The Hoka Skyflow is a new daily trainer from Hoka with a supercritical EVA midsole. It’s a fairly light and versatile cushioned shoe, and one that Nick enjoyed greatly during his testing. Here’s out full Hoka Skyflow review.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:12 – Design & Key Stats
02:08 – How’s The Fit
05:09 – The Run Test
12:56 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick and this is our full review of The hoker [Music] Skyflow the H skylow is a new cushioned Running shoe from Hoka for 2024 it joins Shoes like the Bondi in the Clifton Within hooker's range but offers Something a little bit different to both By being a very cushion shoe but brings The lightweight super critical Eva phone We've seen on shoes like the Hooka Mac Before to a more cushion model it cost £50 in the UK $160 in the US it weighs In at 285 G or 10 oz in my UK size 9 it Has a 5 mm drop with a stack heite of 40 Mm at the heel 35 at the 4 foot in the Men's shoe and 38 at the heel 33 at the 4 foot in the women's shoe so skylow is A new shoe but it very much melds Together a lot of existing features and Materials we've seen from the hoker Range in the past so you've got that Rocker design that we've seen in a lot Of hacker shoes you've got that cushion Design from things like the Bondi and The Clifton you've got the super Critical foam from the ma And you've got geometry that is Apparently expired by the Hoka Skyward X The the big bouncy very cushioned but Also plated shoe that Hoka released this Year the super critical Eva midell I Think is the key feature on this shoe
Like it's still an Eva midell not the Peber foam that we see on some shoes in Hocus range like the the macx 2 but it Is Nitro infused to give it a lighter Poppier kind of more responsive feel Than the Eva materials used in something Like the Clifton or the Bondi got a cre Jackard upper loads of panning on the Tongue and a fair bit around the heel as Well with an internal heel counter to Add some stability at the back of the Shoe shoe as I mentioned you've got a Rocker profile to the shoe like you have With pretty much all of hooker's shoes And then you've got a pretty thick Rubber out soole like it's not got full Coverage on the bottom there it's Actually almost a little bit of a gouge Here as well to reduce the weight but Where there is rubber it is very thick And durability shouldn't be a concern Given that all the kind of key impact Areas on the shoe are [Music] Covered to the fit of the Hocus Sky flow I've got a uk9 here which is a US 9.5 That is my normal size with hoker across The range and it fits me very well I Tend to get on very well with hoker Shoes I will say because they do tend to Have a slightly more narrow design there Lots of other brands and I have a narrow Foot and they fit me very well I've Always got on particularly well with the
Heel designs on hokers as well I don't They never tend to irritate my Achilles Or R my foot in any way so yeah I've got A great fit with the sky flow it's a Pretty classic Hoka fit so if you have Used any other hooka shoes you might Find you have the same kind of enjoyment Or problems with this shoe as you have Of others all around I would stick to Your normal running shoe [Music] Size so I've run 60 km in the Hooka Sky Flow and I'd say that I enjoyed every Step like it wasn't a shoe that I Necessarily expected Ed to be anything Too amazing or anything like that out The box and it isn't a shoe that blows You away when you step into it that the Super critical Eva midsole is not like a Super springy thing or just a really Solid cushion daily trainer and the foam Just works really well for me I find There's also a shoe that is set up to Suit my taste quite perfectly which is Probably one of the reasons I like it I Really like the rocker that you have on Hookah shoes the 5mm drop suits me very Well and I've really like that super Critical evi foam on models like the Mac In the past and I really like it in the Sky flow as well it all combines to Create a shoe that just disappears on The foot really nicely I can tick over Over in it at a range of Paces very
Comfortably I don't really notice Anything about the upper maybe the Tongue's a bit warm at times but not Really the outside's fine the ride of The shoe is very smooth and like I say It works at a range of Paces I'm going For Flatout easy runs it's great for That but you can move through the gears As well because you've got that Responsive foam there it's not the Heaviest shoe in the world it just just Moves very well and I move very well in The shoe and that makes you enjoy a shoe A lot like obviously there's a lot of Personal taste coming into it here but When I go out the door and I run in the Shoe it just feels good and that's where You can really ask for of a cushion shoe Like this as I say the midell foam here Isn't spectacular feeling under foot It's not something that's going to Really blow you away there are daily Trainers and cushion daily trainers like This out there now that are using Brands Top Foams from carbon shoes and stuff Like that and creating maybe a bit more Bounce or a bit more excitement all Around but super critical Foams like This I think really work well in these Kind of daily trainers like we've seen It with the Brooks range as well with The nitrogen infused DNA Loft Foams Puma's got some nitrogen infused Foams That work very well and hocus one as
Well just gives you a really balanced Feeling where it is comfortable and Supportive and it's not at all harsh Despite being a little bit firmer than a Really soft foam but then has that kind Of lightweight poppy feel that means you Can do a lot of different stuff in this Shoe you can work hard against it you Can run pretty fast in this shoe but Also if you just want to sit back and Run very easy you can do that in the sky Flow and it's really what it does best Actually obviously it's a big cushion Shoe and and just going out and it every Day feels very good I also find that as With some of those other nitr infused Foams particularly the ones from Brooks And shoes like the glycerin or the ghost Max 2 sky flow is a shoe that feels Better the longer a run goes on it just The foam is consistent and resilient It's not bottoming out at all it gives You that nice comfortable platform to Push against and every easy run I've Done in the shoe or even slightly faster Runs the shoe feels great at the end of The Run just as good as it did at the Start of the run and shoe you can pull On day after day after day and the phone Just feels like I say very consistent Nice and resilient just comfortable but Well balanced so certainly you are going To find softer shoes out there with more Of a sinky in feeling you know things
