Hoka Mach X review

Hoka is an established brand that’s known for its oversized soles and is arguably the creator of the ‘maximalist’ shoe category we see many brands offering within their ranges today.

So, when we heard Hoka was releasing a new speedy daily trainer with a juicy amount of midsole (the Mach X comes with a stack height of 39mm at the heel and 34mm at the front), we were excited.

Hoka Mach X review

First impressions

Straight out of the box the Hoka Mach X is like no other Mach we’ve seen before and, honestly, it doesn’t even look like any of the previous iterations.

Past versions of the Mach were lightweight, comfortable and could support faster training efforts, but they were often missing the magic touch in the EVA foam in terms of responsiveness.

Hoka has addressed that issue as the Mach X features a Pebax plate (65% bio-based content) and a hearty slab of the same PEBA foam that fuels their top end racer, the Rocket X 2.

After putting the shoe through its paces, we found the performance of the Mach has been elevated to new heights, and this new lightweight daily trainer delivers at easy and top-end speeds to help you keep ticking off the miles.

Not only is the shoe more efficient and responsive, but the layer of EVA foam in the midsole offers an inherently stable platform that helps give the shoe versatility.

Hoka has achieved this by what its calling the ProFlyX construction which sandwiches the PEBAX plate between the new PEBA foam and their tried and tested EVA Foam.

With so many updates, we did have concerns that the signature Hoka comfort we’ve come to love may have been lost, but whatever concerns we had were quickly quashed.

Sizing and fit

The Mach X ran true to size, and the updated creel jacquard upper offered a highly secure hold through the midfoot before opening in the forefoot, leaving plenty of room for toes to splay comfortably.

Build quality

The new Mach X includes a ‘durabraison’ rubber outsole. We found this offered improved traction and we had no durability issues during testing.

The potential additional durability is a big plus given the previous version of the Mach line up had struggled with durability with its exposed EVA foam. This was especially true if the shoe was used as a daily trainer.

Performance

Throughout testing we found that the Mach X felt just as good on easy daily runs as it did on hard workout days.

The PEBAX plate doesn’t offer the same snap as a carbon plate but does offer flexibility that encouraged us to roll through into toe off at quick paces.

In future iterations, we would love a bit more of that awesome PEBA foam compound in the midsole, and the Mach X could be a smidge lighter (it’s 230g, UK size 7) especially if we were to use this shoe regularly at race paces.

Summary

Regardless, the Mach X delivers Hoka’s comfort with a ride that pairs well with nearly any run at any number of paces.

However, those searching for marginal gains on race day may want to opt for out and out carbon racers.

We’ve made the shoe sound like a Mach made in heaven, but all puns aside, if anyone is in the market for a new lightweight performance trainer that could also do them justice on race day, we highly recommend picking up a pair of the Hoka Mach X.

Verdict: In our opinion, it’s the best Mach to date. A shoe you may struggle to stop wearing.

Score: 93%