Well...I did.
Hokas. A relatively new manufacturer from France of deeply soled running shoes that are surprisingly light despite their hulking appearance.
In Maori language, Hoka One One means "time to fly" and many distance runners are drawn to the shoe for their reputed cushioning. Having volunteered at the Leadville Trail 100 trail race for the past 2 years, I admit the popular shoes stumbling through the aid station were Hokas. So, while still recovering from Achilles tendon surgery, I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a pair figuring the additional cushioning would make my nagging tendon happy.
Well, I gasped at the price that added another $160 dollars to my credit card bill. Really? Did I just spend $160 on sneakers? These things better make me fly since I could have bought a round trip ticket to a beach for the same price!
I laced them up for the inaugural run and walked around in the moon boots (yes, anyone from my generation knows what I'm talking about). They did not feel near as clumpy as I anticipated and the best part was I finally became 6 foot tall. And yes, I felt like a little Toyota truck playing dress up wearing Monster Truck Mud Tires.
Anyhow, I hit the trial and anticipated a run similar to bouncing around in a Jumpy Castle. Surprisingly, the engineering of the huge soles simply absorbed jagged trail conditions to the extent where I purposefully stomped on pointed rocks. The soles simply swallowed the rocky spears with no complaining from my feet.
In snow packed conditions, the tread patten provided good traction. Most winter runs I had chained up the Hokas with ICEtrekkers.
These wonderful gadgets deserve a huge plug! Yaxtraks originally made a cheesy, over-the-shoe traction device constructed with delicate threads of rubber wrapped in what appeared to be overstretched springs. Once secured over the shoe, the loopy wire was on the sole to provide traction. Well, I blasted through many pairs and felt the company needed to market them to business people who only needed to walk from their office to their car. They had no business being on trails and I quit buying them. A friend suggested sheet metal screws drilled in my soles-- I elected not to mutilate my feet with such ingenuity. But, I discovered these ICEtrekkers and admit they are worth the money. So far, they have no weak points and the edgy beads threaded on aircraft cable grip and stick when needed and are not felt when cruising across hard surfaces.
Returning back to the Hokas. Blitzing downhill, I really enjoyed the added heel cushion since I'm a major heel striker when the grade hits, and exceeds, a certain angle. (I struggle to understand how mid-foot or toe strikers do it while thundering downhill? I try to experiment with those footfalls and...forget it. I'm destined to forever being a rampaging water buffalo heel striking down the mountain.)
So what's the verdict???? I liked the Hokas, but for the price, I feel as though I should love them.
My all time favorite trail shoe remains the ORIGINAL Salomon XT Wings. Notice I emphasized ORIGINAL? Later models, to say it simply, sucked. Upgrades ended up being downgrades. But, my toes did a happy dance when I noticed Salomon is marketing the XT Hornet which strongly resembles the original XT Wings, and the price is around 20% less than my Hokas.
No disrespect, Hokas, but Hornets are soon to invade. My feet are giddy with excitement at the possible return of the perfect toe box combined with the amazing heel cup.
But, Hokas, thanks for allowing me to break the 6' barrier!
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