Hoka - Speedgoat 6 GTX

I have and not a great fit unfortunately. Still a little tight in the midfoot. I’m sure they’d break in fine, but wasn’t my glass slipper out of the box lol

I have Hoka Speedgoat 6 GTX for my 10 to 20 km runs and very happy with them.

good eye! Yes. they did well during the race. when I switched to the Speedgoats at mile 50 is when my feat started to hurt. maybe that was the speed goats, maybe it would have happened anyway. I don't know. but my feeet were feeling pretty good for the first 50 in the Mafate X.

I’ve run my last two pairs of Challengers into the ground. Probably a bit too much with my last pair at almost 1,400k! I have had bad “luck” with my previous Speedgoats where the inside of the back of one felt really odd and rubbed against my Achilles loads. No issues with a newer pair. My latest Challengers feel a bit less tight on my feet but maybe I need to change my lacing.  That happening twice to you doesn’t just feel like bad luck though. 

Hoka Challengers are my go-to for most runs. Must be 1,000km into this pair at least.  And Speedgoat 6s for the heavier stuff. Went into the shop to go for something else after a bad experience with the 5s but they were still the best fit of everything I tried. 

I’m on my third pair of Hoka Challengers as they’re great for the majority of what I do, with a pair of Speedgoats for harder terrain. They last pretty well too with my most recent ones going for 1,200k before I retired them and I still use them for walking.  (I’m not a Hoka fanboy but whenever I’ve been into a shop to try new shoes, I’ve still always preferred these ones). 

I have a love/hate relationship with Hoka. I've had two amazing pairs of Challengers and a pair of Speedgoats but I've also had a pair of each I've had to ditch because of severe rubbing on my Achilles. Same size and fit as what I've had before so can't find any reason for it. But I've yet to find shoes I like better than those models.

I use goretex running shoes as my daily walking / running shoes on rainy and snowy days. It used to be Adidas Supernova, which had amazing grip and survived for a long time until the midsole snapped in half. Then Hierro v6 which were super comfy, but started showing wear and tear of the upper after only 6 months. I moved to hoka speedgoats, which are not known for their durability, but I found 2 pairs in price of 1, so I thought a set would last me long enough. Indeed the vibram lugs after 18 months of using mostly on hard surfaces were destroyed on one side. And that may happen in general to trail shoes with big lugs instead of more asphalt oriented outsole. Despite some opinions, their traction on wet or icy asphalt is very good. The only specific situation when they turn into slipgoats is when I come from very low temperature and step on wet concrete like puddles of melted snow in a garage. There is yet another option. Couple of years ago my wife bought herself Reebok Work n Cushion. They were quite comfy, ridicuosly cheap and simple oldschool shoes. There are other brands making shoes for work. Something like Hoka transport, which can have interesting upper with its cordura lining plus the rich midsole.

Ah, thanks. Good additional info there! I tend to keep a few different shoes in my drop bags or with my crew during the really long races. I've found that really high stack shoes (Speegoats, Zegamas for me) work well early in the race, but as my muscles fatigue, my form degrades, and my turnover starts to suffer, I want a little bit less shoe. The big stack shoes make me stumble and trip! When that becomes a problem, I go down to a smaller stack shoe. Like most things shoe related, I think you'll have to experiment a bit. Over the years, I've grown further and further toward using exclusively high stack shoes both training and racing. I've been testing out different stack heights in training more recently, simply to remind myself that other options exist and can work in the right situation. If you feel like your shoes might be holding you back, give a new strategy a try.

I have hoka speedgoat 6s!

The 5’s were my favourite trail runner hands down. Just the right balance between cushioning and stability. The 6 was a disappointment being too stiff. Such a shame.

The 6s are stiff, but they do break in decently. Very stable, not a very exciting shoe, but an absolute workhorse. The grip does wear down a little quicker than I’d like, but it is what it is.

I am using now Hoka speedgoat 6 and they are amazing! I would recommend going to the shop, trying all 3 and just pick up the one the feels most comfortable. All 3 are great options