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Type: Neutral, Everyday training, Competition.
Heel drop: 5 mm
Weight: 232 g Size. US 9 (Men) 192g. Size. US 7 (Women)
For many, the Hoka Mach 4 was one of the best shoe releases in 2021. When scrolling through the internet, it's obvious to see how Hoka have clearly done something right when designing the model. But how can Hoka take it to the next level? Should they play it safe? Or should they be a little more ambitious and make a few modifications? Read on and find out what they decided to do.
At first glance, you won't see any major changes to the Hoka Mach 5. You'll still see the relatively high midsole, the wide platform, and a lightweight upper with a smaller tongue that goes perfectly unnoticed. But if you look a little closer, you will see that changes have been made, and in fact some rather considertable ones. This leads me to the next section, the midsole.
Hoka Mach 5 - New foam in the midsole:
In my introduction I wrote that it was a modern take on a high mileage running shoe, and here I was thinking in particular about the way the midsole has been built. If you look very closely, you will see on the side of the shoe that it says PROFLY+. In the Mach 4 it was a pure PROFLY midsole, but the little "+" that you see on the Mach 5 makes quite a lot of difference - it's a completely different recipe for a midsole design.
In the Mach 5, the upper part of the midsole is made using PROFLY+, which is significantly softer than the one you found in the Mach 4, and the lower part is made using a reinforced EVA foam. I call it modern because I have personally found that in the past high mileage running shoes as a category of shoes meant shoes that could last for a long distance. But today there are a number of examples of shoes from this category that are also great fun to wear for speeding up in - and this is exactly the category to which the Mach 5 belongs.
As with several of Hoka's shoes, you will not find a classic outsole made of rubber, for example. Historically, this has caused a number of customers to be rather unsatisfied. And this, I understand. But that doesn't mean Hoka hasn't thought about it. The outermost layer of the midsole is made of a "rubberized-EVA" - i.e. an EVA midsole that is reinforced with rubber, and this extends the life of the midsole.
Kasper Tillgaard
Hoka Mach 5 – Flexible, breathable and adjustable upper:
The upper is made using a creel jacquard mesh. This is a flexible and breathable type of material. Above the instep is a long, thin tongue, which can be tightened using classic laces. My experience of wearing the shoe was that the shoe could be adjusted a lot. I'm the type of person who often ties my shoes slightly more loosely at the start of a race, runs a little, stops, tightens them a little more, then continues the run.
Hoka Mach 5 - Who should wear it?
The Hoka Mach 5 appeals to a broad range of runners. It could be for runners who only wear one pair of running shoes, and wear them completely out before buying a new pair. It could also be for runners who want to try speed training for the first time, but think that the many more aggressive race shoes with carbon plates on the market are a bit too big a leap - or it could be for more experienced runners who indeed run races in carbon shoes, but would like a shoe that is slightly gentler for training days.
Kasper Tillgaard
Hoka Mach 5 - When to wear it?:
In my opinion, the Hoka Mach 5 is a little more than "just" a high mileage running shoe. This is what makes it an interesting shoe for many runners to own when changing between shoes. The Mach 5 has a weight that makes it ideal for speed training, but also for longer runs, where a heavy shoe will eventually "get the best of you".
On your jogs, you get the necessary amount of stability due to the wide platform and the bottom layer of "rubberized-EVA" foam on the outsole. But ultimately, it's the PROFLY+ midsole that pushes the Mach 5 up to the next level. This is the component that helps the rest of the shoe to work together. I'm almost certain that on the vast majority of your runs you will think to yourself whether or not today is your Hoka Mach 5 day.
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