The Hoka Skyflow is a new cushioned daily trainer that features a supercritical EVA midsole foam that should make it an upgrade on classic Hoka options like the Clifton and Bondi. Nick has been out for a first run in the Hoka Skyflow to see how it feels, here’s his initial review of the shoe.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:15 – Design & Key Stats
01:51 – How’s The Fit
03:03 – First Run
05:35 – Early Verdict
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick and this is our first run review Of the Hoka skyf [Music] Flow the H skylow is a new cushion shoe Within the Hoka range it's coming in a Little bit more expensive than the Hoka Clifton 9 it cost £150 or $160 it weighs in at £285 G or 10 oz in This UK size 9 and it has a 5 mm drop With the stack heite being 40 m M at the Heel and 35 at the 4ot in the men's shoe And 38 at the heel and 33 at the 4ot in The women's shoe so as I said the skylow Is a new cushion daily trainer within The Hoka range and kind of the big Difference with this compared to Traditional models like the Hoka Bondi And Hoka Clifton is that the midsole is Entirely made from a super critical EVA Foam which is the materials that Hoka Has mainly used in shoes like the Mac Before hasn't really brought to a very Standard cushion daily trainer so that Will be the upgrade you have here in Theory otherwise you've got quite a lot Of quite typical Hoka features on the Shoe you've got a cre jackard mesh upper Incredibly padded tongue I've noticed I'm interesting to see how that feels on The run because it's a lot more padded Than I've seen with other hookus shoes I Think Fair bit of padding around the Collar the usual kind of hoker heel
Design there that I've always found very Good for avoiding ailles irritation and An internal heel counter as well and Then like I said the mids sole is made From a super critical EVA foam in the Past you have compression molded Eva on Stuff like the hoker Clifton and Bondi This is just a kind of lighter poier Material it's a foam I've always really Liked on shoes like the hok and Mac I Found pretty good daily trainers with a Slight Speedy Edge now it'll be Interesting to see how feels on the sky Flow which is geared up much more to be A cushioned more relaxed daily trainer You've also got hooker's early stage Meta rocker on the shoe and then you've Got quite thick rubber out soole Obviously the coverage isn't complete There you've got like a bit of a gouge In the mid soole there as well and some Exposed foam but there's a lot of rubber In all the key impact areas and it's Quite a thick one as well so durability Should be good on this which is Obviously what you want from a daily Trainer like [Music] This comes to the fit of the Hoka skylow I've got my normal UK size here which is A uk9 it's a US 9.5 for Hoka that's the Size I have across their range and it Fits me very well it's got very much a Classic Hoka fit all around I'd say so
The 4 foot is great for me I have a Narrow foot I think if you have a wide Foot then sometimes hooker shoes can be A bit of a problem I don't think this is A particularly narrow shoe but it's hard For me to judge cuz I do have a narrow Foot that's one the reasons I really Like the fit of Hocus because they do Fit me very well good hold around the Midfoot really padded tongue which held The foot nicely today I actually got a Bit of a wound on the top of my foot From lace bite that I got from another Shoe and this was obviously very Comfortable on top of that I did wor it Would be oppressive and too thick and Warm but being outside for about 45 Minutes today on my run it didn't get Too hot but might be a problem in longer Runs we'll see and then the heel design Is always really good on hokus so I am Someone who gets slight Achilles Irritation from certain heel counter Designs and other shoes and I've had That quite a lot this week from another Shoe but hasn't been a problem at all With the sky flow You' got a little bit Support from the heel counter there but I find it quite unobtrusive and uh yeah Just well done all around so I'd say the Fit is very much in line with the fit of Other Hokah shoes so if you do have Others you can judge the sizing based on That and if you have problems with other
Hookah shoes you might have the same Problems here with the skylow but Overall the fit has been very good for Me in my normal [Music] Size so just heading out to do first run In the hoker sky flow I've got a nice Easy kind of 40 to 45 minutes on the Plan today just a nice Monday run after A long run yesterday going to probably Do a mix of light trails and the road Get onto the trails to get under some Tree cover cuz it is very hot here in The UK today I know people like it when We say how hot it is in the UK compared To obviously really hot countries Looking forward to testing the shoe out I've been quite impressed with what hook Has been doing of late I enjoyed the Clifton so this is kind of an upgrade on That with the different midell foam That'll be very pleasant indeed and I've Like the Mac for a few years so been to See how it feels to have this foone in a Slightly bigger more cushion daily Trainer so yeah looking forward to Getting out there for a nice relaxed run In the [Music] Sun so just back for the run now did Just over 10K in about 45 minutes and it Was very pleasant yeah like I said nice Hot day today I was just ticking along At a relaxed pace keeping the heart rate
