The Mach X is a shoe that Hoka fans have been eagerly awaiting, designed to take learnings from the impressively versatile Mach range and combine that with a propulsive carbon plate.
That plate sits between two layers of foam, EVA to provide a supportive ride and a new PEBA section to improve responsiveness and rebound. That combination is built to feel soft for easy session but with plenty of pop for faster efforts.
The Saucony Ride 17 receives a big update in the form of a new PWRRUN+ midsole – the same material used in the Triumph 21. This addition dramatically changes the experience of running in the Ride 17 to provide more cushioning, increased energy return, and a smoother transition.
Tom and Kieran have been testing the shoes out to see how they compare.
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JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Stats
00:39 – Design
01:50 – How’s The Fit?
03:28 – The Run Test
11:40 – Verdict
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Saucony Ride 17:
Hoka Mach X:
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Hey Tommy Foresters with another running Sho versus in this video we are going to Be taking a look at sakon ride 17 and The Hawker macx let's dive in and take a Look POA Mac X costs £160 or $180 weighs 242 G or 88.5 o for men in a size 8 and The drop is 5 mm the sakon ride 17 cost £135 or $40 It weighs 285 G or 10 oz for men in a Size 8 and the drop is 8 Mm the Mac X is a shoe that Hawker fans Have been eagerly awaiting designed to Take learnings from The impressively Versatile Mac range and combine that With propulsive carbon plate that plate Sits between two layers of foam Eva to Provide a supportive ride and a new Peber section to improve responsiveness And rebound that combination is built to Feel soft for easy sessions but with Plenty of pop for faster efforts other Features include a cre jacked upper for Breathability and comfort a gusseted Tongue and a generous layer of outs Soole rubber for grip and durability the Sakon ride 17 receives a big update in The form of a new power on plus midsole The same material used in the trium 21 This addition dramatically changes the Experience of running in the ride to Provide more cushioning increased energy Return and a smoother transition built For daily miles the ride 17 aims to Provide a balance of comfort versatility
And a touch of stability for ticking off The miles the upper also sees an upgrade With a new engineered mesh design to Improve breathability and a 360° fit to Ensure a good lock down on the outs Soole there's a generous layer of rubber To protect the midsole and provide a Good level of grip on varied Road Surfaces and there's plenty of interior Padding for a plush level of step- in Comfort now when it comes to fit like Many hooker running shoes the macx come Up a bit narrow across the top of the Midfoot I find and into the toeb box It's snug it's definitely a dialed in Raer fit that might come up a little bit Narrow around the toe knuckle Specifically and that may be problematic On some longer duration runs so just a Word of caution on that the ride 17 However the fit was much more spot-on It's roomy but not baggy there's good Heel hold lock down across the midfoot But there's enough flex and wiggle room In that toe box to offer it up to I Think longer duration runs with good Security across the midfoot without any Restriction as well though now I think Some Runners might want to go half a Size up in the macx particularly if You're planning on using using them for Longer longer runs 2 hours plus that Kind of thing for the ride 17 I'd Recommend going true to size okay so fit
For me in these two shoes I'm a size Eight in the UK these are both size Eights the ride 17 I would say stick to My size in this it's absolutely fine no Issues at all the forefoot is probably Slightly narrower than some shoes but Still plenty of room for me I have Pretty average width feet uh so I've had Absolutely no issues with it at all and There's plenty of space just before my Big toe in the forefoot so I would stay To my size in the ride 17s the Hawker Mac X it's a hawker so it is a little Bit narrower than some other shoe brands Um this is a size eight in the UK as Well I found the fit to be fine but I Did find it a little bit narrow not an Issue for me because I as I said I don't Have particularly wide feet but if you Did you might have an issue with the Mac X but I would stay to my size in this There's still plenty of room for me um Before the toe um and it's quite Comfortable Shoe so these are both shoes that you'd Probably look at for daily training Miles but the hawka Mac X when it came Out uh before it came out we were all Very excited because the idea of putting A carbon plate into the Haw Mac series Uh was a really interesting Prospect so The Haw Mac 5 and hm 4 two of our Favorite shoes when it comes to really Versatile daily training miles they're
