����vlog

- The Challenger is Hoka's most popular road to trail shoe. The Hoka Challenger gets a massive update in its seventh version. We're seeing really big updates on the upper, the mid sole, and the out sole. For inspiration, Hoka actually looked at gravel bike tires. If you're wondering why, it's because gravel bike tires need to handle a whole bunch of different terrain: road, pavement, dirt, mud, and of course, gravel. The Hoka Challenger needs to do the same. This is the shoe that you should be able to take from your door to the trail head and back again, and if you flip the shoe over, you'll see that it does look a little bit like a bike tire. (upbeat techno music) The angular, more square-ish slugs on the out sole are gonna help you grip uneven terrain, and then the more exposed triangles of foam are gonna ensure that this shoe continues to roll smoothly when you're back on the pavement. Other updates to the out sole include a stickier rubber material, and in this version, the lugs are spaced more widely apart, and that ensures that water can flow through them more easily, and it also prevents dirt and mud from getting caked inside your shoe. (upbeat techno music) When we asked our testers what they thought, they mostly agreed. They said that they were able to take the shoe from the door to the trail and back again without worrying about getting mud stuck in the cleats. (feet stomping) (upbeat techno music) The favorite update for a lot of runners is gonna be the fact that the shoe is 0.7 ounces lighter than its predecessor and we have two millimeters more foam. The Challenger 6 weighed 9.6 ounces. This version is down to 8.9 ounces for a men's size nine. If you're wondering how the shoe got lighter, but it also got more cushioning, that's because Hoka is now using a new mid sole material. In this way, Hoka was able to save some weight and also get you a little bit more cushioning for those long runs. (upbeat techno music) Most of us wouldn't go as far to run on the treadmill with a pair of these trail shoes, but one of our testers did. She actually took it for a speed workout, and surprisingly, she said the shoe responded very well. The biggest change to the upper is pretty much all of it. Hoka's now using an entirely new air mesh, and it has more perforations, which is gonna let the shoe breathe more easily, especially if you get out in the summer and you have, like, those really hot and humid runs. There's not quite as many overlays as the previous version, but you're still gonna get a decent amount of protection, especially if you're heading out on swing trails that have some brambles and weeds and things like that. One note on sizing, some of our testers found it runs a teeny bit long, so unless you're taking it out for really long runs where you're gonna need some extra room to have your feet swell, you might be able to scale back a half size from your usual version. (upbeat techno music) So, I wanted to bring in Pat who's put quite a few miles on this shoe. Pat, what do you usually use the Hoka Challenger for? - It's funny, because I think I ran in the first Challenger ever, and then not since then, until this, the seventh version, so that was quite a few years ago. I was kind of concerned because, you know, I've run in a lot of trail shoes made for technical trail running, and it's not as burly as a lot of those shoes are, so I didn't think that I'd have enough grip or cushion, things that I'm used to, but I was pleasantly surprised, and I actually ran in it on a lot of commutes to our office here. - So, how long are those run commutes usually? - So, that run commute's actually about a half marathon each way, so I was getting two hours in the morning two hours at night in this shoe. So, I like to think that I've gotten familiar with how it feels on my foot. - Do you hit any snow and ice in the winter at all? How'd it do on that? - You know, with all this exposed foam in the middle of it, if there's a lot of snow or mud or ice, you can slip a little bit. These aren't the most aggressive lugs I've ever run in, and there are stickier rubbers, you know, like mega grip, things that you're seeing on a lot of, like, technical trail shoes, but it's enough for a lot of gravel trails, dirt paths, trails in towns and parks and stuff that a lot of people are gonna run on. - So, if you're maybe doing a couple miles in the city when you're finishing up your run commute, you found these are okay on the sidewalks too? - Yeah, definitely. On some, like, slick cobblestones or new pavement or stuff like we have in the East, sometimes you can get a little slippy, but 90% of the time, this is enough shoe for what you're gonna find anywhere. - So, you do some pretty long races too, like, even longer than those run commutes, which are pretty long, in my opinion. (Morgan laughing) - Most of my racing is ultra marathons, 50K, 100 miles. - Like, how far would you push this shoe? Would you take this out for, you know, maybe one of those 100-mile, or even just a 50K race? - The highlight of this shoe for me is, like, how it handles everything and how comfortable it is on any given run. I think there are faster shoes for sure. If you wanna race a 50K, I might reach for a lighter shoe that's a little more aggressive for race day, but if I just want to go get a race done, you can definitely run in this 50K, 50 miles, 100 miles, like, you'll be comfortable. - Did you get any breathability issues up front? It's supposed to be a little airier. Did you notice that? - I think on some of those colder winter days, my toes got a bit cold, but I also wear pretty thick socks. So actually, the fit wasn't an issue for me because I have that extra sock to kind of fill it out, but if you're wearing thinner socks, you know, that sizing might be a little off. So yeah, it breathes pretty well. This mesh is really nice and soft, but there's a lot of padding here in the upper, so if it does get wet, you're gonna feel a little like trench footy by the end. - When it comes to the toe box, it's not super spacious, but most of our testers told us they had plenty of room. The only people who really complained were people who are, like, I'm used to running in Ultras and Topos. - Okay. - So, it's like, it's not- - Yeah. - It's not a Topo toe box, but, like, you have plenty of room. What's your experience in that toe box? - I definitely had plenty of space for my feet in the toe box. I know a lot of people who have wider feet find Hokas in general to be a little too narrow. I luckily don't have the widest feet that you'll ever find, so I've run in some pretty narrow shoes and not had issues, but these are on the wider side, so I feel like I have plenty of space. If I was on more technical trails then I did most of my runs in these, maybe I'd want something a little narrower, just for more security, but on those long days, long hours in the shoe, I definitely like that extra space to give my feet a little room to swell up, expand, breathe as the miles added up. - I do know there is a gusset tongue in this version. Did you have some good lockdown or any slipping and sliding at all? - You know, I didn't really notice, like, the feeling of that at all, and maybe that's a good thing. You know, I think the nice part about that piece is that it creates this nice soft lining on the inside of the shoe, especially if it gets wet and this absorbs a lot of water, having a nice soft layer against your foot or your sock to rub against can really help offset the potential of, you know, hotspots and things that might develop if you're in a lot of wet conditions. - So, that's all you need to know about the Hoka Challenger. Before you go, I'll send you off with some specs. We have a heel stack of 31 millimeters in the heel, 26 millimeters in the forefoot, and that gives you a five-millimeter heel-to-toe drop. The lugs on the out sole are gonna be four millimeters, and it's out now for $145. So, what else do you wanna know about the Hoka Challenger? Will you be maybe taking it on some run commutes like Pat, or sticking to the roads, going to the trails? Let us know in the comments below. (upbeat techno music) - [Person Offscreen] That was awesome. - Woo! Felt like Jeff there for a second. - [Person Offscreen] I was gonna say. (Morgan and Person Offscreen laughing) - [Person Offscreen] He had a black out. (Morgan laughing) - I saw myself floating above my body. (Morgan laughing)