HOKA’s second-generation carbon-plated trail shoe comes with new uppers and some other minor updates. It’s still designed for racing trails and tackling longer off-road efforts and ultras but do those minor tweaks add up to a big improvement? Run Testers Kieran and Nick have put the off-road miles to find out. Hit play for the HOKA Tecton X2 review.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
0:13 – Important details: Drop, Weight, Stack and Price
0:43 – What’s new?
1:33 – How’s the fit?
2:29 – The Run Test
7:00 – The HOKA Tecton X2 verdict
Hi people welcome to the runtest it's Kieran here and in this video we're here To give you our multi-tester verdict on The carbon plated Trail shoe the Hoka Tech the next two it's built for Speed On the trails particularly racing is it Any better than the first generation Let's get straight into it [Music] So first up some quick details then the Tokyo tecton X2 is a five mil drop 30 Mils in the hill and 25 mils in the Forefoot in the women's and 32 mils in The hill and 27 mils in the forefoot in The men's now the techton X2 are heavier Than the techton X at 8.8 ounces or 252 Grams compared to the first gen's 8.5 Ounces or 240 grams in a UK men's size Eight and a half they're pricier too 225 Up for 220 or 185 pounds in the UK [Music] So let's give you a quick whip around And talk about what's new then well the Main changes here are to the uppers These are new Matrix uppers they've got A hydrophobic properties AKA they're a Bit more protected against water and They're much faster drying they're quite Dense and structured to help keep debris Out otherwise you've got the same Mid-level heel collar padding here You've got a flat leg gusseted tongue Which is the same and there's some kind Of minor overlay reinforcements across
The toe but not a lot The midsole Remains largely unchanged from the last Generation you've got the same parallel Carbon plates you've got the same stack Of profly X midsole foam plus the same Early stage meta rocker flip them over And the Vibram Mega grip which comes With with light base outsole here also Remains unchanged they're also still the Same four mil lugs [Music] When it came to fit I ran true to size And that's absolutely what I'd recommend The fit is quite hugging there's not the Roomiest toe box but the holding the Lockdown work well for me true to size So that is what I'd go for I got on Really well with the fit of the Hoka Tech next to in my normal size which is UK size nine that's a US 9.5 in this Shoe though and usually I'm a us-10 the Way they convert it so it does have a Slightly shorter more snug fit than lots Of other shoes are partly because of That but I got really well with it I do Have a pretty narrow foot and I Appreciate a nice locked in fit Especially on a shoe that is geared Towards racing and on the trails I like The hold it has around the midfoot for Jinking through narrow trails that kind Of thing so all in all I got on fire With the fit but it is quite a dialed in One if you're looking for a roomier more
Expansive spacious feeling then you Might look at going half size up but I Liked it and I do think if it was Slightly improving me compared to the Hoka text next although I had no huge Problems with the tech connection fit This is a little bit more dialed in In my run test I've done well over 60 Miles in these shoes that includes a lot Of lighter Trails a mix of Paces faster Ragged plots I've also raced a more Technical wet Steep and slippy Marathon At the Maverick Terex series Now I'm a fan of these shoes they offer Good Comfort out of the box The fit was Secure on the heel and Across the midfoot I had no notable Slipping even on the steeper descents That I ran in that race they hug a Little tight but overall I was really Happy with the disappearing feel on the Foot you get from these shoes they're Unfussy to put on and after my five hour Trail Marathon I had no blisters hot Spots or nastiness when it comes to the Ride I found them virtually identical to The original detector next too nothing Really has changed here and if you can Get the Technics cheaper I see no real Reason to upgrade now they feel Relatively light and agile for a trowel Shoot and you do get a little bit of an Extra pop from the combination of those Plates and the proflyx foam you get a
Good tick over from that rocker too but It's not a huge difference over the Speed goat 5 that I don't find but it is There and it's a really welcome Sensation particularly when you're Hitting the runnable bits I think like Flatter compact groom trails and those Road sections you might have at some Point during an ultra in fact the road To Trail skills of detector X2 are Excellent really really thumbs up for Those I've done quite a few miles Commuting to the trails in them and they Run as well for me as some Road shoes Now if you like your trailer she's more Direct these might not be for you the Stack of cushioning is perhaps a little High a little soft and it's not so Connected to what's underfoot but Personally I didn't have any missed Issues moving over stones and roots and Uneven terrain I found the stability was Pretty good the grip coked well enough In all the dry conditions that I put Them through but I wasn't 100 confident On those wet Trails of the marathon test I did 75 of the time I was fine but on Some of the difficult bits I felt I Needed to hold back a bit that said so Did plenty of other runners in all kinds Of shoes but I think those four mil lugs Perhaps won't cope with the most testing Conditions so I've done around 50k Running in the hokite X2 and it really
Does feel a lot like the original shoe To me on the run and that's for the most Part a good thing I've gone on a nice Variety of Trails um all of it dry Though the UK has been very sunny and Late so it's all been quite dry running I've been on some hard packed dirt Tracks in my Forest but a single track Some grass some gravel and road to and From the forest and like I say it's all Been quite dry but I didn't get some wet Runs in the older shoe the architecting X and that did grip well on those hard Surfaces in the wet it is built more for Hard surfaces you can tell from the Outsole but these Vibram outsoles are Pretty good if you do hit a patch of Soft and muddy ground not going to fall Over immediately but there are certainly Better shoes if you want a bit more bite Into soft ground but on everything I've Run on grip very well it's got a lot of Confidence in the grip if you want to Bomb down Hills on like slightly loose Gravelly surfaces in particular Dusty Trails or that little inch of dust that Sometimes makes you feel a bit skittish Underfoot the shoe grips really really Well on those when running at PACE I did My Sunday long run in the shoe last week And I was actually running over the Route of the ultra marathon I'm going to Be doing later this year and it is a Really comfortable shoe to do longer so
