The Hoka One One Speedgoat 5 is a cushioned path working shoe that excels for climbing and working on reasonable terrain and hard-packed trails. It has a reasonable cushion and a flared outsole, offering good shock absorption and balanced consolation with a responsive toe-off. A stack peak of 4 mm makes them simpler to transition to than a full zero drop path runner, whereas nonetheless offering the identical advantages together with a extra pure gait and higher impression dispersion. Available in non-waterproof lows (reviewed right here), waterproof lows, and waterproof mids, together with huge sizes, they’ve a reasonably huge toe field that lets your toes unfold out and loosen up together with mesh uppers to assist preserve your toes cooler and drier.
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Specs at a look
- Gender: Men’s (Women’s additionally out there)
- Weight: 8.5 oz (ladies’s), 10.3 oz (males’s)
- Heel Drop: 4 mm
- Heel Stack Height: 33 mm
- Forefoot Stack Height: 27 mm
- Midsole: EVA
- Outsole: Vibram MegaGrip w/ 5 mm Traction lugs
- Rock Plate: No
- Width: Regular & Wide
- Variations: Low. GTX Low (Gore-Tex), GTX Mid. GTX Spike
- Weight (pair): 1 lb 4.6 oz
Trail Feel
The Hoka One One Speedgoat 5 is a reasonably cushioned path working shoe constructed for overlaying lengthy distances comfortably. The Speedgoat’s most spectacular function is its Vibram MegaGrip rubber outsole with 5 mm lugs that grip any floor, regardless of how moist or unfastened. That, paired with Hoka’s signature midsole padding, makes it a perfect shoe for lengthy hikes or runs over rugged trails, with just a little pavement thrown in for good measure.
The Speedgoat 5’s are a really energetic shoe that’s fairly actually formed to maintain you in your toes, with a sloped forefoot that appears to propel the foot ahead as weight is shifted from heel to toe. This extra rocker creates the sensation of getting just a little additional spring in every step.
The toe field is huge sufficient to completely splay your toes, though nowhere as huge as within the Altra Lone Reach 7, which I’ve additionally been utilizing this yr. Out of the field, the Speedgoat 5 seems additional lengthy, however I believe that’s an optical phantasm created by the shoe’s design as a result of fit-wise they’re completely true to measurement and there’s no telltale creasing on the toebox to point that they’re truly too lengthy.
One new function within the Speedgoat 5 is an prolonged heel tab in the back of the shoe, which is designed to make them simpler to take off. Unfortunately, it may possibly intrude with gaiter match as a result of it stands out a lot. This is a priority for hikers who kick up a variety of particles after they stroll and profit be sporting a gaiter to dam it from getting into the shoe. A gusseted tongue helps block a few of the particles, however Speedgoats don’t even have a gaiter lure on the heel for holding a gaiter on just like the Altra Lone Peaks.
Stability
The subsequent factor that you just’ll discover in regards to the Speedgoat 5 is how tall the platform feels. With 33 mm under the heel and 27 mm below the toe, they’re not as secure as path runners with a decrease stack peak, which may have penalties when you suppose you’re susceptible to ankle rolling. This is especially true when you hike or run on extra technical trails, particularly these with plenty of rocks and roots. While the flared outsoles assist enhance stability, I believe you’ll discover that the Speedgoat is greatest used on hard-packed trails that don’t have a variety of obstructions or twists and turns except you think about placements that require wanting down on the bottom greater than wanting up.
For instance, the Speedgoats will likely be effective for climbing on fashionable long-distance or native trails, but when you must do a variety of scrambling by means of boulders and over rocks and roots, in different phrases climbing, you’d be a lot better off with a shoe that has a decrease stack peak and fewer sole flare. The lugs smear properly on rock, the flared sides of the Speedgoats sole are inclined to buckle when you attempt to depend on them for edging. It’s like attempting to put on snowshoes whereas mountaineering with out the snow. A extra technical shoe just like the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II and even the Altra Lone Peak 7 will do a a lot better job in one of these terrain however don’t have practically the identical diploma of cushion.
Protection
As a path runner, you will need to have a shoe that’s going to guard the bottoms of your toes from what lies underfoot, but in addition have a breathable higher that enables your toes to ventilate whereas additionally protecting out particulates of mud, sand, and grit that may wreak havoc in your socks.
The Speedgoat 5 does each. The finely pored breathable mesh of the higher does an amazing job of protecting your toes cooler whereas stopping sand and grit from getting into the present. Drainage can be wonderful for these occasions particularly in spring when you’ll be able to’t keep away from slogging by means of mud or stream crossings stuffed with turbid snowmelt. This is an enormous deal since many mesh path runners fail miserably on this dimension, particularly in sandy desert terrain.
The lack of a rock plate within the forefoot is far much less of a problem than in a much less padded shoe. Forefoot impacts are usually not a problem within the Speedgoat when you’re a hiker. There’s additionally a well-padded rubber toe kick in entrance of the toes, though I want it prolonged additional down the edges of the toe field for extra safety. This is extra of a problem in additional technical rocky terrain although.
Traction
This is the place the Speedgoat 5 shines. Vibram’s MegaGrip outsoles, and the multi-directional 5 mm lugs, present wonderful grip on spring snow and even moist rock. The key to their success is how gentle the rubber is. Just utilizing one or two fingers, I can flex the lugs round with barely any effort. This gentle rubber is vital to offering traction, notably on moist surfaces, just like the softer rubber utilized in snow and all-weather automobile tires. While I’ve used different path runners that use the identical Vibram MegaGrip outsoles, I’ve been notably impressed on the lugs on the Speedgoat. They’re nonetheless not fairly as sticky as La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II or any of La Sportiva’s different path runners which excel in rocky and technical terrain, however they’re nonetheless fairly spectacular.
Durability
The Speedgoats are designed to run or stroll over the exhausting sand and gravel that makes up a lot of the trails utilized by hikers and path runners. So far, I’ve been fairly impressed with the shoe’s sturdiness. The outsole has proven little or no put on and the higher mesh doesn’t present any abrasion alongside the edges of the toe field the place my different path runners usually fail first. While I like the path really feel of Saucony’s path runners, just like the Peregrine 13, for instance, I’m fortunate if I get 100 miles out of mesh uppers earlier than holes seem alongside the edges of the toe field.
Recommendation
Hoka One One’s Speedgoat 5 Trail Runners are excellent if you’re somebody who’s trying to hike many miles on exhausting compacted trails and desires to really feel assured of their footing mile after mile. Tons of midsole padding, a tightly woven higher that retains the grit out, and an outsole that will make Spider-Man proud, make these footwear a major contender on the planet of long-distance climbing and path working. They may be a bit overkill for working on rail trails or different graded paths, and are usually not preferrred for nimble rock hopping, however they may definitely preserve your toes and knees happier on lengthy hikes and backpacking journeys.
Another good thing about the Speedgoat 5 is that they arrive in Gore-Tex (Speedgoat 5 GTX) for these of you who actually despise moist toes. Though this model weighs about 1.2 oz greater than the usual choice, with a pair of light-weight gators, these footwear could be an amazing choice for hikers preferring lighter and extra responsive footwear for his or her day hikes.
Disclosure: The writer owns these footwear.
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Last up to date: 2023-03-24 11:01:59
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