Challenger 8

Hoka challenger 8. It's miles above any other gravel shoe out there on the market. Don't buy the speedgoat. Its a trailshoe and the recent ititeration has a very stiff mid. The aggressive lugs will make pavement running uncomfortable as well. 

Seriously. They are amazing.

They are finding out that most people run on manicured single track. I find these gravel shoes excellent for technical trails on my long runs. I haven't found trailshoes that are comfortable for more than 3-4 hours. I recommend the Challenger 8 by Hoka. They are the best gravel shoe on the market. I run 50-150 miles a week.

Generally Hoka Challenger 8 is regarded to be lighter, bouncier, better for mixing in road miles and all-day comfort, less technical, wide-friendly. Brooks Caldera 8 is more of a ultra/trail tank - plush but firmer, ultra-stable, slightly better for more technical stuff. So if your trail is not gonna so technical you might find the challenger better. FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for trail runners. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful [https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/](https://redditrecs.com/trail-running-shoes/) You can get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

I have the cascadia 17 (now retired from my rotation) and the Gel 13 (bought to replace the cascadia’s). I can’t really comment on fit other than to say I went half a size up in both, but I should have gone for my usual size in the Gel13’s as they’re slightly too big. The cascadia is a better shoe. the Gel13 has really terrible grip in the mud. I only use it for dry / non-muddy runs. It’s a fairly average shoe. doesn’t really sparkle. not plush. not sure where it excels, if at all. I prefer my HOKA’s overall (Mafate 5, Mafate X and Challenger 8) but none grip in the wet/mud like the cascadia’s did. The Mafate’s are SUPREMELY comfortable though. its a shame as the Gel 13’s look really really good.

I have the Mafate X (long distance trail racing), Mafate 5 (long distance trail training, muddy trails) and the Challender 8 (dry / light trail / road-to-trail). The first two are SUPREMELY comfortable. The non-plated Mafate 5 would possibly work well for you. it’s high end plush.

I use trail runners for most hikes, and once a pair has either worn down most of its tread or I get a new model that doesn’t fit quite as well but too late to return them I swap those pairs in as daily shoes. Topo Ultraventure 4 and Hoka Challenger 8s are my favorite two pairs. The Topos have a very dark grey that doesn’t look too goofy for daily wear too.

Word of warning on the challengers. Great shoes, but pointy little toebox. I got them in a wide and still got massive blisters on the insides of my big toes. Definitely not an issue for everyone, but if you need a wide toebox, you may have similar issues.

Just beware that wide in most traditional shoes, Hoka included, widens the midfoot without really widening the toebox. I have wide Challengers I was trying out and they're great shoes, but the pointy little toebox just isn't working for me. My two big toes have some pretty awful blisters right now from being pressed in.

I ran 150km in a pair of Hoka Challenger 8 and I found them incredibly comfortable. If your feet like Hokas, you can't go wrong with those.

Unfortunately the 8s now have a different heel:toe drop. :(

Higher. I think it's 8 now if I remember right. Same with Cliftons. How you can change something so significant, yet call it the same model is beyond me.