The Hoka Cielo X1 2.0 is made for racing so Tester Mike laced up Hoka’s latest carbon racer to see what it’s made of at the 10th edition of the London Winter Run 10k.
Along with the Cielo on his feet, Mike also gave the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 the race test treatment as well as the new, sub-£100 Amazfit Active 2 smartwatch to see if it could be a bit of bargain smartwatch buy for runners.
(Thanks to Hoka for providing the media race bib. We were not paid to make this video or requested by Hoka to wear Hoka shoes at this race.)
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:12 – The Race and how the Cielo X1 2.0 performed
05:06 – Other kit tested
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Hey this is Mike the testers I am by the Mall in central London trying to look For a quiet spot to record I've just Finished the London winter run 10K a Race I've done a fair few times I think The team had done a fair few times as Well so know the course well uh a good Opportunity for me to test some new kit I've got in at the moment the big one Really being The Haus yellow X1 2.0 just Kind of finished up testing and this was A good way to round things off and see How it fars kind of you know a race Distance in that kind of race scenario Elsewhere I also had the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 which myself and Nick have Already reviewed on the channel but this Is a good way to kind of test it in a Race scenario mainly focusing on the fit And the sound as opposed to the heart Rate uh elsewhere I was also testing the Maze for active 2 a kind of 100 pound or Sub 100 pound Smartwatch that has full Maps and um doesn't have dual band GPS But has a lot going for it to be a good Value kind of sportswatch Smartwatch and Running watch I've given that spin Against the Gan Phoenix 8X with a PO H9 Monitor chest strap so it's getting a Bit windy and cold here now I'm going to Wait till I get back home give you kind Of a bit of a review and recap of how I Got with the shoes most importantly the Other kit I tested and how I got on at
The London winter run at [Music] 10K so it's actually the day after the London winter run 10K now before and get Into how the shoes and the other kit That I tested Fair during the race let's Talk a little bit about the race itself Now this was the 10th edition of the London winter run and if you've done a Race in central London then then this Couron rout will feel a little bit Familiar so I'm talking about things Like s London 10K which is now Previously was the ax London 10K things Like the London landmarks and also the London Marathon now this year there were 25,000 participants for this race that Does mean a lot of waves a lot of start Different start times and it is really Crucial that you do put yourself in the Kind of correct wave because as I found It can feel very congested those first Few kilometers of the rent did require Me having to kind of jump up on the Pavement a fair few times to kind of get Through in and out of the crowds now This very twisty turny course that Enables you to see quite a lot of those Kind of Central London landmarks in a Short space of time but that is Something to keep in mind with this race And it kind of does open up in places And gets you back kind of nicely to the Finish line which is very close to the
Start line so in terms of how I got on I Think I ran 4229 4230 I think around That basically not my quickest on that Of course very happy given that this was A of unplanned race got a kind of last Minute bib through so very happy with That given the congested nature of the Start of the course and it was a good Opportunity I think for me and a good Race to test the HW cell X1 2.0 now I Have raced in the C X1 as well my first Race was a 10k race different course to This but a good opportunity to see how The C X1 kind of fed on those kind of Shorter distances now my takeaways or Biggest takeaways from this yellow X1 Was that it was a very Lively fast that Bounces you to run it but I definitely Appreciated it more for my longer runs Definitely my kind of faster longer runs Now I do think that has changed here With the cell X1 2.0 and I could see That in that race that you know it is I Think from the fact that it is Definitely more aggressive more rocked Lighter than the cell X1 2.0 and I think It brings it more with shoes like the Vaporfly 3 things like the pummer dev8 Nitro Elite 3 as well the ASX met speed Sky Paris which I think those shoes Definitely are marathon races but I Think can work really well those shorter Distances and I think that would apply To the C X1 2.0 for me in this race I
Think what I found is you know you get Up and you're running hard that you'll Be rewarded with a shoe that just kind Of rolls you through very nicely as I Mentioned in my first run video I Definitely found that cornering could be A bit maning in the shoe given the more Aggressive kind of more unstable nature Of the shoe that's definitely something That was really tested in this course Which has a lot of twists kind of sharp Twists and turns to kind of get you back Onto the course and I felt like I really Had to kind of really go on the outside Of the kind of of most Runners trying to Get get myself back onto course and to Kind of kind of carry on running hard in This shoe but it felt ideal for that Shorter distance I think that was the Biggest takeaway for me it really kind Of illustrates the changes H has made With the shoe you know that it is more Aggressive more propulsive and probably Is going to be a lot more versatile and You know across race distances compared To the C X1 so definitely a positive Experience for me I definitely found I Could run hard and fast in this shoe Definitely is less stable than the CLX One if you can ride that out and you can Kind of work with those you know that Kind of light slightly less kind of Stable feel of this year you're Definitely rewarded I think for a very
