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Hoka One One Stinson Evo Tarmac review
- Price Paid:$160.00
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User rating:(4.6)
- Would buy again from this company: Yes
- Used product for: 3 months
- # of logged workouts: 12
"I, for one, am drinking the Hoka Kool-aid. These shoes are great for long workouts, and while they might not be for everybody, they certainly helped me. For any run over 10 miles, these are now my go-to shoe."mirthfuldragon
Ease of use
Very comfortable - see details below.
Quality of Construction
It's hard to evaluate a shoe after only a hundred miles, but overall I haven't noticed any degradation.
Fit
My feet are pretty normal - neither wide nor narrow - so the fit was spot on for me. I purchased my usual size 12.
Comfort
These shoes completely transformed my long running, from pain and agony to comfort. Without these shoes, my marathon would have been a horrible experience. The real surprise though is how light they are, and responsive. While they certainly aren't as nimble as my Kinvara 3s, they are by no means clunky or slow. Acceleration is quick and they are great for bombing down hills. Where as my more minimal shoes require some level of action on declines, with these I can simply let gravity help and jog along.
I ran two 20-milers for my marathon training plan in these shoes, and both of them resulted in less than half the soreness and pain as my previous 13- and 15-mile runs in other shoes.
Adjustability
There is a fair amount of ability to lace them tighter or looser, so I think they could adjust to a lot of different types of feet.
Durability
It's hard to evaluate a shoe after only a hundred miles, but overall I haven't noticed any degradation.
Value
Best shoe money I ever spent, period. Without them, I might have had to drop from my marathon.
Appearance
The shoes are, in a word, ugly. There's no way to disguise 2" of sole, and the color pattern is not as sexy or fast-looking as, well, anything by Saucony or Nike. These shoes are not designed to inspire speed or fear in your enemies. Overall, I still like the color scheme, and for a brand establishing itself, I understand why the word "HOKA" is on them in huge letters, but I hope they go to something a little more subtle in future issues.
Performance
Transformed my long runs, end of story. It's like riding on a fast-moving cloud of speed.
Strengths
Cushioning, stable; reduced leg fatigue and foot pain dramatically.
Weakness
Bulky, large; but I never had any problems with stumbling or turning an ankle.
- 19 people use
- 946 workouts logged
- 5594.53 miles / 920.53 hours logged
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Ease of installation
Thinking of "installation" in shoes is pretty odd, but two things jump out: the shoes came with two sets of insoles - a thin set and a thicker set - and two sets of laces - a set of speed laces and traditional laces. I used the thicker insoles and the speed laces. The included options are a pretty nice feature.