Rocket X Trail

Thank you for the review! I bought these for Kodiak after my speedgoats needed to be replaced. I've seen mixed reviews but the rockets seem like they, at least, wont be a mitigating factor.

You need to be more specific, Hoka shoes either perform shit or they are amazing Shit: Clifton 9 Amazing: Cielo X1 3.0 / Rocket X Trail But all of them are less durable than they should: sole delaminating, hoka lettering pealing off, foam just dying after 400km

Oh I'm not saying the Clifton's are unreliable, I'm saying I think they are a shit shoe 🤣 they are not nearly as soft as they look, they are not really responsive, the only thing going for them is they look pretty. Bear in mind that I have 4 pairs of Hoka's in rotation right now (Tecton X3, Mach 6, Mafate 5 and Cielo X1 3.0) I am just very polarized when it comes to their shoes and boy did I hate the Clifton 9. As a rule of thumb if it is a regular CMEVA midsole AVOID AVOID AVOID, if its a critical EVA midsole you're in for a coin toss on how the shoes are, if it is PEBA you're usually good.

Bought from a reputable source in my region (Belgium), a cheap shoe like the Clifton is not really sold fake over here... I went to check on RunRepeat and they also measures the midsole softness at 40.5AC, one of the firmer shoes they've tested. They literally have 100+ shoes listed that are softer 🤷 If you like the Clifton, fine by me... I don't. I've been mostly running in the Megablast which I guess is a very premium experience compared to everything out there but I've had tons of softer shoes than the Clifton in the same price range as well, Novablast, NB Rebel, Vomero,...

I've checked and the place I bought them from are a recommended seller from the Hoka website themselves. I have friends who disliked the Clifton 9 (back in 2024). I have friends who liked it as a somewhat responsive daily trainer, not as a soft shoe. I disliked it compared to my Pegasus 38 (back in 2024). Durometer measurement is a durometer measurement. Except for marketing and a general mindset about Hoka's being soft with the general population (mostly non-runners) there is nothing actually backing up the fact that they are soft. I grant that back in 2024 shoes were firmer overal but you're even comparing it to a Vomero 18 and saying it was equal or better which is just 🤷 Edit: I also can't go re-try new Clifton 9's today obviously, but I have 4 pairs of Hoka in my current rotation that are way softer than the Clifton 9 was (both in independent testing and my perception). My current shoe rotation is 13 shoes (which is a whole other discussion), I have a big frame of reference, I know what I'm talking about, a shoe measured as firm (40.5 AC) doesn't magically feel soft... Edit 2: you only run 750km/yearly? Why do I even bother...

You used a couple of toxic words in there that I did not. Inexperienced /= unworthy my argument is that softness is not an opinion 40.5 AC shore hardness = very firm in 2026 = average in 2024 I had an opinion -> your friend disagreed and stated that I must have had a fake pair and thus based my opinion on an incorrect observation -> I further informed that when leaving out opinions a durometer measurement states that the shoe uses a firm midsole foam (sure lets call it average in its time) -> your friend keeps insisting it is a soft shoe even compared to a quite soft shoe in 2026 -> 🤷 I throw my hands up in desperation because you cant counter a measurement with an opinion and further conclude that someone wearing down 1 pair of running shoes a year might not be the most experienced shoe reviewer. It was a widely popular mainstream shoe, it was marketed and known as a soft shoe, it was on the other hand actually rather firm (see independent data), I was disappointed and annoyed when I bought it and shared this experience in a thread about Hoka build quality. I am amazed by the blind loyalty to one specific model shoe from years ago 🤣

Second pair of Hoka Rocket X Trail.

A really fun shoe. Actually won a race back in August in version 1.

Look at the width of the base of the shoe. That thing is going to be perfectly stable for anyone that has an ounce of skill. Looks like a pretty damn good 50/100mile shoe for everything except hella muddy terrain.

It's not for technical trails at all, but pops at fast paces on packed dirt and gravel. Lugs are small so they can't handle mud that well. A solid shoe for a non technical half marathon or shorter race.

You also need to be on the lighter side. I'm 180 and bottomed out the plate at faster paces. I need a stiffer plate for this to work for me. Side note I test shoes for Hoka..so I had a fair amount of miles on them.

Yeah I really miss the era of profly dual foam (Mach 4, mafate 4). I did just get a pair of rocket X trail in the mail today, very excited to test them out. Loved the tecton X 3 too. Their premium shoes are phenomenal, their “standard” stuff has been “eh” lately. My main gripe is the cheap midsole foam. Starts out so plush but dies so quickly.

If it's light trail, and some road, then for Hoka the Rocket X Trail would be ideal, better than the Speedgoat and better than the Tecton X3