Anyway that was only a 10 mile run but I've also done a longer runs in the old Texan X I do like this midsole in that It is very comfortable to go over long Distances in the shoe despite the fact It's not a super maxed out stack but at The same time it does still feel Nimble And lightweight so you're getting that Nice balance of protection and speed the First run in the shoe I think it feels a Little bit stiff and not that flexible But dead underfoot but it really quickly Just softens a little bit and you start To feel a bit more of the Bounce from The Dual density midsole setup there the Plates coming to play a little bit more You get a bit more spring and it doesn't Positive at all I think it's a nice Flexible shoe for uneven ground there's Lots of very rutted ground around me at The moment and I don't love going on That kind of ground in stiffs like Higher stack carbon shoes but it's okay In this because of the way the midsole Is set up to be that little bit more Flexible I've done a couple of Progression runs in the shoe working Down from really easy Paces down towards Around my mouth and Pace you know the 330s per K kind of pace and that's an Undulating ground just rolling over some Hills bit of Road up and down and it Feels really good for that like it's not A noticeably Punchy shoe it's not got
The kind of wow fact you get with the Soft squishy Road carbon shoes but it is Fast and you tick over really nicely in It and it feels like it's quite easy to Maintain good Paces in the shoe which is Obviously what you're going to want if You're going to go very long in it and It also feels nice for just mooching Along at very easy faces which again You'd probably be doing those longer Ultra marathon events you are going to Need to hold relatively slow Paces for Long long periods feeling comfortable Also feeling the shoes just giving you a Little bit of a tip forward which I do Think you get from the texting X3 so It's all in all a really nicely balanced Trail racing shoe I think that I have Enjoyed using at a range of Paces on a Range of terrains [Music] To my verdict then like the first gen This is a good fast Nimble Trail shoot And I'd happily use it to race shorter Trails but also to tackle slower Ultra Distances too I think I could happily Run a mixed terrain 100 miler in these Shoes in Comfort they're a bit narrow And hugging so if you like a lot of room In the toe box You may wish to half a Size up I enjoyed the ride fresh out of The box though and they gave super Comfort there's a lot of cushion here That's great at soaking up the trail and
Protecting the feet deeper into longer Efforts and that cushion and plate combo Is maybe not as good as if you like a More direct ride with more connection to The trail Under Foot though I think the Difference between this and non-plated Shoes is still quite subtle there are Lots of Ultras where I think this shoe Would be a great choice here in the UK I'm thinking about things like the Centurion running race series the Threshold series races basically Anything where you face less technical Terrain and some Road sections but then We get into price and good as I think These are I think I'd be tempted to look At the first Gen tecton X before I Bought these and I also don't think There's that much to choose here over This versus the speed goat 5 which is 40 Pounds cheaper so that is another good Alternative option if it were my money I'd go for those shoes first if money Doesn't matter though then the whole Detector next to I think is an excellent Trail option particularly if you're Looking to race so Technic 2 is a really Good shoe I think it's a slight Improvement on the techton X thanks to The new upper being a little bit more Dialed in but I think it's quite a Slight Improvement and the rise in price Is a bit of a shame to see so I Certainly wouldn't be against going and
Finding a deal on the Hoka techniques if You can and getting that shoe because The RRP is lower and it's going to be in Sales a bit more these days as well and You're getting the same underfoot Experience The upper change you know I think it's Slightly for the better but you know It's not a deal breaker I didn't have Big problems with the upper on the Titan X if you did then it has been redesigned With this new upper so that's a nice Thing the ride is really good I think It's a very impressive shoe it probably Is one of the top Trail Racing shoes Available I think looking at the other Carbon shoes I've tested prefer it to The summit Vector Pro from the North Face which is a bit more of an intrusive Shoe which you don't always want at the Trails it's very rocker it's a little Bit softer it feels very high stack even I think it's got a similar stack height Listed and it doesn't have great grip on Um wet ground whereas text next to feels More accomplished on the trails it's Nimbler it's more flexible it gives you A little bit more confidence to tackle Like winding trails and tricky trails That kind of thing while also being nice And Punchy if you do hit a nice runnable Stretch so it's not going to endorphin Edge I think has a slightly better Midsole foam a little bit more bounce
From that and I think it rolls really Nicely when you get to runnable ground Also has probably a little bit better Bite for wet ground and orphanage does But then I think the techton X2 is a Little bit nimbler and faster pills so a Bit of balance of all of those um carbon Racing shoes Probably for me the question Still Remains about how much benefit you get From the carbon shoes on the trails like There is a performance benefit to these Shoes but And they're really expensive and if I Was looking at Trails I'd still Personally get someone who's not a very Serious long-distance racer on the Trails would be looking at things like The Hoka Speedo 5 or the Saucony Exodus Ultra 2 as probably more of the Shoes I've been looking for I think They're they're comfortable they're Great well they're a lot cheaper than The play to choose I think you're Getting high level of performance from Those shoes as well four longer races And I think the uptick and performance You get from the touch next to probably Isn't quite enough for me to justify the Big jumping price you have from what are Really excellent trail shoes available For a fair bit less but in and of itself I think it's a fantastic shoe great for Our racing shoe so there you have it
That's been our review of the new Hoka Tecton X2 we hope you found it helpful As ever if you have any questions hit us Up in the comments below if you're Interested in how the techton X2 Compares to the speed goat five there's A head-to-head appearing on the channel About now So be sure to check that out don't Forget to like And subscribe that is a Massive help to us here at the Run Testers and otherwise we hope to see you Again soon on the channel happy running People and good luck with whatever it is That you are trying to achieve
