Welcome to The Run Testers. In this video we’re looking at the new HOKA Arahi 7, a stability shoe designed to deliver protection and cushioning for your longer runs.
This update is a minor one, all the midsole stability elements remain unchanged against the Arahi 6. But the uppers have been tweaked to do what upper tweaks always do… attempt to provide better lockdown, more breathability and better comfort. So has it worked? And is this the stability shoe you need in your rotation? Run Tester Kieran clocked the miles to find out. Hit play for our HOKA Arahi 7 review.
Big thanks to Sportsshoes.com for sending us our test pair.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:28 – Details: Drop, Stack Height, Price
1:03 – Shoe Whipround
2:39 – Fit
3:18 – The Run Test
6:08 – Verdict
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HOKA Arahi 7 (Sportshoes.com):
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Hey people welcome to the Run testers And our review of the new Hoka arahi 7 Now this is a stability shoe designed to Deliver protection and cushioning for Your longer runs the update here is a Minor one all the midsole stability Elements remain unchanged against the Arahi 6 but the uppers have been tweaked To do what upper tweaks kind of always Do attempt to provide better lockdown More breathability and better comfort so Has it worked and is this the stability Shoe you need in your rotation well Watch on to find Out So quick details then the arahi 7 has a 37 Ms in the heel and 32 Ms in the for Foot for a 5 mil drop in the men's 3429 In the women's also for a 5 mil drop it Weighs in at 273 G on 9.7 o in my UK Men's 8 A2 testu size on price you'll Pay £130 in the UK $145 in the US that's Actually five M five marks it's five Bucks more expensive than the arahi 6 Let's give you a quick shoe whip round Then starting with that familiar Unchanged midsole you've still got a Compression molded Eva midsole like you Had on the irahi 6 that's tuned towards The firmer side to help deliver that Reliable support you also got an early Stage meta rocker here to smooth Transitions from Landing to takeoff and There's hooker's jframe support
Technology essentially a j-shaped sweep Of firma That runs down the shoe to combat over Protion without adding extra stiffness Or weight up top is where the changes Come though with a new zely engineered Flat knit upper and that aims to improve The midfoot lockdown on this shoe it's Quite thick and engineered compared to The lighter uppers on the previous gen There's no messing around here with the Laces they're nicely robust doesn't look Like they're going to break here very Easy to get a good closure across the Midfoot with those there's a plusher Tongue that's nicely padded quite way Down sort of right down into the midfoot There's some midfoot ghillies whatever They are answer in the comments below I Don't know uh stretchy gusted tongues Here too to stop the tongues moving Around the heel collar are medium padded That's a bit thicker in the heel kick Back at the rear than they are on the Side walls flip them over and you've got Duraban rubber out soole here for grip And Durability um and they're a little bit Mucky cuz I've running them a lot oh Also they come in regular and wide Option we tested the regular size for This review and more coming up on that Fit Next fit then and I ran in a UK 8 and A2
Which is a us9 that's my regular running Shoe size in most brands and generally What I'd run in for hoker shoes the fit Initially felt a bit tight when I first Put the shoes on there's not a lot of Room here that did ease off after a few Runs and a bit of tweaking with the Lacing and the sort of tongue Positioning but overall I found the toe Box quite narrow and the foothold in These shoes to be quite snug I had no Problems with that at all but if you Like a roomier or what fit or you've got Wide feet then I think I'd definitely Consider the wide option in these shoes Or maybe even going half a size up Particularly if you're planning to run Long long miles in Them run test then I've done 30 plus Miles in thei 7 mainly easy some faster Mostly on road but a good chunk on Uneven River paths to test that Stability ele Aside from a slightly narrow initial Feeling stepping Comfort here is pretty Good your feet certainly feel well held And the heels and midfoot lock down I Found to be nicely secure there's good Padding in the hill collar here which Holds and supports nicely now once I got Moving the ride initially felt very firm And I like a firm shoe there wasn't a Lot of give here at all and I could feel The road coming up through the bottom of
That midsole on those early miles as a Stiffness and a rigidity early on now I Just come from testing New Balance SC Elite V4 and some of the m ma cushion Dieses like the Nova blast 4 the Nimbus 26 the ghost Max the COA 30 so maybe That made it feel more pronounced here Going into a shoe like this but this Isn't your soft pillowy Nimbus or New Balance 1080 v13 and even though that Compression Eva mid sole softened as I Clocked more miles in them and you will Have a breaking in period with these Shoes I think the firmness well the Cushioning is closer to some of outra Shoes that I've run in recently the Forward experience perhaps than the Softer cushion stability uh shoes like The Kyo 30 there's not much sink here Into the midsole but that along with the Stiffness might open the shoe up to some Faster efforts as well you get a bit of Stiffer which is kind of can help for Uptempo efforts now I wouldn't choose it For uptempo efforts necessarily but that Stiffness does give it some of that Capability a bit like you get in the Ford experience which is good to have in A stability shoe now the irahi aims to Deliver reliable Landings wobble free And consistent and that is what you get The rolling transitions here are helped By the rocker and the the more I ran in Them the more balanced I think the ride
Felt it reminded me a little of the road Like a road version of some of innovates Trail rides you know like the Lightweight sort of 280s that you get With the innovates where things are firm But the shoes are light enough that you Sort of drop into a clip and once you're Moving you don't quite notice that Firmness if you're moving right for me This is another of those shoes that do Just about enough to soften the road to Give it long mile capacity but you have To be clipping along and paying Attention to your foot turnover the Light And faster you're turning over your feet The better this shoe feels when you're Moving now if you move like that I think This shoe pays you back with a good Flowing ride that's lighter than you Imagine it's not going to forgive all The sins of like a heavy-footed pla over Long distances I think it comes up a Little firm and direct for that you know Over 90 minutes however you can't Quibble with the stability here every Step felt assured and secure but not Forced there's a good natural ride to Them even on the cutup river PS that I Ran on I had confidence in each landing And so I like this as a kind of you know Quite a Snappy but stable Shoot verdict then and I think this is a Solid stability shoe a ride that's sort
Of a fir more stable Clifton and I think Definitely draws comparisons here with The ride of things like the alra vi Olympus or the forward experience you're Not going to get much spring and energy And there's a stiffness and a firmness To the midsole ride and Landing that Might not float everyone's boat but then If you need stability you probably don't Want whacking great wedges of wobbly Phone fing you all over the shop anyway Reliable and predictable is what you Need and these serve that up nicely Overall there's a good balance here a Lightness and comfort on the foot with Just about enough protection for longer Runs though I think there's actually Like a 90minut sweet spot here for me I'm not sure I'd want to go longer in it I much prefer though this shoes Directness and precision to the heavier Bulkier bigger softer stack that you get With something like the gel Kayo 30 but Softer shoe fans maybe won't I also Think it's pretty keenly priced when you Look at it and overall if you want a Stability shoe that's a bit more direct Bit firmer a bit more minable by Comparison to some of those other big Hulking great stability shoe this is a Good option so there you have it that Has been my review of the Hoka arahi 7 I Hope you found it useful don't forget to Hit like And subscribe if you did uh
Yeah subscribe as well I've just said That but do it subscribe subscribe say It again if you're fancy hearing when New content arrives on the channel you Have to subscribe that's how it works Now if you're interested in stability Shoes there is a review of the ax gel Car 30 on the channel about now Otherwise thanks for watching and we Hope to see you again soon on the Run Testers happy running people