The Hoka Tecton X 3 is Hoka’s latest carbon trail running shoe that wants to be on your feet when you’re running fast and racing across a mixture of terrain.
Hoka has made some big changes with the new Tecton, introducing a gaiter to keep out trail debris, tweaking the carbon plate design and swapping EVA for PEBA foam to bring some of that road shoe bounce.
Tester Mike was out in Chamonix for the launch of the Tecton X 3 and managed to squeeze in some running time with the new Tecton to see what’s changed and share some initial thoughts on Hoka’s new carbon trail shoe.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:21 – Price and what’s new from Tecton X 2?
02:54 – How does it fit?
05:16 – The Run Test
10:12 – Initial thoughts
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Hey this is M run testers and in this Video I'm going to be talking about this Shoe the Hawker tekan X3 the latest Version of Hawkers car plate trail enery That is built for Speed and for racing Across a mixture of terrain now I was in Shamany earlier this week for the Announcement and the launch of the new Tekon X3 this is actually a special UTMB Athlete colorway that it's rostered Athletes will be wearing at this year's Race now this is also the shoe that Jim Warsy wore at UTMB when he to finish Lineing first last year or one of the Shoes that he wore during that race it's Also one of the shoes that he wore at Western states that he won also as well Too recently this is not exactly the Same version this is a more consumer More accessible version his had a Slightly different kind of design in Terms of the carbon plate in terms of The outs so it's definitely designed to Be a shield this version tekan X3 to be One that everyone can kind of get on With and can enjoy the new qualities of The tekon now as well as finding out More about what's new with the Tek X Week compared to techx 2 and the kind of Features you should get excited about I Did manage to get a little bit of Running time in with this shoot as well Before I had to head back to the UK so What I'm going to do is take you through
The key details of the tekan X3 get you Into some early initial running Thoughts With this shoe and let you know what I Think of the Hawker tekan X3 so [Music] Far so here's the key details on the Haw Tekon X3 which is fair to say has a very Different look to to the X2 price-wise The tan X3 comes in at £220 in the UK or $275 in the US so that's pricier than The tekan X2 which cost £185 in the UK And $225 in the US at launch it's also Only available in one size fit option Weightwise it does pick up some from the Tekan X2 with a men's 10 weighing in 286 G compared to 264 G in the same size our UK size 8 weighed in on the scales at 260 g it sticks to a 5mm Drop Like Detecton X2 with the same 40 mm and 35 Mm stack Heights as the last Tekon at the upper Hawker once again Uses a quick dry Matrix one with a vamp To offer feet plenty of room to spread Out in with a new design dominating Gator style collar in place to protect Your feet from Trail debris Midel Hawker Swapped its dual density super critical Eva and Eva based cushioning a dual Layer of peber to help deliver a bouncy Ride that's combined once again with Hawker's meta rocker and a new dual Carbon plate design with winglets to Help give it that propulsive as well as Controlled ride keeping your feet steady
Is a vibrant Mega grip light based Al Sole that goes from 3 mm up to 4 mm lugs To boost traction across a range of [Music] Surfaces okay so let's talk about that Fit and that's definitely going to be a Big talking point here with the Texan X3 Mainly because of that design dominating Gor that you now have on the X3 compared To what we got on the previous versions Of the tecta I'll start by talking about Sizing and I've got this in a UK size Eight that is my typical running shoe Size that's the typical kind of shoe Size that works best for me in Hawker Shoes and I would say that has been Applicable with the most recent kind of Road running and TR shoes that I have Used from Hawker now in terms of getting This shoe on I definitely think it's Done in two parts I think almost you can Have slipped half of your your foot into The shoe and then you kind of use this Kind of gate to kind of Wiggle things Into place now in terms of the fit I Would say I've been pretty happy with The space up front of the toes in the Couple of runs I've done in this shoe I Definitely think there's a lot of space At the sides of my foot I think less Volume but on the top but I definitely Think the space in the front and Actually the sides have felt pretty good For me overall when you get further back
