We get close up with the new HOKA Mach X. HOKA’s new Pebax-plated shoe that’s built for daily speed. HOKA says this punchier, plated sibling for the Mach 5 combines the comfort and support of the Mach 5 with the propulsion of a plated shoe. So is it any good? Hit play to find out in our HOKA Mach 5 review.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:21 – Design Details
1:53 – Fit
2:54 – The Run Test
10:12 – Verdict
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Hi people welcome to the Runtastic Kieran here and in this video we're Getting close up with the hokumac X this Is hoka's new p-box plated shoe that's Built for daily speed Hoka says this Punchier plated sibling for the Mach 5 Combines the comfort and support of the Mach 5 with the propulsion of a plated Shoe so is it any good hit play to find Out [Music] Some quick details then with the Hoka Mac X come with a five mil drop the same As the Mach 5. the stack Heights are Considerably higher though 10 mils in Fact than the Mach 5 you get 37 mils in The hill and 32 mils in the forefoot for The women's and then there's 39 Millimeters in the heel and 34 mils in The forefoot in the men's Weight Wise They weigh 9.1 ounces or 258 grams in Our UK men's size eight and a half test Tube when it comes to price you'll pay 160 pounds in the UK 180 in the US so It's 30 pounds or 40 bucks more Expensive than the Mach 5. so let's have A quick look at the shoe then what's new Here on the Hoka Mac X well in the Uppers you have got a creel Jacquard Upper it's quite a pleasant kind of soft Lining on the inside actually there's a Little more structure on the outside Layer those are both pretty light and Breathable there's also a half gusseted
Flat lay tongue with a nice little Padding detail on the top to prevent Lace pinch the heel collars have I'd say Like a medium padding and there is a Heel counter in here for Holden support And then you get kind of pretty much Kind of standard lacing down across the Top midsole then the Mac X feature a pro Fly X midsole that sandwiches a p-backs Plate between a layer of peeba and a Layer of Eva according to Hoka that Peeba foam layer is apparently 34 more Resilient than the foam you'll find in Something like the Hoka carbon X3 There's also an early stage meta rocker That's there to add smoothness to your Transitions flip them over to the Outsole then and what you've got here is A pretty extensive covering of Durabrasion rubber taking care of all The main impact zones for that extra Durability and to provide the All-important traction [Music] So the fit was all good for me in the Mac X and my normal running shoe size Standard hoker sizing for me which is a Uk9 a bit equating to us 9.5 I've had Plenty of room in the toy box and around The heel like I have a narrow foot so I Tend to be okay with Hoka shoes in General but I don't think the Mac X is As narrow as some maybe not as narrow as The Mach 5 for example but yeah it's fit
Me really well I've had a good hold Around the heel in particular no Problems of any kind of slip there so Happy in my normal running shoe size in The Mac X fit for me in the Hawker Mac X Is fine in my size I'm an eight this is An eight there's a little bit of room in The front Um it doesn't feel too narrow for me Like some Hawker shoes can be I found it Very comfortable I would definitely stay To an eight uh my size in this shoe so Fit for me then I ran in a UK eight and A half and I'd recommend going true to Size though like a lot of hokas I think If you've got particularly wide feet They might just come up a little bit Narrow around the big toe knuckle area So just be cautious on that but overall I'd recommend going true to size [Music] So I've done about 45k in the whole mix Ahead of I go across four rounds that Fitted very neatly into the daily Training category I've just done two I've done two just completely easy runs Nice lecture ones and a couple of Progression runs one fairly relaxed Short one moving from easy to steady Paces and then today I went out and did A harder heart rate based progression With 15 minutes in high threshold heart Rate zones at the end of the run there To test out its chops as a speedy daily
Trainer it is a burst hole shoot for Sure it does a great job especially at The easy end of things I've really Enjoyed just plodding around in the shoe I think it's really comfortable quite Supportive for a shoe with a lot of tech Going on in the midsole it feels quite Balanced and stable and protects the Body well on easy runs the feel of this Year actually hasn't changed as much as You might expect or I expected from the Uh Hoka mac5 you know you've got all This fancy Tech in the midsole but it's Still very much a rockered smooth riding Shoe rather than one that I think is Particularly bouncy or propulsive get a Bit more punch off the toes from the Plate than you get with the Mac X but The shoe is not very soft and Squishy on The foot like I say it rolls through Nicely and that's the key feature of it Compared to being as bouncy as some of The other plated trainers that do use Paper phones so I do think it's nice you To take along and certainly I haven't Actually found it amazing for faster Efforts though which is probably my big Problem with the shoe so far it's not an Explosively bouncy midsole like I say You get a bit more pop off the toes than You do with something like the magnifier Because of the plate but it's still Quite a big shoe all round it's also Reasonably heavy and it doesn't feel
