Review: Hoka Speedgoat trail shoes
Inspired by the fabled Speedgoat 50k race, these ultra supportive trail running shoes from Hoka are designed for rugged, technical terrain. We took them for an off-road spin...
While we wouldn’t necessarily associate the humble goat with blistering run speed and finesse, the Hoka Speedgoats are named so because the mountain variety of these hoofed mammals are agile climbers, scaling terrain us humans would be hard pushed to even traverse over.
As our test pair didn’t come in a goat-friendly size, we instead tested the Speedgoats over a more Homo sapien-friendly trail route in dry and wet conditions to test their off-road credentials.
As with all Hoka’s run shoes, these are ultra supportive and will take some getting used to. Once you get going, though, they’re fast over tricky terrain (with the slender 4mm heel-to-toe drop aiding foreword propulsion), as the extra spring in the midsole and 4mm Vibram rubber lugs help to propel you off tough trail sections.
The grip of the grooved outsole was also impressive in wet conditions, and the heel tab makes them triathlon transition-friendly. We found them remarkably comfortable, without any foot rub, providing all the comfort we needed for several, long off-road runs.
Because you have little contact with the ground and they’re quite narrow, we were slightly concerned about turning an ankle in the Speedgoats while on the move, but they provided plenty of stability. The colours are also quite loud, so might not be to everyone’s taste.
Verdict: Not for everyone, but a comfortable and hard-wearing trail show nonetheless, 79%
Contact : www.hokaone.eu
Jack Sexty
Editor at road.cc 