Into the shoe it feels more typically Hawker for me Narrows you know Definitely the midfoot it feels very Snug and kind of you know very much Locked in in terms of you know what You'd want from a shoe that's kind of a Bit more racing focused a bit more kind Of faster focus and then you get back Into you know into the you know the Hillel of this shoe and the heel collar And obviously you've got that Gator kind Of softer material in general it's a Little bit more kind of flexible there Is some padding inside this shoe to kind Of help keep the you know things kind of Stable and you know locked in in place And it's quite generous there I would Say as well too so that's something to Keep in mind it isn't just pure material Up against your kind of Achilles and Hill there is some p there and I found That generally it's been okay in terms Of the kind of lockdown I've got here I Do think because you've got this Allinone kind of Gator and kind of Tongue um you know which is kind of Almost sock like you do need to work a Little bit harder to get that kind of Optimal lock down the shoe once you have Or once I have played around with it in That second run particularly I have Found it's been okay for me so I do Think from a sizing point of view it has Been good for me I'd like to see how it
Kind of fares when I run a little bit Longer in it but ultimately it's been Good so far it does does take a little Bit more work to get the shoe on Compared to the previous Texas shoe so That's something to keep in mind you're Not going to easily flip the shoe on but Once it is in it does feel like it's Nicely locked in the kind of feel that You want when you are you know using a Shoe to run a little bit quicker in and Also to race [Music] It so in terms my running time in the Tekan X3 so far it was all done in Shamy I haven't had a chance to do any running With this shoe in the UK so far in my Typical Trails now I had a couple of Days out there pretty busy schedule um Doing interviews learning about the shoe Um so I managed to get a couple of runs In with the X3 and the first run was a Few miles really getting used to running In it and in typical Shamy fashion had To do some heels um so you know Definitely taking up some steeper climb Some downhill some quicker downhill as Well some technical terrain as well so Definitely being a little bit cautious In not my usual kind of Trail kind of Conditions uh and then the second run Which I did just sh Nar miles in this Shoe being able to run a little bit kind Of clearer but also still with a mixture
Of terrain again a little bit technical Um kind of rockier paths kind of some Mud grass um going through streams kind Of going over logs and kind of getting Them a little bit wet as well and you Know definitely kind of testing that out Sole a little bit as well now the first Thing I would say about the um Tex next Really stands out for me is that peber That peber based midsole just makes it Feel a lot different to running in the Previous tekan shoes which I think was a Little bit more kind of you know Definitely firmer feeling but still very Responsive and still very Lively in Terms of that experience of running in That shoe I think for the tekon X3 you Can't ignore that P bounceing when you Start moving around and it you just feel It and when you get going it and you get A kind of a straighter route to run on It feels very live and you just roll Through very quickly in this Shue and Obviously you've got that c plate in There as well it's slightly been rejig In terms of design I think ultimately to Counter out that kind of more lively PE Phone that you're getting there to make Sure you're getting that kind of Propulsive feel but also getting Something that feels a little bit more Stable than it you know than it probably Needed to be on the tekan X or previous Tekan shoes I think that peber that live
PE just needed that um kind of thing Just to be kind of locked in a little Bit more and I definitely feel like That's what I noticed on my kind of Second run with it where I could run a Little bit you know kind of longer and Straighter in it um and kind of go out a Little bit harder and it felt nice to do You just roll through really nicely you Get that kind of propulsive feel but I Feel like it's also you know in Tander With that peber phone that you're Getting there which is definitely on the Very bouncy side I do feel like you know It is slightly heavier than the previous Shoe but I do do think is a pretty Lightweight uh kind of Trail shoe but if You're hoping for a lighter version of The Texan X2 that isn't quite the case Here but I think in terms of the build Of the shoe does feel like it runs Pretty light for me and it didn't feel Like a clumpy kind of heavy shoot to run Uh it felt good on the downhill kind of Parts of that run as well too I did feel Like it could be pretty nimbl I do think It's a shoot you need to you're going to Probably need to get used to just Because of that build and a slightly Different design and the upper design Compared to the previous tekan there's a Little bit less material there it's a Bit thinner you know and you know really I think it's going to R those kind of