Enjoyable kind of fun bouncy Lively shoe In this yellow X1 [Music] 2.0 so into the other kit that I was Testing I'll start with the Beats Power Beats Pro two which myself and Nick have Already reviewed on the channel I think It's fair to say we were fans you know In general with most of what we got on The power boots Pro 2 definitely a good Upgrade on the power boots Pro now we Talked a little bit about the heart rate Or kind of a lot about the heart rate And the execution of that feature and Probably the weakest element of the PO Beach pro two wouldn't be for me the Reason to go for these airbuds so I kind Of put that to one side and really Focused and what these would deliver in Terms of fit in terms of Sound Performance in terms of battery life I'm Someone that uses the airpods Pro 2 for Races I have done for races before and I Feel you know they offer a very good Experience but given these airbuds are Kind of that air hook design definitely Designed to be more reliable and more Kind of you know workout and exercise Kind of focus this is really what I Wanted to see from the airbuds myself Now usually I would have these in kind Of noise cancelling mode I decided to Have them in transparency mode and you Know so I could hear some of the crowd
And it was a very well supported race as Well I would say first and foremost that The fit was fantastic what I expected to See what I've seen in my other testing They did not budge they were very Reliable in terms of that secureness Sound Performance is very good that Transparency mode performed very well For me I think what I really kind of Appreciate particularly from someone That uses the airpods Pro too a lot for Races and running is that the buttons For the controls are a lot better and There were times when I did just kind of Want skip tracks I was listen to on a Playlist that you know I didn't you know Particularly want to listen to at that Time it's very easy to do that on these Airbuds I think I'd feel more reliable Doing it at a faster Pace to compared to Something like the airpods Pro 2 which I Do think the controls are very good on Those airbuds but I just think they're Better executed here on the Beats power Boats Pro 2 sound quality was fantastic For me I think that's definitely a Strength here for the beats Power Beats Pro 2 compared to the previous versions Battery life I think it was a drop of About 15% with that transparency mode For a 10k race so kind of just under an Hour's use that's kind of what I expect To see so a very good experience with The Beats Power Beats Pro 2 as I said
Put the heart rate to one side focus on The things that I think that beats and Apple have done really well here and I Do think you get a really good set of Earbuds I think I would probably opt for Over the airpods pro to just because That more reliable fit and the the Buttons which I think work for me if you Are the kind of person that does find That has to kind of interact or kind of Play around with playlists or what you Listen to during a race now I was also Testing a new smartwatch and that was The mafit active 2 now this is a Smartwatch that cost less than £100 has All that you need to track your runs and Most notably has full offline mapping And that is free to access now it's very Rare to find that kind of support here On a watch at this price and we've seen It well executed on the amaz T-Rex 3 Which cost more money but it's Definitely a smartwatch that we would Recommend for particularly for Android Users or people who are looking for an Android option at a more affordable Price and things like the Phoenix and Other kind of outdoor watches or smart Watches now the offline mapping wasn't Really a thing that I needed to kind of Look at here on the active 2 it's really Kind of focusing in on the GPS Performance on a route that is going to Wreak havoc with your GPS just because
There's so many tall buildings in this Kind of Central London course looking at The heart rate monitoring as as well and I had the Gin Phoenix 8X on my other Wrist and that was paired to a polar H9 Heart rate monitor chest STP now Starting with the distance tracking now As I mentioned there was a bit of kind Of darting and weaving on this course Probably did Cover a lot more of this Course than you know kind of was marked Out and you do have some problems with The kind of satellite kind of pickup as Well now on the m fit active to it kind Of tracked me at kind of 99.97 KM so a Little bit below that 10K distance but The Phoenix St X you know kind of Clocked me over 10K distance as I said That's probably down to the fact that I Was kind of kind of covering a bit more Of the course and kind of having to kind Of jump in and out of the crowds now They did both suffer at the same parts Of the course around the 6K Mark where There you know it is a kind of bad spot For GPS in general had me running a lot Quicker on the Phoenix XX on the M for Active 2 had me running a lot slower at That point and it did start to kind of Level up I mean the pacing wasn't Absolutely identical on both watches and It definitely had you know their kind of Issues on both fronts but look at the Heart rate monitoring now looking at the
Data there was definitely some issues With my heart rate monitor at the Beginning of the race definitely very Low I think put that down to kind of Cold conditions and where kind of you Know starting the race definitely kind Of picked up and kind of fell more in Line where I expect the heart rate to be Now what did see in the graphs the Graphs look similar but the heart rate Average is definitely a lot higher on The most active too I think the max Heart rate was probably a little bit Higher as well battery life was you know Pretty good I think you know given that This doesn't have you know this isn't a A huge battery kind of power kind of House compared to something like the Phoenix 8X where you know the battery Drop was so small for that kind of 40 Minutes kind of plus of running where Compared to the emo active 2 it was a Lot bigger and kind of what I expected To see though it wasn't a horror show You know definitely had some areas where You you know it did kind of falter a Little bit but it you know it wasn't Alone in that compared to the other Watch that I was using and I feel like For General running it's probably going To be solid on the whole and you know When I get into kind of further testing I' like to see how that full mapping Support works if it works as well as it
Does on the T-Rex 3 then this could be a Smartwatch that has the you know run Tracking capabilities to be a good watch To grab okay so they have it a 10k race Test of the Hawker cell X1 2.0 now we Will have a multi- test review on the Way some of the testers are just Finishing up on those last few runs and We'll have a video up on the channel of That we will have a review of the amaz Active to as well once we finish up on Testing and if you want more videos on The Beats po Beats Pro 2 let us know About that as well as always like And Subscribe hit that little bell to find Out about latest videos and yeah we'll See you for next R Test's video [Music]
