The new HOKA Mach X is the latest in a growing line-up of plated daily trainers, super trainers if you will. It packs a pebax plate in between wedges of PEBA and EVA foam and it’s here to try and get ahead of one of The Run Testers long-time favourite plated trainers, the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3. So how does it compare? We’ve put the miles in to find out. Hit play for our verdict in the HOKA Mach X vs Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 review.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:25 – Design Details
2:22 – Fit
4:46 – The Run Test
14:36 – Verdict
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Hi people welcome to the Run test6 Kieran here and in this video we are Putting hoka's brand new pbax plated Daily trainer the Hoka Mac X up against An older nylon plated favorite on the Channel the Saucony endorphin speed 3. Now if you're considering whether these Two shoes should be for you we're here To help you out work out which one you Should buy if at all any so um hit play To get our verdict on the Hoka Mac X Versus the soccer endorphin speed 3. So first up some quick details then the Hoka Mac X come with a five mil drop That's 37 mils in the heel 32 mils in The forefoot for the women's shoe that's 39 mils in the heel and 34 mils in the Forefoot in the men's shoe by comparison The soccer endorphin Speed 3 have a Higher eight mil drop but a lower stack With 36 mils in the hill and 28 mils in The forefoot when it comes to weight in All UK men's size eight and a half test Shoe the Mac 5-way 9.1 ounces or 258 Grams while the Endorphin speed are Lighter at 8.4 ounces or 237 grams when It comes to price the hokumac x 160 Pounds in the UK 180 in the US the speed Threes RRP is 165 pounds or 170 dollars But you can now find them much cheaper So let's have a quick look at how these Two shoes compare and contrast them and When it comes to the uppers the hokumac X have a creel Jacquard upper it's got
Quite a pleasant soft lining on the Inside and there's a little more Structure to the outside layer they're Pretty light pretty breathable all good The speed three have a single layer mesh Upper both of these shoes have half Gusset flat lay tongues the Mac X has a Nice little padded detail to prevent Lace pinch on the top of the tongue the Heel collars both have medium padding I'd say there's a little more on the Hoka Mac X it's a little softer and a Little smoother as a heel counters in Both of these that are both pretty Similar for holding support as well and They both have pretty standard lacing in The same setups when it comes to the Midsoles The Mach 5 has a profly x Midsole with a p-box plate sandwiched Between one layer of piba and one layer Of EVA foam there's also an early stage Metal rocker the speed three by Comparison has power on PB foam and that Has an s-curve Wing nylon plate in Between it which is designed to help Stabilize and support from top to Landing you've also got sockony speed Roll rocker geometry there too flip them Over onto the outsoles and the outsoles Have pretty similar and extensive Coverings of thin rubber which take care Of all pretty much all the main impact Zones all right So the fit for me in these two shoes I'm
An eight these are both size eight shoes I would say in the Hawker Mac X that the Eight that I'm wearing is perfect I Definitely wouldn't size up or down it's A hawker it doesn't feel particularly Narrow to me but normally with Hawker I I don't have particularly wide feet so I Don't notice Um the issue with narranos so Um maybe the other guys might have a View on that who've got wider feet in The meat but I definitely would stay to My size 8 in this shoe because it fit Perfectly and I wouldn't want to change The um the size of it The soccer endorph in Speed 3 it is I'm A size 8 this is a size eight fits fine For me but what I would say is it's Quite it's a roomier shoe it's a bit More forgiving at the top so for some People it can be a little bit Um spacious in the forefoot and because Of that it can be a little less stable Uh with your foot in it so I would stay In my size in this shoe but it's worth Taking consideration the sucking Endorphous B2 had a little bit of a Tighter upper and a lot of people Preferred that from a bit of the shoe I Wear a uk9 in both of these shoes that's A US 9.5 in the Hoka and a us-10 in the Saucony but it's my normal size for both Brands and on length they both fit me Very well I've got a nice amount of room
In the toe box the change is made to the Door for Speed 3 to make it a bit wider Compared to past versions haven't suited Me a song with narrow feet you'd see a Letter really tighten the laces there to Get a good hold and I have found it a Little bit loose at the heel I've had a Bit of heel rub with the shoe it's just A bit wider than I really need the Mac X Probably if it's a bit better in that Regard how you could tend to make shoes A little bit narrower than others but I Don't think this is a super narrow issue 4 Hoka I think you'll probably get on With most foot types and I've had a Really good secure lockdown fit with the Mac X around the heel and everywhere so Very happy with the fit all around the Mac X the Endorphin speed can be a Little bit loose at the back if you have A narrow foot I think but overall I Would stick to my normal running two Size of both so fit for me I ran in a UK And a half which is my regular size and I would recommend going true to size in Both of these shoes if anything I have To say on fit I think the hokumacx runs A little snugger it's a little bit Tighter around the kind of toe knuckle That bit across the midfoot the socket Endorphin speed are much more roomy in The toe box there's definitely more room As you sort of just move into the toe Box more wiggle room I think across the
