The Hoka Cielo X1 emerges as another super shoe vying to be on your feet when you want to go faster in 2024.
The Cielo X1 is built for racing 10km up to marathon distance landing with a 7mm drop, a winged carbon plate and a dual-density PEBA midsole like the Rocket X2 to give it those racing credentials.
Tester Mike has had the black prototype version to put to the marathon training test and take it for some racing to find out if Hoka really has a very super shoe to get excited about.
(Note: Hoka provided us with different stack height details prior to this video. The Hoka website lists stack height as 39mm/32mm with the same 7mm drop as mentioned).
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:44 – Price and key stats
03:09 – How does is it fit?
05:20 – The Run and Race Test
13:09 – Verdict
More ways to enjoy The Run Testers
Subscribe:
Follow Us:
Listen to The Run Testers Podcast:
Watch The Run Testers Shorts:
Some other videos you might find useful:
Hoka Cielo X1 Review:
Puma Fast-R 2 Review:
New Balance SC Elite V4 First Run Review:
Nike Alphafly 3 vs Nike Vaporfly 3:
Hey this is Mike from the Run testers And this is the Hawker cell X1 Hawkers Latest superp shoe now we've had this Superp shoe in this black prototype Colorway over the past month and I've Been able to do some of my London Marathon training in it I've done some Track sessions with it as well too and I Have of course raced in this shoe as Well too so what we'll do first is take You through all those key details that You need to know about the clo X1 Including that all important price we'll Get into some run and race test thoughts Then and then we will tell you whether The Hawker C X1 is a super shoe that is Super and worth getting excited About okay so here's what you need to Know about the Haw yell X1 and let's Start with that all important price so In the UK it costs £250 and in the US it costs $270 so that's is more expensive than The Hawker rocket X2 and this Essentially sits above the rocket X2 now In hawker's kind of superu racing kind Of focused Collection that does mean it is cheaper Than the alphafly 3 but it is not as Cheap as something like the Nike Vaporfly 3 so it is a super shoe and With a super shoe it does come a big Price tag so this is not a cheap shoe to Pick up so next up weight drop and stack
Height so we'll start with that drop and Is 7 mm on the cello X1 and you have a Stack height of 40 mm at the hill and 33 Mm at the 4T so that gives you something Very similar in stature to the Nike Alphafly 3 now in terms of that weight Out UK size 8 weighed at 242 G that does Make it heavier than something like the AL 3 and also the Hawker rocket X2 so Into the upper and unlike things like The haker cellow road and the rocket X To H has opted for a knit upper as Opposed to a mesh fun now that is Matched up with some pretty skinny flat Laces which are designed to keep down The overall weight of the shoe you are Getting a stretchy tongue below that and You're also getting some padding inside Of the Hill collar to prevent rubbing so Into that midsole and it is a dual Density makeup on the cell X1 a bit like We got on the rocket X2 so on the top You're getting this softer layer of Peber to give you that comfort then Below that you have a winged nylon plate To give you that kind of more aggressive Propulsive feel in this shoe and then Below that is another layer but a firmer Layer of peber which is there to kind of Help generate power in this shoe when You're running quicker in it and then we Get into the rber outo which I would say The design is reminiscent of something That we got on the aex metas speed Sky
Series so a lot more coverage at the top Of this shoe with the four foot of the Shoe a little bit less at the hill there Are some exposed areas of the foam here And you are getting this kind of cut out From the mid sole into the out sole as Well too and that's to help reduce the Overall weight of the shoe as well Too so into fit and I've had my Haw yell X1 in a UK size eight that's typically The size that I go for in hacker shoes And I think outside of maybe the Original rocket X going a UK size eight Has been absolutely fine the rocket exit Was probably a little bit too snug for Me but I kind of made that shoe work for Me now in terms the yell X1 it Definitely does feel a narrow shoe which Is kind of what you expect to find on a Racing shoe anyway particularly from Kind of the midf foot down to the back Towards the Hillel but it does open up In the toes and I do think there's a Good amount of space up front in the Toes as well no uncomfortable rubbing There so you know I feel for me UK size 8 worked well for me but I will say the Nature of this up and it's very kind of Stiff and rigid it does make getting Into this shoe pretty challenging to do So it isn't one that you can just easily Slip on I think I think that's probably A similar story with the rocket XT but Yeah that's something worth noting here
Is that you know when I racing it or When I've gone and kind of rushed to go Out in this shoe I've really struggled To really get my feet into this shoe Once it in it feels nicely locked in as I said the space up front of the toes is Very good you do get some padding it's Maybe not the most prominent padding but It is padding inside here at the sides Here to make sure that you're getting Some kind of protection and comfort There and kind of good hold there like I Haven't found any kind of rubbing from My experience in this shoe running kind Of long runs kind of racing in it as Well too now these laces obviously these Are and this this is a shoe that is Designed to be light they've obviously Tried to shave some weight by having These kind of thinner laces I don't Absolutely love these laces and I do Think you need to work a little bit Harder to kind of pull these in and get A good lock down on this tongue which This tongue is kind of soft and kind of Stretchy and kind of works in terms of Making sure it sits put but other than That as I said it is a narrow fitting Shoe from the kind of hills to the Midford but it does open up in the toes And it was good enough for me so yeah Going true to size for me has been fine But I would say it is a narrow fitting Shoe elsewhere which is something to be