Really fast they're really lightweight Feeling shoes you can do really uh hard Training sessions in them but they're Also pretty nicely cushioned as well Without being too Max stack cushioned so Those shoes were just really solid all Round trainers um and I love training in The hwak 5 for Chicago when I did it Last year or year before last um when The hwak X came out a lot of people were Saying it was going to be the the Biggest shoe of the year that you you Stick a plate in the the H Mac 5 and you Get an phenominal um fast training shoe It doesn't really do that it it it's not NE necessarily a shoe that is focused Heavily on speed it's a very solid daily Shoe you can do comfortable training in It you can do um lots of longer training Sessions in it it's it's a good daily Shoe um but it's not really a phenomenal Phenomenally fast shoe for training in There are much better options out there Uh and so just having the fact that it's Got a carbon plate in it doesn't really Make it like a super fast shoe it just Adds a little bit efficiency gains in it And just gives it a little bit more of a Rolling motion I I would still go for The HW Mac 5 over the HW Mac X just Because of the versatility of that shoe And that shoe doesn't have a plate in it Uh so even though the macx sounds like It should be a super shoe really it's a
Bit more of a daily shoe that has a Plate in it which is sort of what we saw With things like the uh original um Carbonex uh range which came out around The same time as like the early Vaporflies um but it really wasn't a Shoe that was designed to compete with The wfly because it was it just feels a Lot more like a daily shoe that um is Nice and comfortable for longer sessions And things like that so the HW macx is a Shoe that is pretty much just a solid Good daily trainer nice consistent Pace Uh good for longer sessions I've used This for a bit of marathon training and It was good for the longer runs things Like that um but it's not the most Versatile shoe in the world um and it's Worth noting that because it's quite Easy to think of this as like a super Shoe um the ride 17 the previous Versions of the ride I they were fine I Wasn't a massive fan of them uh the Rides 15 and 16 I thought they were Solid daily shoes they didn't have a lot To give me from them they they didn't Have a particularly exciting mid cell Foone they didn't have a lot of Bounce In them they weren't particularly Responsive I raced in the ride 15 uh and I really struggle to maintain the pace That I would normally race at so at the Time I was Runing 38 minut 10ks and I Did a 41 minute 10K and I really found
That the shoe made a difference on that It just didn't feel like it had any Major life in it or any way that it was Making me run faster the new ride 17 has The same foam in it the power run plus That's in the um Triumph 21 and the 20 And it's a significantly improved foam It it's it's just a great foam um it's It's really balanced it has a nice Little bit of compression in it so you You don't get loads of bounds from it But you do feel like it's helping you Maintain a nice consistent pace and Giving you a little bit of energy back As well it's also slightly firm midsole In the ride 17 it's not as firm in the Triumph 20 and 21 but it's slightly Firmer but that does give a bit of Responsiveness as well so it's a fairly Rigid shoe and the fact that the HW ma X Has got a plate in it doesn't Necessarily make it any more rigid than The ride 17 so they are quite similar From that point of view um and I'd use These shoes for the same thing uh I get A similar ride from both of these shoes Um and I find them both to be solid and Daily training miles um for longer runs Those sorts of things um and yeah it's It's it's they're pretty comparable um So it really comes down to me to the Price and I think the um ride 17 is Significantly better price than the macx So I would I I i' definitely say that
The the it's a better value shoe around The ride ride 17 um the other thing I'd Say about both of these is that there's A great outs soole on the uh ride 17 Solid um covering of rubber uh it's been Very wet and brighten recently uh and It's been fine it's been absolutely Great at gripping the the ground macx is Okay um I've not had any issues with it But it's not as good as the ride 17 the Outsole is just a little bit smoother so I definitely say the ride 17 has a Better outsole so in testing I've now Run north of 50 miles in both of these Shoes across my usual test mix of paces And terrain that includes easy miles Right up to allout intervals I've also Raced a half marathon the Max and I've Done three-hour long runs in both of the Shoes all of that on a mix of asphalt Tarmac and some light River paths and Off-roading in Parks bits like that Thrown in for good measure I've also Done a sidebyside mile with one shoe on Each foot to find out how they feel when I'm wearing them at the same time and This is what I found so I've just Finished my side by side mile I've got The hok macx on the left foot I've got The soc ride 17 on the right foot it's Been a little while since I've actually Put the macx on when I came out to do This I didn't put these two shoes in the Same ballpark now I've got them on side
By side remarkably similar again I sort Of say this some sometimes it's a bit of A shock to me when it happens Particularly with a shoe like this in my Head I thought the macx light racy Faster strip back I thought the ride 17 Would be more of like a low to kind of Mid Pace can handle faster shoe but Actually once you've got them on there's A lot here that feels a similar in the Ride underf foot at least in what these Shoes can both do in my book so let's Talk about some of the differences then One of the big things here I think you Can feel the rocker far more pronounced In the macx under the ball of the foot Encourage you to sort of roll through Onto that tow far quicker than the 17 They just run a little bit flatter they Are rockered and when you're running Just in the ride 17 you notice the Rocker and it helps you with Easy Clip Along plenty fine but you get more of That in the macx the fit much tighter Much snugger much more racy on the macx To your foot feels well held well Cradled it's definitely a bit more racy I think you know you've got a wider Platform on the right on the ride 17 Here as well and you notice that with That kind of heel and 4 foot flaring so The ride 17 then is offering up a bigger Platform to land on you've got that kind Of wider flared for fo and the heel the