That Dynamic and uh exciting at faster Paces it feels quite big you can get Into a rhythm of it but when you really Do try and push the pace hard it doesn't Feel that wieldy it's quite an unwield Issue it'll come with some shoe and Doesn't really make up for that by Having a really impressive midsole for Me it's smooth and good but not Outstanding and this is an area of the Market absolutely lading with fantastic Shoes right now with a load more coming Out I believe in the Run calls them Super trainers that's a term I'm going To steal I think that's a really good Term and there's loads of them right now I've already obviously the end of Speed 3 has been around for a long time and Then the magic Speed 3 is coming out There's other some other brands that all Of which we can talk about right now but Will soon and I think Few of the ones I've tested so far just Had a bit more pop and feel better at Faster Paces the Mac X can certainly Hold its own at the easy end of things As a daily trainer I think it's as good As any of them but if you're picking up A trainer like this you want it to be Really good at the fast paces and I Think this is just okay the advantage of Having the play and the new higher stack Midsole setup compared to the Mach 5S I Think this is gonna be a more
Comfortable and impressive shoe over Longer distances really at any Pace but At the same time it's not a complete Upgrade from The Mach 5 in that you lose Some of the natural grounded feel of the Mach 5 which feels very light and Nimble On the foot and part of that is also Actually the fact that the mac5 doesn't Have an outsole when it comes tears Um my cat which is uh actually creates Quite a nice contact feel with the Ground as a result because it feels very Soft on the ground without that outsole Now obviously having an outsole will Help grip but actually first run in the Mach 5 was on greasy Pavements and it Didn't grip very well um at all but I Think it will rough up a bit the apps Will get better and it certainly will Help with durability which is obviously Important as it's a more expensive shoe Than the mac5 but yeah all around Probably the experience fine but Maybe left me wanting a little bit Um especially given the quality of the Shoes the Mac file is going to go up Against now for the run test for me I've Done around 30 miles in this shoe my Usual mix of paces and terrains a bit of Tarmac some light River path off-roading I fell in love with this shoe straight Out of the box it's pretty much my Summary this is really my kind of Running shoe poker describes it as an
Adaptable Trader that's comfortable Enough for endurance efforts but it also Says that it responds equally well to Pace increases and I actually think They've really nailed that it feels Instantly great on the foot it's Comfortable it's got a dialed in really Unfussy fit just feels super comfortable The minute you pick up and Lace it up Now I ran in this one without looking at The specs or even what it was designed To do and I have to say I instantly felt Like it could do pretty much anything at A mixture of Paces I also weighed it After I'd run it I was really surprised To realize that it's actually heavier Than the Mach 5 it actually feels more Nibble to me on the foot that extra Stack has clearly added some weight but Somehow it still feels more compact than The Mac 5 to me anyway overall I think It's a really nice balanced shoe there's A snappiness to it an easy roll through Off that rocker you get a cushioned Springy ride that's not too firm it's Not too soft again just really well Balanced I think the foam plate combo Turns just at the right time so you get Enough ground feel which is something That I like but you get a bit of a kick When you need it as well and for me this Lens really firmly in the pile of shoes Marked can handle anything and one that Yeah I would Veer towards picking up
Quite often I think if you watch the Channel you'll know we talk about the Hawker Mach 5 quite a lot so the release Of the Mac X is very very exciting Hawker has added an X to some of its Shoes over the past couple of years to Add a plate into them things like the Bondi the Bondi got a Bondi X wasn't a Big fan of that shoe didn't really seem Like it needed a plate in it the Mach 5 Is a really fast shoe it's very Versatile shoe I love training in that Shoe for Chicago marathon I did a lot of My faster efforts for Um it's part of my training plan Intervals things like that and during That period there's a lot of talk about Saying well if they just brought a plate In the aquamak 5 it could be an Incredible shoe and this is it this is The shoe that um has that has that plate In um and it has a lot of similarities To the Mach 5 so it is very very Versatile it's a very nippy shoe but Also it feels pretty good Um a consistent daily Pace as well so I've done a few runs in this uh the shoe Some of them my well consistent daily Pay sits around four minute 50 Kilometers per kilometer it feels great For that I could definitely feel very Comfortable felt like it was rolling me Forward quite nicely with a nice little Bit of Pop from from the plate I don't
Think the plates are very noticeable Plate it's not like something you'll get In the alpha fly or the vapefly it's More like it's helping with a bit of Efficiency and it really does that quite Well it felt very very easy to run an Easy comfortable Pace in this shoe when Doing an interval in this shoe it felt Very nice so Um it really pick up the pace nicely in It suddenly you start to come into its Own and it just feels great you can Really Do some fast stuff in this and for me That would be about four minutes uh Kilometers for my intervals and it feels Great at those Paces it's not the Lightest shoe in the world but it it Feels light on the feeds and it feels Like you can really pick up the pace Nicely and with a little bit of rebound There's a nice draw a foam in it with a Bit of combination between that Eva and The the p-backs in it and it just Delivers it just feels really good Um the upper on it is very comfortable No issues at all with that it's just Enough padding on it to to really feel Great for those longer daily runs Um without being too heavily padded so It just nice balance uh when it comes to To comfort over that versatile over that Versatility of runs The outsole is pretty good there's not a
