Hoka One One - please school me

Personally, I feel like the shoe has less support than your average trainer. Although it feels like it has much more support. By support I am referring mostly to the ability to run on slanted surfaces or to make a tight turn. I find my feet have to work a lot harder in that situation than with say my old NB 1060s.

I have a pair and find this an issue as well. I typically run in the street and with the slight grade in the blacktop for water run off, it feels as though I'm not as 'planted' as I could be.

I'm not 100% sold on mine just yet. I may go back to Saucony in the future.

junr

My right ankle tends to roll in, and it seems to be worse in the Hokas.

I just bought a pair of the Bondi B, first run was a 5k race this past Sunday, I PR'd the 5k (23:58).
Just got home from my second time out on the new Hoka's and my left calf locked up at mile 1.5 and ended up walking home with unsuccessful attempts at stretching and loosening the knot.
Now I know there may be other factors to this issue....
*running facing traffic so left leg was lower into the "pitch" of the road
*cooler out today then its been sometime
*lack of stretching, (though I almost never stretch before running)
but I contribute it to the NEW shoes and the elevated heel, which I feel changed my running style a bit.
I had this issue with another new shoe, I just can't seem to get away from my older running shoes (nike)
The strain is bad enough that I know I won't be able to run for a few days before this heals and loosens.
Anyone wanna buy brand new Hoka Bondi B mens size10.5? (retail $160 sell $100)

What's interesting is I looked up mizuno wave prophecy 2, and it was rated as a Neutral shoe.

The Bondi B is a Neutral rated shoe as well. Basically both of these shoes are not for pronation support.

I normally get support shoes, in the past Saucony Mirage, Asics Adrenaline, etc. But I do enjoy my Bondi B's. I also have the Stinson (Trail) and Bondi Speed models.

Now, the Hoka's are not a support shoe for pronation. If you have weak arches, you will still sink into the foam and your foot will be unsupported.
It just depends on your ability to correct (mid foot strike helps), and how bad your pronation is.

I also believe that the foot does strengthen given proper conditioning, and can over come pronation by combining technique with strength.

Pronation control is a way to control the problem but really does nothing to solve it when you take away the support (ie. bare foot).

Since you are already running in Neutral shoes, the Hoka's should feel ok. Remember the extra cushioning will seem funny at first and you will need to adjust your running style a bit to get used to them.

Overall I love my Hoka's but they are not my sole running shoe. I still use my Mirages, and other shoes when required. The main benefit is protecting my feet from the stresses of running lots of miles, giving me quicker recovery and less trauma.

Because of the construction of the prophecy they are a bit on the minimal support end than a pure neutral shoe. I find I need the support on longer runs > 5 mi. For 5 Ks I wear minimalist shoes as I like the light weight.

I normally would need support on long runs too but for some reason the Hoka's don't bother my poor arches, as a normal shoe would.
I've done IM in them..

Hoka has a 30 (maybe 60) day retun policy. Yes, Hokas are neutral shoes with minimal heel drop. I've been running in my bondi speeds ans stinson evo for over a year. Previously used Asic DS Trainers and Racer, now solely use Hokas.

Are you use to running in a low drop shoe. If not racing s 5k as your first run ever in them might be the problem. I slowly built up mileage in my Hoka's because I was not use to running in low drop shoes and just going balls to the wall in them right out of the box you are asking for achilles or calf problems.

I will look into the return policy option.
I have been running and training in my Nike Lunarglide 3 for about 2 years now. This is the third time I have bought and tried a new pair of shoes to replace them, thinking I found "The Pair", only to have the same calf lock up. I even bought the Lunarglide 4 and they were not as comfortable or supportive as the 3's, (4 has a little less cushion at the front of the shoe then the 3, and my left foot was able to feel the difference)
The 5k race felt great PR'd and no issues or pain. Went for a casual training run 3 days after race (yesterday) and the calf locked up. I am sure its not just the shoes that caused the problem, but its kinda odd that this happens when I try a new pair of shoes. Guess I will have to run my Lunarglides until they fall apart.
Calf feeling a little better today and hopefully a nice little country run up in Cooperstown this weekend.
Boomer