{"id":959,"date":"2024-11-21T18:55:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T18:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/?p=959"},"modified":"2024-11-21T18:55:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T18:55:58","slug":"shoe-review-the-hoka-mach-x-2-190-one-of-the-best-and-most-versatile-training-shoes-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/post\/shoe-review-the-hoka-mach-x-2-190-one-of-the-best-and-most-versatile-training-shoes-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoe Review: The Hoka Mach X 2 ($190) – One of the best and most versatile training shoes of the year"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brian Metzler<\/u><\/a><\/p>

No matter what your experience level as a runner is, you should know that we\u2019re in a golden age of running shoes. What does that mean? It means the majority of running shoes you\u2019ll find at your local running store are really good. Most shoes are extremely cushy and comfortable with advanced, energetic foams that offer a high amount of energy return. Racing shoes have carbon-fiber propulsion plates and many training shoes have some sort of plate (carbon-fiber, nylon, Pebax or otherwise) and a rocker geometry to contribute to your forward momentum. This modern crop of shoes provides a big assist in our running, no matter what our average pace or experience level might be. <\/p>

But now that we\u2019ve seen all sorts of shoes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including <\/a>oversized so-called \u201cillegal\u201d shoes<\/u><\/a>, the question remains what should we be training in? What shoes do we like running in on a regular basis? I have to admit, I\u2019ve felt a bit tired of running in so many maximally cushioned shoes and have really enjoyed shoes that are lower to the ground lately. Why? Mostly because those shoes provide a greater sense of proprioceptive feel for the ground and stride control instead of the sensation of bouncing off a high-stack midsole with an increased level of instability. But just then, I started wear-testing the Hoka Mach X 2 ($190), an updated version of a faster, lighter maximally cushioned training shoe that, even though it is best at up-tempo running, turns out to be a great everyday trainer. <\/p>

What\u2019s New: <\/strong>The second edition of the Mach X has been greatly overhauled with a lighter, faster construction, a more curvy rocker geometry, and a slimmer, race-like woven upper with more padding around the heel collar and a thinner tongue. The midsole construction is slightly thicker but also slightly firmer, thanks to a new wing-shaped Pebax plate sandwiched between a full-length layer of Peba foam and a layer of soft and resilient EVA foam that combines for a lighter, livelier ride. All in all, the improvements have immensely changed this shoe for the better, so much so that it\u2019s been one of my favorite running shoes of the year so far.<\/p>

Fit\/Feel\/Ride: <\/strong>The Hoka Mach X 2 fits true to size with a medium-narrow interior volume in the heel and midfoot and plenty of room in the forefoot for my toes to wiggle, flex and splay. Even though it\u2019s a maximally cushioned shoe, the thin, form-fitting upper (that takes cues from the Hoka Cielo X 1 racing shoe) and the partially gusseted tongue give it the snug fit and feel of a racing shoe, and that, along with the rocker shape, contributes to its a good amount of agility despite its thick midsole. The ride is still semi-soft (but not mushy) and electric, serving up a noticeable spring in every step. It\u2019s not bouncy like some maximalist shoes, but instead it serves up a smooth, rolling and very propulsive sensation at both faster paces and slower and moderate speeds, too.<\/p>

Why It\u2019s Great:<\/strong> It\u2019s great because it\u2019s light, cushy and energetic, but it doesn\u2019t feel like a typical maximally cushioned trainer. While most max-cushioned trainers are noticeably thick and mushy and unstable underfoot, this one seems like a shoe that\u2019s much lower to the ground and stable. How is that possible? The winged Pebax plate gives the shoe snappiness without being overly stiff (like a shoe with a carbon-fiber plate), so it allows your foot to flex naturally as the shoe bends as it rolls through the midstance moment of a stride to the toe-off phase. That semi-firm nature of the midsole foam, along with the rocker profile and the agility it exudes, seem to make the thickness of the midsole disappear because you can feel the ground a bit more.<\/p>

Specs<\/strong><\/p>

Weights: <\/strong>6.4 oz (women\u2019s 8); 10.5 oz. (men\u2019s 9)<\/p>

Heel-Toe Offset: <\/strong>5mm; women: 38mm (heel), 33mm (forefoot); men: 44mm (heel), 39mm (forefoot) <\/p>

Why You\u2019ll Love it: <\/strong>You\u2019ll probably love the Mach X 2 because it\u2019s so versatile. I loved this shoe for all the types of running I have done since August\u2014long runs, tempo runs, and recovery runs. In each case, I found it to be a shoe that promoted a faster pace than I expected without any additional effort. My long runs felt more lively, but my midweek easy runs also felt quicker and my strides felt snappier. This is a shoe that might be a good option for a race-day shoe from 5K to the marathon, especially for someone who doesn\u2019t want the sharpness of a carbon-plated midsole after two hours of running. I also did one track workout\u2014a mix of fast 800s and 400s\u2014but it wasn\u2019t quite as good for that, if only because that\u2019s one place I actually felt like the shoe was too high off the ground.<\/p>

Pro: <\/strong>There are only four small segments of rubber on the outsole and they provide more than enough traction while enabling the shoe to remain light, flexible and lively. After running 100 miles in this shoe, I haven\u2019t seen any abnormal wear and tear and virtually no breaking down of the exposed foam sections of the outsole.<\/p>

Con: <\/strong>This is one of those shoes that\u2019s surprisingly hard to get your feet into. It shouldn\u2019t be a deal breaker, but it has an upper that takes some effort to open up (after opening the laces quite a bit) and takes some oomph to slide your heel into the partially reinforced heel cup. It\u2019s momentarily frustrating, but it\u2019s also something I completely forgot about once I was running.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brian Metzler No matter what your experience level as a runner is, you should know that we\u2019re in a golden age of running shoes. What does that mean? It means the majority of running shoes you\u2019ll find at your local running store are really good. Most shoes are extremely cushy and comfortable with advanced, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear-reviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}