More technical kind of agile Nimble Runners that are going to get the best Out of this shoe but I felt like when I Could run a little bit quicker than Shoot it felt very good to do so um I Think from an outside point of view it Felt very good you know obviously you're Getting slightly deeper lugs here Compared to the previous shoe but I Think ultimately it's worked well across The the mixture of terrain that I did I Think on softer ground it didn't feel Too harsh or firm for me I did a little Bit of road as well and it felt I could Manage some road but I think ultimately You want it to be on you know kind of Off-road routes as I said I kind of had To kind of go kind of go over across Streams over logs and it felt fine I Didn't feel like I was slipping around Um they got a bit wet as well a bit Muddy when I had to wash them off in a Stream you know this upper didn't you Know it was pretty hot you know Ultimately but it didn't feel like it Really soaked through in the shoe either And the outsole grip felt very good Overall for me so I think you know Having a Vibram you know outso is the Key here and I think it's worked very Well for me on those couple of runs that I've done so I think ultimately I had a Very good experience I do like the fact They've got that kind of livelier PE
Foam in there it hasn't lost any that Kind of kind of propulsive feel that you Get from the previous shoes but it does Definitely get you a bit further up off The ground if you like the idea of Something being a little bit closer and Kind of locking to the the kind of Surfaces I think you maybe don't get as Much of that here because of the the Build of the shoe but I think ultimately I think in terms of being a shoe to run Quicker on a kind of off-road service it Does kind of deliver that uh and yeah Very positive overall I do think it's Going to be a shoe that isn't going to It's going to take a bit of time to Getting used to and adjusting to less so Than the previous Texan shoes and it may Me it's not necessarily A a natural Option for everyone but I do think if You are looking for a kind of Road feel From a tril shoe I definitely think There's qualities of that here on the Tekan [Music] X3 so some initial thoughts on the Hawker tekan X3 this is definitely a Different shoe a radically different Shoe from the tekan X2 and the previous Original tekan and I that's mainly down To the design of the upper being very Different I think ultimately down to Changing that midell material which I do Think makes it a more lively shoe to run
In maybe loses a little bit of that Responsive feel that maybe people might Like from the tetin but I think Ultimately still feels like a shoe that Can handle a mixture of surfaces and can Still give you that kind of really Aggressive kind of you know rocket feel In this shoe and as a shoe I said Particularly on that second run I did Enjoy running it when I could get going And run a little bit quicker in it I Think ultimately is a shoe that's going To take a little bit more getting used To running in and I do think it's not Going to be the natural fit for everyone I think there are maybe other Hawker Trout shoes that are going to work Better for other people still want that Faster field but you know maybe prefer Something that's just going to fit a Little bit easier a little bit more Naturally and a bit more traditionally But I do think there's going to be People that are going to like this shoe I particularly want to see how it's Going to handle my Trails back here home In the UK um because obviously pretty Extreme out in Shamy but I think Ultimately it's a shoe that I'm looking Forward to spending more time in it is An expensive shoe and I think that's Another thing to factor in it's £220 Similar to the previous tekan but more Expensive in the US I think
$275 that's a lot to pay for a tril shoe But I think if you are looking for kind Of a a road running kind of racing shoe Feel in a trail shoe I think you'll Getting Hallmarks of that here in the Tan X3 and it feels like it transfers Over pretty nicely I think ultimately as Well too I think ultimately it's going To be whether you want to you're willing To pay that money a lot of money for That experience so a lot of money for a TR shoe that is very radically different From the previous tekan shoe I think a Lot of uh people like the previous tekan This is very different but I think Different in a good way I think it's Just going to be about getting out in The shoe and seeing whether you like Those changes in the t x I do like the Changes I feel like I'm liking the Changes so far I've quite likeed running The shoe it's Lively bouncy got a great Outso on it from what I can see and you Know I think a lot of people are going To like the changes a lot of people are Going to have to get used to these Changes but I think the Chang hopefully Should be positive one for most people And it's going to make it a expensive Trail shoe for running fast in but one That I think a lot of people are going To quite like running in okay so they Have it some initial thoughts on the Hawker Tech to X Fe now as I mentioned
Already definitely plenty more running To do and I would like to see how it Performed on my usual trails and Trail Terrain as well now if you've got any Questions about this shoe while we are Testing do let us know in the comments As always like And subscribe hit that Little bell to find out about latest Video yeah we see you the next R Test's Video