Lot of um outsole rubber on it uh but Just enough to sort of just cover it off But Um the Mid-South opening here feels Pretty sturdy and I've had very minimal Signs of wear and tear on these shoes so Far so I think the outsole is probably Going to do a pretty good job Um other than that yeah just a solid All-round versatile trainer which I Think is going to be the one of the big Ones that people pick up this year [Music] Well I think even the game away here I Love the Mach 5 for its comfort and Versatility and I think the Mac X does That lineage some real justice but it Also offers something new it's light It's fast it's agile it's punchy but It's still just about protective enough For me this is one of the best shoes That I've run in so far this year yes It's more expensive And I think if budget comes into it you Know we said in the Mach 5 Mac X Comparison the the Mac 5 was still Marginally offer better versatility and Value but it's a really close call and If you're looking for a fun Lively shoot It's a bit more capable at those kind of Faster paces and you're not bothered by The extra 30 pounds now I don't think You would regret investing in the Mac X If you've already got the Mach 5 I
Wouldn't bother upgrading I think also The final thing to say is that yeah Hoka's absolutely nailed it on the Colorway too so my verdict on the Hawker Mac X is that it's a shoe that people Have been waiting for for a while and it Delivers it's a really good daily shoe That's very very versatile it's very Similar to things like the Saucony Endorphin Speed Line also if it was Great when you're trying to pick up the Pace as well I think it's definitely Going to be a great shoe as a training Partner for the Fantastic Hawker rocket X3 sort of sits perfectly alongside that For very similar to something like the Soccer endorphin Pro 3 and the soccer Team dolphin Speed 3 now Hawker has got A fantastic Two two shoe lineup for those training For marathons half marathons anything Like that it just works really well Alongside this and to be honest I'd Probably happily pick this up for most Of my training sessions uh whether That's track whether it's interval Whether it's easy daily runs so it might Be a good choice as well for people that Just want one shoe similar thing to the Sockony dolphin Speed 3 where a lot of People picked up that shoe for that as Their one shoe that they did all their Running in the Mac X can now do that Nicely although the macfy could do that
As well it's just a little bit more Responsive now Um and just has a bit more to it I Definitely think Um They're almost comparable shoes the Hockey Mach 5 in this shoe that I still Think about 5 is one of the best shoes Around and if you definitely not sure if You want a plate in a shoe go for the Mach 5 because it's there's not much in It um and yeah it's a shoe that I'd Still pick up for a lot of training runs But I think it's just a tiny bit more Pop in this shoe and it does run a Little bit differently it feels a little Bit different when you when you're Running when you're running in it it's a Bit of a rolling action to this which I Didn't get from the hooker Mach 5 Um but I think it's a fantastic shoe and Um it's well worth looking at if you Want a faster training shoe or just an All-round versatile daily trainer so I Thought the Mac X is gonna be a slam Dunk to be honest I saw it on paper Sounds amazing I love the mac5 you raise Your stack a bit use the better phone Added a Piva plate to add a bit of Stiffness and punch without being too Harsh like a carbon plate higher stack Bit more protection and all around I Think it is a good shoe but actually it Isn't as great as I was hoping for and
I'm not sure it's one I'll be going to Pick up given the quality of the Competition in the plated trainer market Right now it's a bigger shoe and that is Noticeable compared to the net five and It does a great job of protecting the Legs I think it's a really nice daily Train to roll around in but I think it Lacks a bit when it comes to the faster Pacers it's a bit bigger and heavier Than some of the other options in this Area it's actually also bigger and Heavier than the Mach 5 so you lose a Bit of that pickup speed even if you do Get a bit more propulsion from this shoe Compared to the back five thanks to the Plate and the pivot phone overall I Think the stuff it does best is actually Similar to the mac5 isn't that it is a Nice shoe to cruise around in and Actually I collected a bit more from a Shoe all this technology so I thought It'd be good at cruising around in but Also have a bit more punch when it comes To faster runs so if you are looking for An all-round and it does have those kind Of Speedy chops I'd be looking still at The suck in the endorph and speed three Been around for a long time the Asics Magic Speed Line about to start testing The three the two was very good I think I still prefer the two to the Mac X and The three looks to have some nice Upgrades as well I find the as Boston 12
A bit firmer and more exciting at fast Paces it feels like more natural at fast Paces compared to the Mac X which like You have to get going in a little bit Because it is that little bit larger in General and more of a rocket shoe than a Really Snappy fast one so Yeah it's not going straight to top of My list in this category for sure I Think it's a really nice shoot be happy Cruising around it doing a nice variety Of running it but it didn't quite wow me In the way I really thought it was going To and really hoped it was going to when I saw all the specs and Tech on paper so Yeah it's a good shoe but I think hookah Is a little bit more to do to really Stand up against the competition in this Very competitive super trainer category So there you go then that is our review Of the new Hoka Mac X we hope you found It useful if you have any questions of Course hit us up in the comments below If you like what we're doing here on the Run testers don't forget to hit like Subscribe definitely ring that Bell Because that will alert you when new Videos Drop you'll be able to hear about Those when they land there will be more Head-to-heads coming up featuring The Hokumac X up against other plated shoes They'll be coming soon in the meantime If you want to see our Mac X versus MAC 5 head to head that hopefully will be on
The channel appearing just about now Otherwise thanks for watching and good Luck with your running out there we hope To see you again soon on the Run testers