Top of the toes and overall they just Feel a little bit more spacious but I Would still recommend going true to size Both of them Now for the run test then I've literally Run thousands of miles in the speed Three these were the shoes that I used To run the Danube River it was 67 Marathons in 67 days last year I've not Done quite as many in the Hoka back X But I have clocked around 30 miles in Them and in both of these shoes I've Covered a range of Paces a range of Terrain and pretty much put them through Sort of similar tests apart from that Big mileage I've also done a side by Side Mile with once you're on each foot And this is what I found when I did that So I've just done my side by side Mile And there's a few things to say here Both super comfortable on the feet Actually there's not a lot to choose Between comfort as I said in fit I think The Pokemon X come up a little bit Tighter I think the heel hold is a Little bit more snug it's a bit more Snug across the top of the foot and There's a little bit less room in the Toe box it's a bit more kind of race fit Than the Endorphin Speed 3 which is a Bit more roomy there's definitely a Little bit more Flex a little bit more Wiggle room in the toe box so if you Like it a bit more spacious then I think
The speed three are going to be probably More for you than the hokumac X now in Terms of the ride of these shoes the Thing I'm really surprised about is you Don't really notice the difference in The drop obviously you've got like a Five mil drop on the Mac X you've got That eight mil drop in the speed three I Don't think when you're actually running That you feel the difference even Standing here you can't really feel There's not it's not that Distinguishable now there's one thing I Do think that's distinguishable from These shoes and that's for the Hoka Mac X I think that proflyx midsole Foam I think it locks and reacts a Little bit quicker than the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 and there's just a Little bit more presence with the rocker You can feel the rocker a little bit More it's so you feel that sort of Curved under the mid foot area and I Think that kind of engages a little bit Quicker than in the speed three it makes The shoes feel sort of slightly firmer But they also respond a bit quicker when Your foot lands there's you know the Engagement comes faster than you get With the socket endorphin Speed 3 which Just feels by comparison just a little Bit sinkier a little bit softer a little Bit uh slower to respond I think so if You like that kind of quick response a
Quick reaction then you're going to get That I think with the Hoka Mac X I do Think it makes them feel ever so Slightly and I'm talking really sort of Small margins here but ever's a slightly Firmer than the speed three and the Other thing I think you definitely feel The rocker of the hokumac X a lot more Pronounced than you do on the speed Three when it comes to stability I Wouldn't say there's too much to choose Between them I think you've got a Similar platform to land on I think they Both engage in the same way I was trying to work out whether or not I feel like the Mac X are a bit kind of Softer in the heel a little bit more Wobbly if you're Landing further back But again I don't think that's Necessarily the case and then when it Comes to durability I've obviously run Thousands of miles in the Saucony Endorphins speed three I managed to run I think about 1200 miles in two pairs They held up really well did 600 miles In each of those shoes there's a video On the channel here there's like a 600 Mile plus test of the speed three so Durability on those I think is Absolutely bang on I've not run as much In the Hoka Mac X but they do feel like A durable shoe as well I feel like the Midsole is gonna you know get a good Amount of mileage out of it I think
There's plenty of rubber coverage on the Out so I'm not seeing too much wear so Far so again you know I think these are Both good durable shoes and there's Probably not going to be a huge amount To choose between them okay so there Aren't many shoes out that are a really Good comparison with the soccer league Endorphin spree three there's a lot of Daily shoes out there that are versatile And you can do racing and and daily Training runs in them Um but when it comes to the actual feel Of the shoe and what the shoe is Designed line for the speed line has Been sort of sort of topped the charts For most people for a long time for Ticking all those boxes a lot of people Pick it up as a daily shoe that they can Do everything in so you might only have It as your one trainer and you might Race in it you might do easy runs in it It just does a great job at all of those Different things and the reason is it's It feels really it's not really light But it just feels like very efficient Nice bit of proportion from the plate And the foam Um and it's an excellent training Partner to shoes like the Endorphin uh Soccer endorphin Elite and the sockony Endorphin Pro 3 Um just because it it can do everything Um and it just feels really solid on the