Macx is a little bit Slimmer which makes A little bit more precise it's a little Bit more Nimble a little bit more agile That adds that overall racy feel the Other thing you've got on the ride 17 is A smaller stack but a bigger drop I'm Not sure I noticed that as much because Of that big kind of Rucker that happens Up in the foref foot of the macx that Makes it feel more kind of dropped than It is I think or at least rolls you into That kind of toll far quicker there's a Small difference in the weight but I Don't think you notice that a huge Amount here yes I think the macx is the Lighter shoe again that Keys into it Kind of more racy feel and that's going To be the key difference for me here Overall when you're running around in These you notice the rocker ring makes For a faster clip they're lighter They're more agile they're more Nimble And that is the Hooka Max it makes them Feel more racy but they are cushioned And protective enough I think to do some Longer runs if I was going to go for a Three-hour run I'd rather put on the Ride 17 if I was going to go and try and Belt out a really fast 10K I'd rather Put on the macx and that's pretty much How I would decipher between these two Shoes I think they're both pretty good Capable versatile daily trainers one is Tuned slightly more to the fast one is
Probably tuned a little bit better to The slower but you can do both or all Kinds of runs in both I believe and yeah I like both of these shoes they really Tick the box for me they've got my kind Of ride they've got my kind of feel on The foot they both feel pretty natural The minute you put them on there's good Comfort on the foot both hold really Well you got the macx is a bit more Tight and dialed in when it comes to the Foot there's a bit more room in the toe Boox of the ride 17 which lends it a bit More I think again to going long so if You're thinking about a shoe that you Might use for an old ult ra where you Just want a shoot that's going to give Reliable roll clip through comfort and Protection but you need a bit more of a Roomy toe box it's definitely going to Be the ride 17 over something like the Mac X verdict then well when we did the Hooka Mac X review I said this was one Of my shoes of the year and I stick by That it's light fast agile it feels Punchy but it's still protective it Offers good comfort and versatility it's Probably better at the mid to faster end Of the spectrum though the new sakon Ride 17 meanwhile is also one of my Favorite shoes of recent launches There's excellent disappearing comfort Really good ride that balances cushioned
Landings with rolling response and Springy energy for me it's one of those Shoes that really feels natural straight Out of the box and it's easy to run in Over any distance it can handle some of The faster stuff but it's better at the Lower to Mid paces and it's good for Longer endurance efforts as well now These are both excellent daily trainers The macx is a lively racy daily training That's better at the faster and the Slower but lands firmly in the pile of Shoes marked can handle anything the Ride 177 can also cover a wide variety Of efforts but it's at its best when You're moving at the mid to lower end of Your pace Spectrum so there's lots of Crossover in what both these shoes can Do but I think there's arguably room to Have both of these shoes in your Rotation too if you really choose to but If I had to choose one I think that for The 80/20 mix of easy to high intensity Runs that you do when you're doing Marathon training the ride 17 will cover More of your weekly miles at a lower Price so there's a bit more value here For me but if you want something Snappier that you can even raise in the Macx is probably the one to go for the Ride 17 is a comfortable Workhorse the Macx is a bit more fun if I had to Choose one shoe as I said it'd be the Ride 17 and that's just because of the
Types of runs that I'm doing right now Which are you know border on the easier Really now but if I wanted a shoe that Could handle most of my marathon Training and maybe then take as an Option to race in it would be the macx Okay so my verdict on these two shoes I Think is pretty obvious what I'm going To go for I think they are pretty Similar in what they deliver I think They are i' use them for the same things Basically so it really comes down to the Price for me and R 17 would get it all The way if I was buying either of these Shoes i' definitely go for the ride 17 I Don't think the macx really delivers a Lot um for what you're paying for it I Don't think the carbon plate in it Really makes a massive difference as I Said I'd probably buy the hoger Mac 5 Over this and it's a cheaper shoe um so Yeah the ride 17 I'd go for all the way I think it's a solid comfortable uh Enjoyable shoe to run in and just feels Nice and stable as well it's a very very Stable shoe hak X is pretty stable as Well but I just think the ride 17 tops It so I'm going ride 17 all the way I Just think it's a better all around Better value uh daily training shoe that Gives you pretty much everything you're Going to get from the macx that's it From us thanks a lot for watching don't Forget to like subscribe click that
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