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Since I began sporting HOKA’s regularly over time, lots of you have got requested “what do you suppose?” or “I’ve been contemplating them, ought to I?” “Are you able to clarify the distinction in Hoka Bondi vs Clifton??” Having run in TONS of various fashions since 2012, I’ve a lot to say about how these sneakers match and really feel!
Every year, we check out the brand new Hoka fashions and put in sufficient miles to have strong suggestions on really feel, match and whether or not I’ll be shelling out cash for an additional pair.
Initially this was a straight overview of the Hoka Clifton as a result of that was the one shoe. However as they’ve expanded over time, so have the fashions I’ve examined.
Right here I hope to assist breakdown the variations and allow you to discover the correct choice for operating. Specifically, we’re going to concentrate on a HOKA Clifton vs Bondi in match, really feel and performance. Theses are two of their hottest sneakers and for good cause!
Hoka Working Sneakers Comparability Chart
Switching trainers is a TERRIFYING prospect, however I used to be in want of a change. My knees had been aching for months and my chiropractor had began to level out how my foot was rolling in fairly exhausting on my previous sneakers.
Sooo the concept of some further midfoot cushion and just a little extra assist seemed like a great factor for long-distance operating, however would I actually like them?
They have been so large!! They have been so completely different!
Maximal trainers vs minimalist sneakers is an entire matter that required a selected put up, so learn that to determine if it’s best for you. All HOKA sneakers are maximal, that means they’ve a excessive stack top. Which isn’t the identical as a giant heel to toe drop.
Right here we’re exploring a few of the completely different fashions of Hoka trainers. What are the very best HOKA trainers? That’s going to rely in your preferences, so let’s evaluate that can assist you determine.
👉I’ve finished a deep dive in one other article on all HOKA Working shoe fashions, offering extra particulars on every that can assist you select, however right here’s a fast define.
Linked under to further detailed critiques.
- Hoka Clifton 10 (impartial cushion)
- Hoka Bondi 9 (impartial plush cushion)
- Hoka Mach 6 (impartial responsive cushion — most likely my favourite street shoe from them proper now)
- Hoka Speedgoat 6 (impartial path)
- Hoka Challenger ATR (responsive path shoe)
- Hoka Arahi (stability shoe)
- Hoka Gaviota (most cushioned stability shoe)
- Hoka Cielo X2 (their greatest carbon plate race shoe)
- Hoka Rocket X3 (impartial carbon fiber racing shoe)
- Hoka Skyward X (carbon plate shoe for the center and again of pack!)
👉Bonus: I’ve finished a separate put up on Greatest Hoka Sneakers for Strolling and Standing at Work>>
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Midpack Carbon Plated Shoe |
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9.8 oz males’s 8.0 oz ladies’s |
10.5 oz males’s 9.3 oz ladies’s |
8.2 oz males’s 6.8 oz ladies’s |
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Following are some things that I might say throughout every shoe, so saving time right here by saying it as soon as.
Stability
Whereas I DO NOT suggest stability sneakers for many runners, the Hoka is designed to offer some base degree stability because of the broader platform of the midsole. It is a nice approach to get the advantages with out altering your stride or hiding the truth that you have got weak muscle tissues.
That is going to use to all of their sneakers and my desire over choosing an ordinary stability shoe for overpronation.
Maximal Shoe
Stack top is how we check with the dimensions of the outsole and what’s subsequently outlined as a maximal shoe of 30mm to 50mm.
I did separate detailed put up evaluating maximal and minimal, however for now here’s what HOKA has to say about their sneakers:
“most cushioning materials is designed for glorious shock absorption and an inherently steady journey.”
Prolonged Heel
Chances are you’ll discover that most of the HOKA’s have an exaggerated heel of the soles…some actually large and a few simply barely noticeable. Having examined out a few of the greatest and a few on the extra regular facet, I can say that I don’t LOVE the actually large heels.
However they do have a function.
By means of testing they discovered that extension helped with getting the foot to roll ahead extra shortly.
It reduces points from heel hanging and quickens the motion of the foot. You’ll typically see this known as an early-stage meta-rocker.
Substitute
The usual saying is substitute your sneakers each 500 miles and these sneakers are the identical. The sturdiness has been actually nice, as famous I’ve been via a lot of pairs and by no means had one which I felt wanted to be tossed early because of something coming aside or feeling worn out.
No matter you have got discovered to be your candy spot up to now might be roughly the identical right here. I.e. bigger runners, large males, and so forth typically discover they should substitute sneakers faster because of breakdown, others discover that extra treadmill runs means perhaps their sneakers are good for 800 miles.
Hoka Clifton Overview
Like most runners upon seeing the dimensions of the Clifton I assumed it might be heavy or clunky.
In actual fact, they have been so gentle I used to be completely shocked.
And once I tried to return to my previous sneakers they felt like rocks. I’ve now run within the Hoka Clifton 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The ten is a departure from the previous as a result of it strikes as much as an 8mm heel drop the place all the pieces else has been 5mm. For us the added cushion, additionally felt like an improve from the firmer really feel of the Clifton 9. That being mentioned a few of you’ll wish to top off on the 9 since you desire that drop and reasonable cushion.
See our full Hoka Clifton 10 overview
The Clifton is a Hoka impartial operating shoe, balanced cushion, with a great padded collar and tongue.
The Clifton shouldn’t be their softest shoe (that’s the Bondi), however it’s completely a cushioned shoe with their normal eva foam midsole. However with every mannequin the Clifton is getting nearer to the Bondi and now it’s additionally labeled as their most cushioned sort of shoe.