Feet The um the only thing I would say about Stocking dolphin Speed 3 is that because Of the upper changes making it a little Bit looser it does feel a little bit Less stable than I got from the Endorphin Speed 2 not massively I still Don't have major problems in this at all But if you've got narrow feet you might Notice it more than me Um other than that it is just a really Nice solid shoe lasts a while I've done Quite a lot of runs in this shoe and not Had any issues in it at all and I found That it works great from if you're going For a recovery run all the way up to Race day you can run quite fast in this Shoe quite comfortably and it and it Definitely is not a slouch when it when It comes to running fast previously we Talked about the Mach 5 and the Speed 3 And loads of other daily shoes that are Quite versatile darken back 5 was a Great shoe uh for daily training because It didn't have a plate in it people Liked the more natural feel because it Was still really fast and felt really Lightweight and you could really do Faster runs in it I did a lot of my Faster training sessions for Chicago Marathon in the Mach 5 and it was great For those and I really liked not Training in a carbon plate all the time And then saving my car and plate
Training for some of the harder efforts Or for race day now the Mac X Comes in Hawker have done this with Um uh some of the shoes previously like The uh Hawker Bondi X where they put a Carbon plate in a shoe Um and didn't really know why they did It with a Bondi didn't really seem to Make any difference um but with the Mac X a lot of people have talked about Adding a calm plate into the aqua Mac 5 And making it a great daily fast shoe And it works it's really it feels really Good on the feet it feels like you can Really pick up the pace in this shoe but Equally like the Speed 3 you can also do More comfortable ones in it I've been Out and done um longer runs in this uh In this year and it's felt completely Fine my comfortable pace of like five Minute kilometers but when I picked it Picks up the pace in intervals it feels Great as well you can really go go Um go out in the shoe and go fast and it Feels really good I think it's a great Training partner for the Hocker rocket X3 definitely now Hawk has got a really Nice Duo uh if you're if you're training For races you want something to do those Tempo sessions and interval sessions in Before race day Um I'd say both the shoes are very Similar in a lot of ways and how they Feel I think the stability is very
Similar in both of these shoes in fact The feel of the shoe is in many ways Pretty identical so it's a really Difficult one to choose between these Two shoes and there's really nothing That stand out about the two that I Would pick I would say that I think that The Speed 3 feels a little bit more like It it's rolling you forward due to that Design it has um Bit more of a rocker design to it than I Think the um the hokka Mac X has there's Not a lot in it I definitely could Probably do pretty much the same Paces In both of these shoes but I think it Just goes a little bit more efficient in The speed three than the Hawker Max x uh Other than that outsole seems very good It's quite a similar level of outside Rubber on both of these shoes have no Issues with that at all I've not really Ran in the rain or anything in these Shoes but on normal dry asphalt it's Absolutely fine and the upper is very Comfortable as well so the Endorphin Speed 3 really has set the tone for the Category of shoes We're talking about With these two shoes which is this daily Trainer or Speedy trainer that uses the Tech from carbon Super Shoes in less Aggressive shoes that you can use for a Nice mix of your training runs it's Pretty much the perfect version of that Shoe so far it's got that really nice
Bouncy comfortable Peter midsole really Nice rocker that helps you roll through Runs and then a nylon plate that isn't Quite as aggressive as a carbon one so You can use it for easy runs as long as As well as Speedy ones it's a great shoe Like I have slight problems with the Speed threes fit compared to the Past Versions of the shoeba actually in terms Of performance it's still for me just as Good as the speed two and one in that You can go out and run really fast runs In the shoe do track reps hard Tempo Runs you know races even but then you Can drop that speed right down to very Slow paces and it's still an enjoyable Shoe to run around in the rocker works Really well it's a little bit more Stable than past versions with the Winged plate don't really have a lot to Thought about it apart from the fit and Maybe some of the colorways decisions That something has made in recent years One of the shoes that did provide a bit Of competition without having a play was The Mach 5 so when hook run out the Mac X with a Piva plate some people foam in The midsole big high stack compared to The Mach 5 even high stack than the Sockony actually I thought it was going To be a really strong Contender with the Endorphins P3 and actually it hasn't Quite turned out to be the case in my Running with it I really like using it
For daily runs easy runs but I do find When I try and up the pace in the Mac X It just lacks a little bit it's not that Nimble it feels quite big and it doesn't Have an explosively bouncy feeling on The foot that you would expect to almost Counteract how big it is on on the foot You get a nice bouncy feeling and it Makes that weight disappear but really It's more of a rocket shoe I think than A particularly squishy and springy one And when it comes to running harder Paces I do find it lacks a little bit Compared to the Endorphin Speed 3 which Is Nimble light turns over really Speedily when you're running fast and Provides a nice amount of Pop from the Phone in combination with what is also An excellent rocker on the shoe in Saucony speed roll rocker so I think the Mac X just loses out a little bit when It comes to faster runs I think I Probably slightly prefer to speed three For pooting around on daily training Runs easy runs I think it's got a big Wide base it feels very supportive and Protective for such a high stack shoe I've not had any concerns about Stability with it it feels very grounded And comfortable but like I say it then Loses out a little bit when it comes to Pushing the pace a bit which is really Where you want these shoes to shine like It's great they can do the easy end of
