I’m still pissed that the Mafate evo 2 was discontinued. My absolute favourite running shoe without an argument. The speed 3 and speed 4 just don’t have the same feel nor do speedgoats
I've got the Hoka Mafate Speed 3's (which I need to replace) and I find they are better for running downhill than any other shoe I tried, because when I descend I land on my forefoot, and all other shoes thin out too much towards the front (including my Speedgoats). The Mafate Speed 3's, by contrast, maintain their cushioning thickness all the way to the front.
You can see this clearly when viewing reviews that cut the shoes in half lengthwise. For instance, here's a typical thickly cushioned trail shoe, with a measured 33.1 forefoot thickness. In spite of the thickness, note how much it thins out towards the front:
[https://runrepeat.com/new-balance-fresh-foam-x-hierro-v9](https://runrepeat.com/new-balance-fresh-foam-x-hierro-v9)
Compare that with the midsole profile of the MafateThree2 (couldn't find a review on this site of my Mafate Speed 3). Even though its measured forefoot thickness is less (31.7 mm), it effectively offers much thicker forefoot cushioning because it doesn't taper out as quickly towards the front:
[https://runrepeat.com/hoka-mafate-three2](https://runrepeat.com/hoka-mafate-three2)
Also, their 4 mm drop is about the most I can handle for descents. Anything higher means I feel like I'm running downhill in high heels. Plus, for a given amount of heel cushion, more drop means less thickness up front.
I was thus dismayed to find that the Mafate now has an 8 mm drop, which I expect will make it unusable for me (unless I can cut a foam or gel insole in half and put the front half under the existing insole—though I've tried that with a few other shoes and it never feels right).
My speedgoat 5 pairs (I have had 4 x pairs in total) got about 500-600km each before they felt bad. I then switched to Mafate 4, and those got about the same for me. I'm now pretty fed up with the durability myself, although I really like the cushion in the new Mafate 6 shoes, so I got myself one pair which I'm conserving for the next big distance event I do.
But otherwise I've been happy with my Tomir 2.0 shoes. Only have one pair and its got maybe 500km on it, but still going strong. Not as much cushion as the hokas, but my feet seem fairly happy in them.
You are absolutely bonkers. I have the utmost respect for finishing in those!
Mafate is a good shoe but hokas are too narrow for me and give me blisters unfortunately
I did it two years ago, I know the course has changed somewhat since then but I think is similar. I wore the Hoka Tecton X2 because it has decent tread for the more technical trail sections but didn’t feel as aggressive as the Mafate Speeds. You could try the Hoka Challenger as it’s supposed to be more of a road to trail shoe.
I’m slow AF but I really like the Hoka Tecton Xs! I wore v2 for my 100K last year (switched out to the Mafates at mile 37 for more cushioning) and have worn v3 for a 50K and 60K in the last 6 months. I feel like they’ve got good tread that seems to be more durable than say, the Speedgoat, and I really like the built in gaiter in v3 so I don’t have to dump rocks and sand out my shoes. I plan to wear them for at least some of my upcoming 125 miler but I’m looking for a more cushioned option to switch into for later miles.
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
AntiqueTruth
