Thursday, August 14, 2014

Hoka Huaka "Once-Over"

A man walks into Foot Locker-(me) looking for a basic gym shoe, the associate checks out his kicks not recognizing them he ask the man what kind of sneakers are those?  The man replies Hoka's One One, they're a runner's dream come true.  Oh, so is that just a "Running Thang" only runners would know about?  I guess.  Those are Hot!!  


Hoka Huaka 
At that point I realized what an awesome job Hoka did with the design of the Huaka.  I typically wear my new sneaks for a day to get the feel for them before I log miles in them.  The shoe has a swag all it's own. 

Hoka Huaka
What I noticed initial about the shoe was the sole.  What most people see is something reminiscent of a 1980's NYC a train station tag and it grabs their attention like a "Picasso Baby".  It ain't hard to tell that the Huaka is stripped down Hoka built for performance and speed. 

Hoka Huaka
The Huaka shares the same breathable diamond mesh upper as the Clifton and the shape of the Rapa Nui.  

Hoka Huaka
The upper on the Huaka's has seven eyelets a wafer thin tongue and a reflective loop in the rear.  The heel cup offers decent cushioning and contours nicely along the ankle buckling your feet up for the ride.

Hoka Huaka
The sole of the Huaka is made up of the remarkable inherent R-MAT composition grip that keeps slipping to minimum, rain or shine.  With flash warnings in effect in parts of CT, 80% chance of rain and 8miles with Hill repeats scheduled today I would have a chance to test Hoka's slip minimization claims.  I'm happy to report I didn't fall during my run; I felt stable in the shoe on the ascent and decent.  The 2mm drop felt tremendous.  Check the shoe deets: @ Hoka One One

Hoka Huaka
The soles of the Huaka share a similar tread pattern to the Rapa Nui.  The dense R-MAT composition is active and aware of when you pick up the pace and responds with a whippy buoyant feel. 

Hoka Huaka
One of my running shoe geeks said the Huaka is a totally different Beast from the Clifton and I concur.  You can definitely kick some serious asphalt in the Huaka. At some point during my last mile I logged elite level spm204, granted it was not for the duration of run.  But it speaks to the ability of quick turnover the Huaka promotes. 

The Huaka is a welcomed addition to my training and racing arsenal.

RunR4Lyfe  

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