As we grow old that further cushion would possibly simply really feel higher as a result of we really lose from the fats pads in our ft.
Checkout the most recent Clifton >>
Utilization
So far I’ve worn the completely different fashions for all the pieces from a velocity day to a half marathon. In reality, they aren’t your best option for velocity, however they felt good.
Match
Match is the one factor that bothered me just a little in early fashions, as I’ve a extra slender foot and so typically my foot felt a bit prefer it was too small for the shoe. This appears to have modified over time because the refined the final of the shoe.
Now the midfoot feels very common (not slender and never overly huge). I do love the toebox offering loads of room for the foot to maneuver despite the fact that this isn’t a large toe field operating shoe.
- I put on the identical measurement 11 as in all different trainers
- Suits a wider foot (I do have a extra slender foot and don’t discover that my foot strikes round an excessive amount of)
- Toebox shouldn’t be as huge as an Altra, however wider than many different manufacturers
The Clifton 8 doesn’t really feel as large because of the quantity of cushion across the tongue and reminiscence foam collar.
Specs
Clifton 10
- Weight: 9.8 oz males’s, 8.0 oz ladies’s
- Heel Drop: 8 mm
- Stack: 42 mm
- Accessible in Large (and further huge in males’s)
- Accessible in 7 Colours
- Discover it on Hoka.com for $150
For those who’ve been sporting a shoe with a bigger heel drop chances are you’ll discover extra of a distinction within the muscle tissues which can be activated in your ankles and ft. Although that distinction is now much less essential at 8mm than it was at 5mm for these of you coming from a 12mm drop (a really normal old-fashioned shoe function).
My private desire is in direction of much less of a heel drop as I believe it will get our foot in higher alignment, it additionally mimics the concept of a minimal shoe, however with the cushion!
Clifton authentic in pink and Clifton 2 in purple.
Hoka One One Bondi Overview
As famous the Bondi and Clifton have gotten extra related with every passing yr and YET it’s nonetheless a noticeable distinction within the two.
Whereas the stack heights are nearly the identical the texture and weight are simply sufficient completely different that it places the Bondi clearly within the softer cushion class. I’ve typically described it because the plushest operating shoe I’ve ever examined.
Even with most of the large stack and bouncy sneakers available on the market now, I nonetheless discover this one to have that quick AHHH sensation when stepping in to it.
Learn our full Hoka Bondi 9 overview
One other occasion the place seems are deceiving. They aren’t a heavy shoe.
That being mentioned, they aren’t a shoe to select up the tempo both. As an alternative these might carry you thru lengthy runs and lots of straightforward miles for restoration. We’ve additionally discovered a few of our heavier runners like them as a result of the quantity of froth accessible to compress leaves them with a very nice feeling underfoot and with out one thing too clunky.
A brilliant cushioned shoe FEELS wonderful. However runners must be conscious that on very lengthy runs with a brilliant plush shoe, it’s not unusual to start out having decrease again ache whereas operating. It is because we begin to sink just a little in to the shoe.
Match
These sneakers felt fabulous because of the massive quantity of cushion and but not too heavy for a pleasant future both.
Whereas they’re additionally listed as a impartial shoe, I used to be thrilled to see my foot didn’t drop in a single bit once I put them on which is frequent in different sneakers. One other instance of how their sneakers have some pure assist because of the greater platform.
- Match is just a little slender however it does are available in huge and further huge
- Similar to Clifton, simply the change in cushioning
- Good room within the toebox
Specs
Bondi 9
- Weight: 10.5 oz Males’s, 9.3 oz Girls’s
- Heel Drop: 5 mm
- Stack Top: 43mm
- Utilization: Max cushion day by day coach
- Accessible in 6 colours
- Accessible in huge and further huge (in restricted colours)
- Accessible on Hoka.com for $170
Making it a barely heavier shoe than the Clifton, however once more completely fantastic for these straightforward days.
Lifespan might be identical because the Clifton, although if the cushion begins to breakdown you’ll discover it extra shortly in your kind.
Hoka Clifton vs Bondi
Attempting to determine between these two fashions? There are a a couple of large methods by which they’re completely different, so it’s going to rely upon what you favor in a shoe.
Hopefully the preliminary particulars above gave you some issues to consider with these street sneakers. However for a straight facet by facet comparability of Bondi vs Clifton, right here’s what I’ve discovered over testing many fashions.
- Each are a impartial operating shoe.
- In each the lads’s has a barely larger stack top.
- Bondi has the next stack top than the Clifton, by 1mm
- Clifton is the lighter shoe by a few oz, which might make it a greater race day shoe for the center of the pack.
- Clifton looks like a reasonable cushion that may choose up the velocity to marathon tempo (once more for the mid and again of the pack)
- I desire the Mach over the Clifton for both velocity or day by day coaching as a result of it’s not fairly so agency.
- The Bondi is a MUCH plusher really feel. You received’t query if it’s a cushioned shoe.
- Bondi is nice for restoration runs or if you end up beginning to run and the joints want just a little further cushion as they alter.
- Clifton is nice for lengthy runs, straightforward runs. It’s just a little bit extra of a flexible throughout operating shoe.
- Skyward X is a bouncier model of the Bondi with a plate for race day for the mid and again of the pack.
As famous we’ve been evaluating these for a few years, so right here’s a glance again at some previous Hoka Vs Bondi.
Questioning how HOKA stacks up towards different conventional trainers?
Checkout these match ups:
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This isn’t a sponsored put up, although I’ve acquired Hoka’s free over time for testing.