Your daily training and be happy be Great for rolling around in but they've Also got to do the fast stuff really Well and the Mac X does it well but not That well and the Speed 3 does it really Really well My verdict on these two shoes is I'll Still be getting the Endorphin Speed 3 Ahead of the Hoka Mac X I think the Mac X's strengths are that it's probably a Little bit more comfortable and a little Bit more stable and better for easy Stuff maybe long stuff at easy Paces but The Speed 3 still does Those runs well And it's got more Pace when it comes to Your faster training and in this Category of these plated trainers you Want them to be good at the far stuff There's a gonna be a lot of competition We're gonna do a lot of videos on shoes In this area in the coming weeks a lot Of shoes are going to come out and take Their shots at the speed three you know Try and knock it off this perch uh as The best plated trainer out there but The Mac X has taken its shot and for me I don't think it quite manages it so I'll be sticking with the speed three Myself Mac X is a good shoe I think Hawker still has a little bit to do in This category to catch up to the likes Of the speed three okay my verdicts on These two shoes is a really difficult One
Um they're two very similar shoes and I I think I I really struggled to pick one Of these if I had to go out and do a Training session in one of these one of These options I think I'd probably Um I think I'm still gonna go for soccer Speed three for now just because I think That rolling motion you get from it I Think it just has a just it feels a Little bit more fluid for me feels a Little bit more like it's tipping you Forward and just it's probably better For those those longer sessions where You just want to keep going a nice Consistent Pace Um but there's very very little in it um I think they're very comparable shoes I Think you'll be happy with both of these Shoes and I'd probably say that The Mac X for me Um it's probably a bit a little bit Better at the slower stuff Um not massively either there's not a Lot in it but um I think it really comes Down to if you you know if you just like The feel of that rolling motion of the Speed three Um or the or slightly lessened in the Mac X but I think it really just comes Down to price I think they're two very Equivalent shoes and I think you'd be Happy with both of them so my verdict Then I have to say I'm a big fan of both Of these shoes I think they're really
Well matched in a lot of ways I think You could buy either of these and you Won't be disappointed with the Comfort The ride or in fact the versatility that They offer full disclosure I've got a Very special relationship with the Speed 3 having run across Europe in them but I've also really enjoyed the hokomac X Ran them fresh out of the box they're Happy shoe straight away I think it's Quite difficult to actually pick a Winner here but choosing between these Two shoes to me comes down to a couple Of things for me the ride of the Mac X Is a little bit more immediate I think It engages quicker it has a little more Stiffness I think there's more under the Ball of the foot I think the rock is a Little bit more pronounced and that Makes it feel like it's a little bit More under the foot directly and despite The bigger drop the speed actually I Think just run marginally flatter and The midsole is a little bit softer There's just a shade more cushioning Overall so it's arguably a little more Forgiving and protective so that maybe Makes it better for longer slower runs Where the Mac X may be better suited to Shorter faster efforts you could do both Of those in both these shoes though However I don't think one shoe that is Really better than the other I think They're both kind of good but different
The other thing if you want a roomier Fit for longer distances then I'd go Speed three they're noticeably more Spacious something I really needed when I was running the Danube and you might If you're looking at longer timing feet In a pair of shoes particularly if you Think about going Ultra at all perhaps The deciding factor though here is going To be the price because they're slightly Older the Speed 3 can be found much Cheaper a good chunk cheaper in which Case if you're choosing between the two You can get those deals I would choose The speed three over the Mac X but if You have to pay top price I don't think You'd be disappointed with either of These I think they're both great shoes And I'd almost recommend both of them so There you have it that has been our head To head of the hokomac X and the soccer Endorphin speed 3. hope you've enjoyed It if you have any questions hit us up In the comments below don't forget to Like And subscribe and ring the bell so You get to notified about when more Videos are coming up there's lots of Other content around both of these shoes On the channel if you're interested in Our full review of the hokumac x that Will be appearing on the channel just About now Otherwise it's been a real pleasure to Talk to you about these shoes thanks for
Watching the run tests we hope to see You again soon and happy running good Luck with whatever it is that you are Trying to achieve out there with your Own running
