatment. I will say I did find a bit of a failing here as in wet weather and mud I did notice a good amount of slip in them. In the future, I am hoping to test out their Mafate or Stinson models where the traction design is a bit different and see how they do. In general weather, they were great though and functioned perfectly on road and trail equally. They are most definitely not water resistant, something to keep in mind.

HOW DO THEY LOOK

The version tested was the lime pair and I think its pretty simple, almost mellow. The color selections aren’t as strong as some of Hoka’s other lines, but I am sure this is a work in progress. I can say I really don’t enjoy the lighter colors like white or silver as they show a lot of dirt, but to each their own. The lime and the black/citrus are my favorite combos. All your issues with the large and “pillowy” footbed will be gone after you use them a few times. People will take notice for the same reasons you used to, I would say more curious than anything so it leads to interesting discussions.

TESTING THEM OUT

Now to to the good stuff, the actual performance of the Huakas. When I first laced up I wasn’t sure about them. For my first two runs, I wasn’t sure about them. I then started noticing something interesting in that they have logged more miles than anything else I have tested. I am not sure if its a subconscious pre-disposition to pick these when I am headed out the door or if I tend to run further in them, but either way they are in the lead in the lineup right now.

The 5-10K Range

The first few low mileage runs were easy and I say this as someone who typically feels every mile. I wasn’t sold though so I pushed harder and further and they didn’t fight it at all. Hoka actually has track athletes on their team which I thought was so odd at first for a company focused on maximum cushion, but after running in these I totally get it. They do not hit back and you can push them really hard when you want, plus they maintain really well. I found it easy because I did not need to focus on form or pace. When I look at heart-rate as well I see the same effect, no real change over the whole run, very consistent once I got into my pace. This means the longer runs should go well, right?

Half-Marathon and Beyond

The answer is yes, longer runs felt better. Of all the shoes, only a couple felt truly comfortable at distance and the Huaka was definitely one. And it wasn’t just comfort, they maintained over the course of the run. Any sense of sore knees, achilles issues, etc all were relegated to the back burner during the run. Running 13+ miles felt very similar to running a 10k and this is really where I feel they shine. I’m giving them a new tagline right now, “You CAN Go Further” simply because it fits so well. My only real knock is the speed lacing system giving in a few times, but thats minor and they provide regular laces so you can easily switch.