- [Reviewer] Morning, Trainiacs.
This is probably the most anticipated,
most requested shoe review that I've ever done.
This is the Hoka One One Carbon X.
I've probably put in about 50 kilometers,
somewhere around 30 miles.
Fast stuff, long stuff, slow stuff, easy stuff,
little bit of off-road stuff,
I know a lot about this.
I don't mind it,
but it might not be everything
that everyone's expecting it to be.
We're gonna get into all that today.
(upbeat music)
- [Reviewer] So all right,
this is the Hoka One One Carbon X shoe.
This is like Hoka's answer
to the Nike VaporFly Flyknit 4%.
This is supposed to be the fast, the carbon enhanced,
the extra springy racing flat.
It's 8.8 ounces so it's not terribly light
but it's also not terribly heavy.
It's kind of in like a daily light-ish sorta trainer weight.
It is a 35 millimeter heel,
a 30 millimeter forefoot,
so a 5 millimeter heel to toe drop.
It's also fairly stiff,
basically just like the stiffness
of what you'd see in the VaporFly 4%,
so the idea of this is that you're going to get a shoe
that that stiffness ends up creating tension and boom,
springing you forward.
Now the nice thing about this shoe over this shoe,
is that the,
let's even say like the Next% is upwards of 300 dollars US.
Whereas, this Hoka One One Carbon X is only 180 dollars.
So that's the reason I've been getting so many people saying
"Hey can you do a review on the Hoka Carbon X?
I would like to save myself a 100, 120 dollars
and get that same performance."
Unfortunately, that's not exactly what happens.
So with the 4% what I found is that there is a very very
significant focus on getting up on the mid or the forefoot,
loading up a fair bit of tension into that foot and boom,
springing you forward.
You feel very very snappy.
You feel like your feet are just popping
right off the ground.
Whereas, with this, with the Hoka One One Carbon X,
you don't have that same real significant pop.
That load up that you theoretically should have here
to shoot yourself forward,
it doesn't have that same,
really like jaw-dropping kind of effect.
Is it fast though? Yes, it's absolutely fast!
So, there's a workout that I do
about once a week in the final six weeks before a race
to really work on that top end speed.
And it's a series of four minute or better kilometers
with a small bit of rest in between.
Now, with this shoe I can get up to 345,
350 kilometer if I'm really really working at it.
With this it was probably about
three to five seconds slower,
and by the end of it I wasn't as fresh.
The theory of this VaporFly 4% is that the combination
of the carbon plate with the Zoom X foam
is that it really stabilizes your ankle
so that you get that snap
and it isn't with a lot of shimmying in the foot.
With this I didn't really feel that
because while I was able to treat this like a racing flat,
where I was able to get up on my toes,
it was nice and light,
it didn't have that same sort of ability to stay fresh
at the end of a really fast workout.
So by the time I did,
I think my fifth, sixth one kilometer repeat,
I was really starting to feel it on this.
And does that mean that I dislike this shoe?
No, I actually, I really like it.
And I would actually say that for most people
this shoe is probably going to work a lot better.
Now I think that's the case for a few reasons.
Number one is that it's a lot broader.
So just walking around in it,
if you were to use this as a casual shoe,
if you were to use this as a... just a daily training shoe,
this is going to work better than this,
whereas this is exclusively meant
for running fast for very long distances.
This is also just more comfortable to be in.
It's got a roomier toe box
so if you are somebody that has a little bit of like
broad feet and you need your toes to splay,
this is going to work out a little bit better.
As far as coolness this is constricted a little bit more
than what you might expect for a lot of racing flats.
But the tongue is like medium thickness,
it's appropriately thick,
not so thick that it's going to bunch up and get in the way
but not so thin that it's essentially nonexistent.
If you're looking at using this for a race,
you've got that nice loop on the back so that you can
(makes popping sound)
pop the shoe on really easily.
Combine that with some speed laces or some elastic laces,
and the tongue in this,
is nicely, like it's stitched in,
and elastic so that it'll stretch a ton
and you'll be able to get your foot in there really easily.
It's also fairly smooth on the inside
so while I wouldn't go barefoot in this
for a half Ironman or an Ironman,
if you were using this for a sprinter in Olympic
I think you'd do pretty well.
Related to that,
I also don't think that this shoe's meat and potatoes,
the forte of this shoe is the long distance stuff.
So I used this for a 22 kilometer long run.
Normally, if I'm using this shoe
for that 22 kilometer long run,
I'm going to be fairly fresh at the end of it.
But in the case of this shoe
because it's not exclusively designed to be that long,
fast shoe that stabilizes the ankle,
I found my body was just a little more beat up
towards the end of this.
So where this shoe really slots in is,
if you want a fast shoe,
if you want a shoe that also is good for your recovery runs,
good for your speed workout,
good for your general runs,
it's gonna be good.
Also if you are an athlete
that's looking for a very fast shoe
and let's say you weigh more than 190 pounds,
whereas under 190 pounds and close to that
five and a half minute kilometer mark or faster,
this works really really well.
But if you're going for an Ironman, a half Ironman,
any sort of race where you're
five and a half minutes per kilometer or slower,
or you're more of a clydesdale athlete
where you're 190 pounds or higher,
I think this is going to end up being a better shoe for you.
So, I think that this shoe,
because of its price point,
because of its nice stability,
it's probably going to appeal to a lot more people
than the VaporFly 4% or the Next%.
But is it as fast? Is it as twitchy?
Is it as, like, crazily designed to go as fast as possible,
scientifically proven, yada yada yada?
No. Is it a good shoe? Yes.
And I would probably recommend this to more people
than I would recommend this to.
So if you're looking for that fast shoe,
if you're looking for a better all around shoe?
Absolutely! Give this a shot, it's not so expensive
that it's prohibitive to try,
but if you've had good success with the Nike 4%
or the Next% in the past,
don't expect this to be just a cheaper version
to get the same result.
And we haven't done one of these in a while,
what, like, how many Trainiac smiling faces
do I think this is
where zero is like don't even bother trying it
and five is everyone should give it a shot?
I'd probably say that this one is like a...
(truck humming in background)
Pick up the garbage and go away.
I'd probably put this one at a four maybe a five.
I think I'd put this at a three because it was a great shoe
but not everyone can afford it,
not everyone will perform well.
I think everyone will be happy that they made this purchase
and it's much more budget friendly
and frankly I think a better, all around shoe.
So give it a shot!
Now, we have lots of shoe reviews coming up.
We have the Next%, the big brother to this,
the next generation.
We have the Hoka One One Rincon,
the Hoka One One Clifton 6.
The Nike Vapor Zoom Fly 3,
kind of the everyday trainer to the Nike 4%.
We have a pair of Nike Next%s coming in very soon
so if you aren't already subscribed
and you like shoe reviews for triathletes,
hit that subscribe button below.
Later, Trainiacs.