Wary of if you've got kind of wider feet And you're worrying it might kind of Open up and maybe not open up enough for You in the midfoot and at the Hill okay to that run test and I will Also include my race test thoughts at The end of this section now I have just Ticked over 50k in this shoe that's been Made up of runs like I did I think Initially did a kind of 10K a treadmill Run with it just to kind of get a feel Of what the shoe was going to offer I've Done a track session in it which was Kind of uh 1K reps 200 meter recoveries And then I got a 2K at the end of that Session I've also done a long marathon Training running this as well so that's Kind of 14 miles at my kind of nearest Kind of marathon pace so probably going 730 740 minute mile pace and then I did The um 10k race which was at my 10K pace So six 30 minute mile Pace as well too Now what I'll say is first and foremost Is that when you put the shoe on and you Kind of struggle to put this shoe on it Introduces you to that kind of unstable Feeling that you're going to get in this Shoe um and yeah once you start running In it and you get up at those faster Paces then it's something that you Forget about but what I definitely would Say is that there's definitely something Alpha flyes about the shoe now I haven't Run in the alply 2 or the three I have
Run in the original and run a lot more In it the past well end of last year and This is a shoe that definitely has hallm Marks of that shoe it really has that Gives you that kind of Tippy Toe kind of Feeling on your toes you've got that Kind of which I think really works well From a hawker point of view that kind of Meta rocker which really kind of gets You up onto your toes quickly through Those Transitions and it's exactly what You get here on the c x one it is bouncy There's plenty of Bounce here it's Something that I maybe felt a little bit In my knees on some sessions but Ultimately I never came away feeling Like my legs were absolutely wrecked and I think on that long marathon training Run that was where I was most concerned And in places where I maybe dropped the Pace a little bit as well too but when You are running at your quickest that's Where this shoe really comes to life and It feels fantastic to run quick in it as Well too I think yeah for me you know The the Comfort side of things has been Absolutely fine so while this upper is Very difficult to get into I think in Terms of the space and the feeling of Running in the shoe it's been absolutely Fine I said I've had no kind of rubbing No issues with the upper and the fit of This shoe that midsole just you know It's similar to the makeup of the rocket
X2 it's that dual density one that kind Of softer kind of section on the top That kind of harder a bit under this Kind of winged um carbon plate as well Too and you know you do feel those Things in combination but it feels great When you are running and you kind of Forget about it when you are running at Your quickest in this shoe now the other Thing I wanted to talk about and I say I've got my race test to talk about as Well too is the outso now as I said I Done 50k in this shoe now there is a Fair amount of rubber in this shoe and As we mentioned the weight of this shoe Compared to something the ali3 it is Heavier it's not the Super lightest Super Shoe that's out there um but from A gripping point of view it's been Absolutely fine for me I'm not seeing Any terrible signs of wear yet though I Will say and you get quite big gap here In the outside where the cutouts are I Have found that I got a little bit of a Rock stuck in here on one of my runs so It's not immune to any issues I mean it Hasn't caused any problems but from a Gripping traction point of view it's Felt pretty good I feel like there's Enough rubber here to raceing it race Long in it but also maybe handle some Kind of longer training runs as well too I said no real complaints about that There's a lot of rubber here as I said
And I'm not seeing any ter terrible Signs of wear yet after 50 km of running So I feel positive about the durability Of this shoe so yeah that's some overall Kind of General running thoughts about The Haw cell X1 next I'm going to get Into my race test and then I'll get into My verdict on whether you should buy the Haw cell X1 okay so first race done in The Haw yellow X1 so I've just completed The run through Le Valley V Park At 10k race so that is six laps of the Park a little kind of one mile uh loop And it's you know some little UPS little Downs that's what you kind of spoke About in our on cloud boom Echo 3 race Test that myself and Nick did recently Um so I've just been away in Barcelona For a few days in some nicer warmer Conditions with Nick and Kieran so back To normality in terms conditions but Actually perfect kind of racing Conditions overall in terms of shoe now I've obviously done a fair bit running Already in the cell X1 First Time Racing It so I was racing I think I did 4112 YN So kind of 6 minute 30 minute mile pace For me which is pretty much my 10K Pace At the moment and in terms of the Experience of running the C X1 I think The first thing for me thing that hasn't Really gone away is that it is a tough Shoe to get on very quickly and that's Really down to the kind of the structure
Of the Upp it's a very stiff kind of Upper particularly around the kind of Hill collor part you know it takes a While to VI you're running late and you Need to kind of jump into the shoe it's Not done very easily but once you're in You're you know you're locked in feels Comfortable the laces I mean I'm not a Massive fan of the laces they're kind of Obviously there to kind of design wise To reduce the weight because obviously There's extra weight elsewhere in the Shoe um so getting a good lock down does Take a little bit of work but generally When it's there you know the shoe's been Absolutely fine from a fit point of view And was in that race terms of the Experience I mean that bounce is there And the bounce is there throughout that Um run and I mean I think what I found In my all of my runs and even kind of Running at my kind of 10K marathon pace Is that you you know I felt it in my Knees and it's not been a bad way but You definitely feel that bounce kind of Riding up you know entirety of your leg But actually in terms of the feeling It's really good you know it's that typ To you know feeling that you get on Things like the alpha fly which I you Know I think it's a really nice feeling Now you know I felt pretty good um I Didn't have any issues in terms of that Run in terms of the shoe um you know