Low shoe definitely has that quality you Get from the mac and the Clifton to some Extent which just kind of disappears in The foot like it's got that very padded Tongue but actually that wasn't really a Problem today and it is over 30° here Today and I know it wasn't a very long Run but it didn't feel hot or oppressive Or anything like that it was just Cushioned as the well-designed back of The shoe I always find with hus shoes Just kind of gets out of the way Supports without irritating my kiles up As nice and light and the foam just Feels good underfoot like it's not Really wowing you it's not very soft and Squishy it's not like you're pulling on Something like the mauno Neo Vista but It's got a little bit of Bounce there And it mostly just ticks over very Nicely with the rocker just start Running you go running and kind of don't Have to think about your shoe too much Which is a really nice quality to have In a shoe and then when I up the pace a Little bit you do get a bit more sink in So if you put a bit more Force into the Foam you do get a bit more kind of Compression and bounce back it's a Resilient foam and it will bounce back And I say if you're a heavier Runner you Might get that at kind of all paces and Then when you start moving at faster Paces I think lots of Runners will feel
That so it's got that kind of two-level Effect which is good for a daily trainer Where you know nice and comfortable but You can feel a bit of speed there if you Are going to try and up the pace is a Bigger shoe than the uh than the Mac for Sure which I think like Works quite well As a daily trainer for someone like Myself I could use that for pretty much Everything the Mac but if you found that Was a bit too kind of lightweight too Sparse on the foot then you've maybe got A spar Spar isn't the word to um not Deep enough not comfortable enough Under Foot we've got this now this Sky flow Which I think has a similar foam a Similar feel but a bit more foam Under Foot and we'll give you a bit more Cushioning there at those easy Paces so Yeah I think it's a nice addition to the Line definitely has a feel that reminds Me a bit of the Clifton but you've got a Slightly nice of foam there bit more Kind of push back if you are going to Try and work at PACE than you got from The kind of classic Eva Foams in the H Lineup so nice enjoyable first [Music] Run so it's was enjoyable first run in The hoker sky flow today I do think it's Going to be a good shoe for cruising Through those daily miles at easy Paces I think it's got a nice amount of Cushioning It's Not Over the Top in any
Way it still ticks over nicely it's not Too heavy it moves well it just feels Like a good shoe you to rack up a lot of Miles in and I look forward to doing That also be looking at the versatility When I start to do some more mileage and See if it has got the chops to do some Faster running in as well or whether it Will sit more at the kind of of cushion End of the daily Spectrum as a shoe You'd mainly try and use in a rotation With another shoe but I do think there Is a bit of Bounce there and it should Have similar versatility to other big Cushion shoes like this so for me it Very much feels like an improved Clifton So almost like the Clifton 10 for me Like you've got a lot of similar stuff That you had with the Clifton 9 now with A better foam in the midsole and it just Feels like a better shoe but it's kind Of confusing as to where this sits Compared to the Clifton and the Bondi Like I didn't really like the Bondi at All I found it a heavy shoe that just Didn't really get on with very well I'm Sure it was nice and protective but it Just didn't move very well and this Moves really well so if you've got Similar level of cushioning to the Bondi It could replace that shoe for sure but It feels more of a daily trainer than an Out andout cushion shoe like the Bondi To me and as a result a bit more
Comparable to the Clifton although the Price has risen which is a bit of a Shame like if this was coming in as the Clifton 10 or the skyf replaced the Clifton and they kept it at that price Point be a really good value shoe that Competes very well with shoes in that Area like the Pegasus or the asex no Blast that kind of shoe but you're Pushing it up against things like the Nimbus and the Triumph um then you're at This kind of slightly higher price Mark Which indicates more of a premium Cushion shoe I think it will compete Pretty well there as well cuz it is a Nice comfortable cushion shoe but for me It does feel a bit more like a newer Clifton and I wish the price stayed at Clifton levels but we're nearly always Wishing for the price to be low of Running shoes these days and it very Rarely is I say the shoe that probably Reminded me most of actually after one Run was the A6 no last four as that Really quite well cushion shoe that Still has a fair amount of lightness and Versatility to it and the Nova blast 4 Is a really good shoe so if it ends up Being comparable to that in our full Review then I think it's going to be Really good option although the NOA Blast is a bit cheaper but yeah overall Enjoyed my first run in the skylow just A nice cushion shoe that gets out of the
Way ticks over very nicely should be Good for a nice wide range of runs Should also I think suit a nice wide Range of Runners and yeah it's not going To necessarily knock your socks off it's Not the most exciting shoe in the world But I think it works very well in the Hooker range if you're someone who found The Mac 5 and six just a bit too short Or not cushioned enough to really use as A daily trainer they're the kind shoes I Do like using as a daily trainer because They are so lightweight I still have Quite a high amount of cushioning but if You did find them a bit kind of Lightweight for that kind of running I Think Sky flow comes in and gives you a Similar feel but in a more cushion shoe That feels a bit more set up for daily Miles and then the Mac could be more of A speedy option it's a nice little onew Punch you could have there with this Kind of super critical Eva midso yeah Another good shoe from Hoka I'm enjoying Testing pretty much all their shoes this Year and I've enjoyed the sky FL so [Music] Far that's our first run in the hook of Sky flow let us know what you think in The comments below please do like Subscribe ring the little bell and we'll See you next time on the Run testers
