Super-trainers. Maybe you’ve heard of the phenomenon, maybe you haven’t. It’s a category of running shoes that draws on some of the premium technologies of individual brands, typically focusing on plush foam materials and carbon plates. You see this type of shoe across nearly all brands; examples could be adidas Prime X Strung 2, New Balance Supercomp Trainer v2, Asics Superblast, and Saucony Kinvara Pro.
What makes this category of running shoes extremely interesting is their great versatility. Some super-trainers lean more towards speed, while others lean more towards comfort. screams comfort, and it does so from start to finish. Read on in the article where I will dissect the shoe a bit and delve deeper into the technologies of this fantastic super-trainer.
Before we do that, here are some sharp facts about HOKA Skyward X:
Facts:
Type: Volume trainer, neutral
Heel drop: 5mm
Stack-height: Men 48mm in the forefoot, 33mm in the heel Women: 46mm in the forefoot, 41mm in the heel.
Midsole material: Dual-layer PEBA
Carbon: Wing-shaped carbon plate.
Weight: 314g in US 9.5
HOKA Skyward X - A soft welcome
You might get used to reading the word comfort in this article, and the upper is indeed so to the highest degree. Here you will find a flat-knit upper, with Zonal Engineering technology from . My immediate feeling the first time I slipped my foot into the Skyward X was that this shoe is going to win many hearts. There were absolutely zero issues in creating a secure lock-down over my foot. Overall, Skyward X has the same amount of good comfort in the upper as the most specific recovery-day running shoes, such as , , , shoes in that category. The tongue is thick, soft, and plush, without being cumbersome. The heel counter hits a nice spot between being rigid and flexible, maybe a tad more towards the stiff side.
HOKA Skyward X - Double foam, double the fun?
The midsole is hot. Not understood as you can only use the shoe in sub-zero temperatures and barefoot. It’s highly current and follows many of the trends that are popular these days. In the next lines, I will invite you on a journey down through the midsole, so be prepared for anything.
A whole 48mm of foam in the heel and 43 in the forefoot, chew on that. With a bit of quick mental math, that gives a heel drop of 5mm. Back to comfort, in the midsole it comes in the form of a double-layered midsole consisting of PEBA on top, and super-critical EVA at the bottom. Between them, a carbon plate, in a so-called H-frame design – imagine you step down in the middle of the H, and that part pushes you back up into the air, while the remaining part of the H helps with stability. It's not without reason uses two different types of foam material, PEBA is hugely popular, especially in the really fast race-day shoes, and it's a super nice material to have as the first thing your foot feels when you run. Super-critical EVA is a slightly firmer material with more structure, making it ideal for forming this MetaRocker™ you find in the midsole.
HOKA Skyward X - A true cruiser
Now we have control over the technological aspects of the shoe, so let's try to tune in to what feeling leaves us with. 48mm foam in the heel leaves quite an impression, it is a lot, really a lot. With Skyward X, you get a relaxed run, the midsole is really soft but perfectly tuned for you to get this smooth roll, thanks to the MetaRocker™, which Hoka is absolutely sublime at creating in their shoes. Skyward X is made for long days in running shoes, or repeated trips day after day. My experience with Skyward X is that it is a shoe that performs best at lower speeds. It's not just a field it performs well in, it's a category of running shoes that I think it goes in and dominates. So, it’s not a speedster we are dealing with here - but if you're looking for a max-cushioned , with a super smooth expression in foot transition, then Skyward X could be a very exciting proposal.
HOKA Skyward X - The Conclusion
HOKA Skyward X is an all-around fantastic volume trainer, and one is tempted to ask the question “can it really get more comfortable than this”. Only time can answer that, but to the best of my belief, Hoka Skyward X is one of the most comfortable running shoes on the market in 2024.
If we look across Europe and look at registrations for major races, the tendency is that many races sell out lightning fast, more runners have joined, and more want to run long. I am convinced that Skyward X could make life easier for so many of those runners. In the end, Skyward X places itself as one of the comfortable “super-trainers”, a true cruiser, but not a speed demon, as some of the other super-trainers tend more towards.
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