Like the new balanc 1080 v13 or the hus Skex and you're looking for a pure Cushion shoe then maybe you can find a Shoe that does that a bit better for you Like some like the S huran 24 as well But they are bigger heavier shoes and I Think the geometry of them is set up Much more just for easy running but the Sky flow you get that you get that Comfort I think but then you have a much More fluid transition a bit more pop off The toes so if you do want to up the Pace you have got more versatility there Under foot out soole has also been good For me like you haven't got full Coverage here but it's gripped very well For me I've been mostly been running in The dry as it's the UK summer but I have Had one wet run and that's been fine in Terms of grip durability looks fine After only 60k though upper disappears Nicely on the foot as well his tongue Yeah that will be warm for some people Like I haven't had a big problem with it So far but I think if you live in a very Warm country it's a really thick tongue And that's comfortable in terms of Pressure on the top of the foot from the Laces but does add a bit of weight and a Bit of kind of thickness uh to the shoe That will increase the step in Comfort But maybe could run a little bit warm For some people it has been fine for me And in the UK it's rarely a problem
Really that shoes are going to run too [Music] Warm comes to the verdict I thoroughly Enjoyed testing the Hoka skylow I I'm Really getting on well with hookah shoes At the moment I think they're having a Blinder of the year I think if the cell X1 came in like 50 grams lighter I'd Have a full hoker rotation going on Right now with the Mac X2 the sky flow And the yellow it just choose I've Loved Running in and they do the job I want Them to really really well so the only Thing I don't like about the sky flow From my testing is the colors poke had a Real run of really nice teal blue greeny Shoes that were amazing like the Mac 6 Colorway I had earli this year and it's A shame to haven't got that in this shoe Cuz not sure about this blue and yellow But other than that the shoe feels Really good and I really like it I think Within the Hoka range I think it's Certainly a step up in h performance on The Hoka Clifton wish it was the same Price as the Clifton but it is a little Bit more but you are getting I think a Better versatile daily trainer that has A nicer ride and especially has a bit More Versa if you are going to push the Pace a little bit I like it a lot more Than hooka Bond di which is shoe I just Don't really get on with I found it's That very heavy sluggish shoe and this
Feels just as comfortable but with a Much more fluid and enjoyable ride and Then I think looking at the market at Large it really is up there with the Best cushion daily trainers like it does Remind me a little bit although there Are different drops of the sakon ride 17 And the S Triumph 21 the previous model As just you know comfortable versatile Daily trainers that you could recommend Lots of people just to pick up they're Going to be cushioned enough for your Easy runs even if you're just starting Running then they have got a nice feel To them if you are going to run a bit Faster as well as I mentioned in the run Test you are going to get softer cush Your shoes if you want that like I think The New Balance 1080 v13 is a very soft Sho it's too soft for me the 1080 v13 But I know a lot of people like that Shoe if you want that softer feeling Hoka has the sky deck which is a lot More expensive but has a really bouncy Feel has a plate in it it's you know It's a big step up in everything in Terms of technology and price and just General feel but I probably actually Prefer the more simple lightweight feel Of the sky flow myself it's also the Saky hurcan 24 which is a shoe I really Like that is a very comfortable and Stable cushion shoe that doesn't feel Too sluggish despite the fact is a
Really big shoe with lots of protection Under Foot again though I for most of my Runs I'd rather be in a slightly more Lightweight shoe like the sky flow even At easy Paces just cuz it ticks over so Nicely and there are some really good Higher drop options that I think have Similar levels of Versatility and Comfort to the sky flow things like the Nike Pegasus 41 and in particular the Puma velocity Nitro 3 a shoe I really Really like that's great value has a Higher drop has more of a Snappy feel to It as a result I think right now I'm Preferring the feel of shoes like the Skylow with that lower drop and the more Rocked feel but the velocity Nitro is a Great shoe with a really good out soole As well that you can use as a cushion Daily trainer that has a bit of Versatility but also has a lot of Comfort I've mentioned a few of the Brick shoes as well in the run test Because they've got that nitren infused DNA Loft V3 phone which I think has a Great feel underf foot as well there's Some really good highy drop shoes in the Range that use that in the glycerin 21 And the GH 16 and if you prefer a more Rocker design then there is the Brooks Ghost Max 2 which I really liked as well I think it probably actually suffered by The fact I was testing it at the same Time as the Hoka skylow and I just find
The Hoka has a slightly better ride has A slightly better feel under the foot But the ghost Max 2 is quite similar all Around it's a fair bit heavier than the Sky flow but has a similar kind of Rocked you know nice versatile feel Underfoot I just prefer the sky flow Myself so yeah I think out of all the Kind of cushion daily trainers out there At the moment the sky flow is probably Up there at the top for me along with The velocity Nitro 3 I think it's a Really good shoe from Hoka it's not one That's going to like knock your socks Off with how it feels Under Foot but it Does feel really good it's kind you Learn to really love because you pick it Up and use it every day it feels good it Also feels good at the end of a run as I Mentioned in the run test and it's just A great daily trainer that has a little Bit versatility but primarily is just a Comfortable and easy shoe to get along With and run in That's our review of the H of Sky flow Let us know what you think in the Comments below please do like and Subscribe ring the little bell and we'll See you next time