I've enjoyed pretty much every running And kind of a race um Pace 10K race Pace It felt good I still feel like maybe It's going to be best suited on those Longer distances but I know there There's nothing to say that it doesn't Work for shorter distances as well too And I didn't feel like there's any Complications for me um outside wise Absolutely fine I mean it's pretty dry At the moment you know you're on a you Know the vop park course is all Relatively kind of you know flat in Terms of what you're getting there so It's really kind of the hills and stuff And but the hilly parts were you know Absolutely fine I didn't feel like I had Any issues in terms of the performance Of the shoe and how it felt in the shoe So yeah pretty good overall in terms of Racing in the hawell X1 I do think it May be a shoe better suited to longer Distances um but it absolutely has the Capability to be a shoe to run a bit Like the fly I think to run a variety of Distances and I feels good it's bouncy The ride is great um what you'd want and What you'd you know like to feel from Isue and ultimately felt comfortable I Didn't feel like I had any issues as I Said I do feel like you feel it in the Knees because of that bounce but I Didn't feel like it was overly Aggressive I think there's enough in the
Ride there to give that enjoyment to Give that kind of prop propulsive feel But also make sure that you know as I Said it's you can tell about the Stability of it in terms when you're Walking around with it once you start Racing it feels absolutely fine you're Running at those quicker Paces so all Good then on my first race test with the Haw yellow X I'm definitely looking Forward to racing a little bit more in It hopefully later this year but yeah a Good first impression from a race point Of view that's what it's designed for And yeah it passed a test for me on that One okay so my verdict on the Haw clo X1 Is that this is a seriously good running Shoe a seriously good racing shoe and One that I have enjoyed running in over The past month I think it's got fits all The criteria in terms of what you want From a super shoe it's thin it's got That kind of nice bouncy ride it really Gets you quickly up onto your toes and I Do think there's an outsole there that Is going to give you that kind of Durability over longer distances as well Too now obviously Haw does have a pretty Good racing shoe in its collection Already what I would say is the rocket X2 is fantastic as well I feel like Maybe what hak is doing is almost Creating their own kind of vaporfly Alphafly kind of Geo here where the cx1
Definitely gives you that kind of Alphafly feel instead of that protection I think better um you know design over Longer distances whereas the rocket X2 Maybe feels a better shoe for kind of Shorter distances up to that kind of Half Marathon distance where you you Know you're gotting a slightly different Feel more close to the ground field but A more responsive feel overall but that Is a fantastic running shoe racing shoe This is just a racing shoe that's very Different as I said it's the closest Thing that I've kind of experienced that Kind of reminds me of the Al flight now I've only run in the original Al flight I haven't run in the AL fly three so I'll leave those kind of comparisons to Nick but as I've said I do think when You look at the price the experience and What this is kind of offering and how it S it's similar to that kind of Ally Experience it could be one where if You're struggling to get the Ally 3 this Could be a nice alternative now I can't As I say comment on the weight Differences there is a weight difference In the two shoes but ultimately in terms Of experience in terms of that ride in Terms of that tippytoe feeling I think You're getting something similar here From the C X1 that I think is that the Essence of the alpha Fly Shoe as well Too so yeah for me a very good shoe I
Think you know it's at that super shoe Price I think it is you know up there With the best of the shoes that I've Tested personally in terms of a shoe That I think you know I've tested other Shoes recently things like the new B SC Elite 34 and it kind of puts things into Perspective when you have a shoe like This where this is really kind of Matching I think or getting close to What we probably consider is the best Kind of marathon racer in the alpha fly 3 but this is a very good racing shoe Very good running shoe from Hawker and It's a shoe that I'm going enjoy Continuing to run in and hoping to race In I'd like to kind of get out and do Maybe a longer half marathon race in This probably be using a different shoe For the London Marathon but this is a Shoe as I said has been very enjoyable To running over the past month and I Think what haa has here is a very good Shoe on its hands a very good super shoe And one that as I said I feel like it's Creating a kind of vapor fly Alpha fly Kind of duo with the rocket X2 and the Cello X1 okay so there you have it that Is our full review of the Hawker cell X1 Definitely a super shoe to get excited About in 2024 now some of the other run tests Seen will be getting hold of this shoe In the official launch colorway so we
Will have more videos on the way in the Coming weeks and months we do have a Comparison video up right now which you Can see this compared to the rocket X We'll put a link in this video to get You to that video next as always like And subscribe hit that little bell to Find out about latest videos and yeah We'll see you the next run test this Video
