Hoka One One Speedgoat Review

Pro

• Great cushioning and comfort
• Good traction in a wide variety of conditions
• Well ventilated
• Good flex

Con

• Narrow inside shoe width
• Heel cutout in sole

Quick Look

The Hoka One One Speedgoat has been a staple for many runners as a comfortable, high cushion shoe capable of a large gamut of road and trail running conditions.  With a name like Karl Meltzer behind the shoe, these shoes have stood up to some serious conditions.  We found them to fit true to size, and be a great value, especially when you can find a pair of them on sale.

Click here to view current sales on Hoka One One shoes at GearChase.com

In Depth Review

Speedgoat Uppers

The uppers of the Hoka One One Speedgoat has a tough durable welded mesh top, with a protected toe box.  The welded seams help eleminate any hot spots in the shoe. The mesh uppers provided really good breathability and also drained very well when wet.

You can see the midsole rises high on the inside of the shoe. This was our first downside to the shoe as it feeds into the often described issue with the narrow width of the insole.  We have fairly wide feet to start with, and the narrow width of the Speedgoat only amplified the issues we typically run into with narrow shoes.  After an initial break-in, the shoes performed a little better, and matching a higher cushion sock with the shoe seemed to reduce the discomfort of the narrow insole.

The heel, and heel stabilizer around the back were very cumfortable.  There is extra padding around the collar or achilles tendon protector area of the shoe.

Hoka One One Speedgoat Inserts (Insoles)

While some shoes opt for a cheap insole and state that it’s because most runners will purchase a special insole that meets their individual needs, Hoka kind of offers a nicer insole.  The bottom reads, “Breathable Moisture Transport, Shock Absorbing, Cushining Comfort, Anti-Microbal, Oder Fighting”.  These are far from a custom orthotic, or even an aftermarket Superfeet style insert.  We swapped them our for a few different insoles we had and found that they fit the shoe far better than anything off the shelf.  This is due to the narrow width of the shoe.  Other orthotics we tried were far wider than the bottom of the shoe, and ended up bulging out the sides of the shoe, making it fit too short from top to bottom.  Being that you will likely be stuck with the provided inserts, they weren’t too bad, and wore fairly well.

Inside and Collar

You can see the breathability from the inner sole of the shoe.  These shoes were meant to breath from all angles.  Another part to point out in the photo above is the over-sized collar.  We found this did two things really well. First, it prevented rocks and sand from getting in the shoe too easily. Second, it was very comfortable, we had no rubbing points were we normally do with shoes.

Hoka One One Speedgoat Sole

The Vibram outer sole provides good traction in almost any condition.  The lugs are deep and chunky and are seperated by EVA foam that provides good flexing through the entire cussion of the thick midsole.  The lugs are measured at 4 to 5mm tall, and stick well through loose dirt, gravel, and uphill climbing.  They also perform well in wet, muddy and snowy conditions on the trail.

The midsole has a balanced side to side profile, while rockering slightly forward from heel to toe.  This can be felt the first time you put the shoes on, it sort of pushes you forward with each step off the ball of the foot.

While we have seen some photos of other midsoles breaking down quickly, we have about 200 miles on our Speedgoats and haven’t had any issues with them compacting or breaking down.  The tread also wears very well, after our time on the shoes, they still have hundreds of miles left in them, and are a very good value that should last even the most advanced runner at least one season.

Weight

Our size 10.5 US weight in at 10.62 oz or 301 grams.  They definatly aren’t to be compared to your miminilistic running shoes, but for an oversized cushioned trail running shoe a very good compromise of weight to durability and strength.

Conclusion

We put over 200 miles on the shoes, and they are still holding up well, and even more comfortable that ever. The cushion is not too soft, and provides just the right stability to comfort needed in a good trail running shoe. The outsole and midsole are all wearing nicely.

On a long day of light walking and running we did feel some fatuge, and for us personally it wouldn’t be our goto shoe for long distances. However, it will be one of our go to shoes for short to medium distances.

The shoes fit true to size for us.  We typically wear a 10.5 US and we found the 10.5 in the Speedgoat to be the best fitting.

The toe kick was a little thin on the Speedgoat, if you are running in a very rock area, you might want something that offers a bit more protection.  It did however hold up well to all the rocks we did kick.

The biggest complaint about the shoe would be the width, from mid foot to the toebox it’s just smaller than most shoes.  It breaks in and wears eventually is workable, but still a very narrow foot shoe.

Other Options

If  you are looking at the Hoka One One Speedgoat, it is also worth looking at the Hoka One One Challenger ATR. The Challenger offers some nice options and a little variety to the Speedgoat.

Another shoe worth looking at is the Hoka One One Clifton for a super light weight shoe that is great for more neutral running and road running.